Levack, Simon

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Levack, Simon

PERSONAL: Born in Kent, England; married; wife's name Sarah; children: Isaac. Education: Law degree.

ADDRESSES: Home and offoce—East London, England. Agent—Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company, 3 Barb Mews, Hammersmith, London W6 7PA, England E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Attorney in London, England; General Council of the Bar, attorney.

MEMBER: Society of Authors, Crime Writers' Association, Historical Novel Society.

AWARDS, HONORS: Debut Dagger Award, Crime Writers' Association, 2000, for Demon of the Air.

WRITINGS:

Demon of the Air, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Shadow of the Lords, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

City of Spies, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Although he had been a voracious reader since childhood and long harbored dreams of becoming a writer, Simon Levack trained in the law. He began writing while recuperating from a serious illness during his twenties, and since then he has gradually honed his craft. After reading Aztecs: An Interpretation by Inga Clendinnen, Levack decided to write a historical mystery set in Mesoamerica, and entered his manuscript in the Crime Writers' Association's 2000 competition for unpublished authors. After he won this contest on the basis of the first chapter of what was to become A Flowery Death, he spent the next two years finishing the novel, which was picked up by Simon & Schuster. Then he quit his legal job to focus on extending the book into a series. According to a Publishers Weekly contributor, in his mysteries set in sixteenth-century Mexico, Levack "makes comprehensible and familiar a society that seems at first glance alien," yet "comes to wonderful life in this gripping, multifaceted mystery." The sleuth and narrator, Yaotl, the slave of Chief Priest Lord Tlilpotonqui, is forced to investigate the mystery of a suicidal man who was slated to be sacrificed. A Flowery Death "will satisfy every appetite for information about this fascinating civilization, but may disappoint fans seeking a stronger mystery," a Kirkus Reviews critic concluded.

As Levack revealed at his home page, his wife Sarah has played an important role in his success: "Sarah once goaded me into starting a novel by telling me I had more chance of winning the National Lottery than writing a book! Without her encouragement, cajoling, understanding, merciless criticism and occasional sincere praise I would never have got anywhere."