Cindy Loves Books: Paul Levine

Paul Levine's Newsletter

June 2011

FLESH & BONES Now an EBook "For the Kids"

Dear Book Bloggers and Reviewers:

Last summer, on the 20th anniversary of publication of “To Speak for the Dead,” I pledged all proceeds of the ebook edition to the Four Diamonds Fund charity. The book rocketed to number one on Amazon’s Hardboiled Mystery Bestseller List and raised thousands of dollars for cancer treatment at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.
This summer, I'm doing it again. "Flesh & Bones" is now an ebook, specially priced at $.99, with all royalties going to the Fund.
Here's the opening line of the book:
"I was sitting at the end of the bar sipping single-malt Scotch when I spotted the tall blond woman with the large green eyes and the small gray gun."

The next thing Jake Lassiter knows, the woman pumps three bullets into the man on the next barstool. And Lassiter, the second-string linebacker turned hard-boiled Miami lawyer, has a new client.

“Levine’s prose gets leaner, meaner, better with every book…And Jake Lassiter has a lot more charisma than Perry Mason ever did.” – Miami Herald
Please contact me with questions or to receive:
"Flesh & Bones" ebook review copy.
"Levine vs. Lassiter," in which I interview my fictional protagonist.
"Jake Lassiter is Back," discussing the return of the series, both as e-book reprints and the forthcoming Bantam hardcover, "Lassiter."
For more information, please visit my website.
Paul Levine

Four Diamonds Fund: Conquering Childhood Cancer

ALL BOOK PROCEEDS: "FOR THE KIDS"
A few years ago, one of my dearest friends, the godfather of my son, lost his daughter Margaux to Ewing's sarcoma, a rare but vicious bone cancer. The survival rate for Ewing's sarcoma that metastasises is a disheartening 10 per cent.
Ten per cent!
In this age of medical miracles, how can that be?

Which brings me to the Four Diamonds Fund. In 1972, a 14-year-old boy named Christopher Millard was an aspiring writer. Or rather, he was already a writer. He'd penned a mythic tale about "Sir Millard and The Four Diamonds," in the tradition of Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot. What are those Four Diamonds? Wisdom. Courage. Honesty. Strength. All are needed in our daily lives, especially in children's battles with a dread disease.
You have probably figured out that Chris wrote the story while in the throes of cancer. The diamonds of his story were allegorical. The quest was for life itself. After a three-year battle, Chris died, but his memory lives in the name of the Fund established by his family.
Penn State students have contributed an astonishing $78 million to the Fund through their annual dance marathon. This year's event raised $9.5 million alone. The motto of "Thon" is "For the kids." And that, too, is the dedication of "To Speak for the Dead" and the spirit behind "Flesh & Bones."

Sample "FLESH & BONES"