Posts by Charles Levin
Loverly
[Note: Taken from a chapter in my soon-to-be-released thriller novel, NOT SO DONE. I share it here because it sticks in my head like a favorite song and it’s loverly] – Listen to the Audio Version HERE The gravel driveway is long and winding up to the Riverdale Assisted Living Center in Scarsdale. Rich gets…
Read MoreMirror Moments and Memories – The Eyes Have It
“She looked in the mirror. Despite the makeup, she could see the puffy, gray circles under her eyes. Being President takes its toll on us all, she thought.”— from Not So Dead When I wrote the above passage in my first novel, Not So Dead, it just came naturally. When you look in the mirror,…
Read MoreA Not-So-Usual Thanksgiving
As I was approaching the finish line of writing my new thriller NOT SO DONE, the standalone sequel to NOT SO DEAD and NOT SO GONE, I considered changing the subtitle to The Final Sam Sunborn Novel. It’s not that Sam and his cohorts are done saving the world or that I tired of him…
Read MoreMissing The Ghost in the Palace Theater
A True Story – My sister stumbled upon a fifty-five-year-old set of documents. Buried beneath the legalese, the text evokes a flood of personal memories as it reveals the story of a family in the 1950s. The sales agreement, mortgage releases, and title insurance papers on their face codify the sale of the Palace Theater,…
Read MoreThe Gift
Story by Marlene Claire Steele, Oralee O’Byrne, and Charles Levin Written by Charles Levin [Reader’s Note: Last month, I asked readers to suggest the second half of the plotline in a story I started Thanks to all those who contributed their very creative and fun ideas. I chose two from readers, Marlene and Lee, whose…
Read MoreWrite a Story with Me
[Reader’s note: this is an unfinished story, featuring DHS Director Rich Little and Assistant Deputy Director, Michelle Hadar. Both significant characters in my thrillers NOT SO DEAD and NOT SO GONE. Let’s have some creative writing fun and try to finish the story together if you’re up for it.] Let’s Go! Takes 2 minutes! Read…
Read MoreMoon Landing Memories – Where Were You?
Where were you on July 20, 1969 – the Day Apollo 11 Landed on the Moon? I included the Moon Landing question in a recent newsletter to my readers and asked them to share their experiences. I was so delighted by their personal and intimate recollections that I asked their permission to share their poignant…
Read MoreTell Me A Story, Robot
“Make it a story of great distances and starlight…”– Robert Penn Warren from Tell Me A Story Updates [Update: In the last nine months since I posted this article, several exciting new advances in Text-to-Speech technology have arrived on the scene. At the end of this article, I have included information and thoughts on two…
Read MoreTribute to the Unsung Hero with a Thousand Smiles
The Call “You better come right away,” Ann urged. “I just got a call from Harry’s daughter. He’s leaving us. I’m on my way to his house right now.” Harry, my unsung hero, was dying. “We’ll be there as fast as we can,” I assured her. Harry’s girlfriend of ten years, Ann, was not one…
Read MoreBodyjacking
[Note: the characters Renata and Inspector V, as well as the crime of bodyjacking, play a major role in my upcoming sequel to NOT SO GONE and NOT SO DEAD.] Possessed “How does it end?” “I don’t know. I never do. I just write and it comes to me along the way.” “I don’t understand.…
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