PAUL LEVINE worked as a newspaper reporter, a law professor and a trial lawyer before becoming a full-time novelist and screenwriter. Obviously, he cannot hold a job. Paul claims that writing fiction comes naturally: he told whoppers for many years in his legal briefs.
His newest book is THE DEEP BLUE ALIBI, praised by Publishers Weekly as a "smart, enjoyable page-turner with plenty of quirky characters and witty banter." It's the second in a new series featuring squabbling Miami lawyers Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord. The first book, SOLOMON vs. LORD, was published in 2005 to widespread critical acclaim.
The winner of the John D. MacDonald award, Paul is the author of the bestselling Jake Lassiter novels, which have been published in 23 countries. TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD, the first of the series, was honored as one of the ten best mysteries of the year by the Los Angeles Times. A screen adaptation of the book appeared as an NBC movie in 1995.
He is also the author of 9 SCORPIONS, a tale of corruption at the Supreme Court. That book inspired Paul to co-create and co-executive produce FIRST MONDAY, the CBS TV series starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna. The show was canceled after one season, despite being a hit with disbarred lawyers, disgruntled litigants, and a demographic best described as "between Medicare and the mortuary." Paul also wrote more than 20 episodes of the TV series JAG, which gave him an opportunity to steer a nuclear submarine and land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, all without endangering national security.
Paul is a graduate of Penn State University where he majored in journalism and the University of Miami Law School where he majored in the swimming pool. He passed the Florida Bar exam in his first try in what he suspects was a computer glitch.
Paul practiced law with one of the nation's largest law firms, where he did not even pretend to know all his partners' names. He specialized in "complex litigation," cases so abstruse that even lawyers charging 500 bucks an hour didn't fully understand them. Paul tried hundreds of cases and handled appeals at every level, including the Supreme Court. Along the way, he filed expense accounts nearly as creative as his legal briefs.
Paul says he enjoys writing more than lawyering because he no longer keeps time sheets and gets to work in his underwear. He lives in the hills of Southern California which he claims are populated by rattlesnakes and coyotes, and those are just the Hollywood agents.
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