Featured Interview With Barry Stewart Levy
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a native New Yorker, born in the Bronx, graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School, received my Bachelor of Arts in English/Drama-Theatre from Queens College and my Masters in Cinema Studies from New York University. I have lived in various sections of Queens and on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I currently reside on Manhattan’s Upper West Side near Lincoln Center (a real plus!).
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved reading. As a kid I read Classic Comic Books (“Treasure Island,” “Moby Dick,” “Robin Hood,” etc.), scary comic books (“Tales From the Crypt” and “The Vault of Horror”), Tarzan novels, Dick Tracy and Sherlock Holmes. In my teenage years I read “Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, ” “Poe’s Masterpieces of Mystery,” and Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles.” Obviously, I have always been drawn to mysteries and started writing them in the sixth grade. They usually had twist endings and were influenced by Hitchcock and Poe.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like Dean Koontz very much and have read more of his books than those of any other author. When I am not reading fiction or the occasional non-fiction book, I turn to spirituality. I am a big fan of Carlos Castaneda, having read virtually all of his works. Lately my favorite novelist is Don DeLillo. Reading a particular work of fiction, seeing a brilliant film or perusing the pages of “The New York Times Book Review” can often inspire me to write.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
I was inspired to write “European Son: a novella” after reading Jerzy Kosinski’s short novel “Steps.” I was impressed with the succinctness and clarity of his writing style and intrigued by his male protagonist, a manipulative loner on a solitary journey. Years ago when I first began writing the book, I wrote an outline and the first chapter. Every once in awhile I would pick up those pages but them put them aside. Believe it or not, this went on for years, until I finally threw out the outline, kept and revised Chapter One and took a leap of faith, trusting myself and my characters. The book is about a young man who suddenly leaves his New England home soon after his twenty-seventh birthday and travels to the South of France where he forms an erotic attachment to Robert and Nicole, a young, attractive couple whom he meets on the beach in Nice. This relationship parallels a similar one back home between his stepsister Ann and Jay, their mutual object of desire. “European Son: a novella” is the story of a man’s journey of self-discovery told within a tale of obsession, revenge and redemption.
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