Your future as a writer is in your hands. Whether you are a newcomer or an accomplished professional, a novelist, story writer, or a writer of nonfiction, you will find this book a wealth of immediately useful guidance not available anywhere else. As Sol Stein, renowned editor, author, and instructor, explains, "This is not a book of theory. It is a book of useable solutions-- how to fix writing that is flawed, how to improve writing that is good, how to create interesting writing in the f...

Whether you are a beginner or an accomplished professional, whether your field is fiction, nonfiction or journalism, Sol Stein's Solutions for Writers is an indispensable guide to enhancing your work. In Stein's own words, 'This is not a book of theory': just practical, immediately useful solutions to help with every type of writing problem. From shaping an opening sentence that hooks the reader to the secret of successful revision, deft character development to pumping up pacing,...

"Stein is a fascinating guide and teacher. This should be required reading for all Booker Prize judges and about 90 percent of published authors." — Daily MailHow to Grow a Novel is master editor, novelist, and writing instructor Sol Stein's invaluable workshop in print. It includes details and examples from Stein's behind-the-scenes work with bestselling novelists as well as talented newcomers. Stein takes the reader backstage in...

James Baldwin was beginning to be recognized as the most brilliant black writer of his generation when his first book of essays, Notes of a Native Son,established his reputation in 1955. No one was more pleased by the book’s reception than Baldwin’s high school friend Sol Stein. A rising New York editor, novelist, and playwright, Stein had suggested that Baldwin do the book and coaxed his old friend through the long and sometimes agonizing process of putting the volume together an...

Over 2 million copies sold in print, and now available in digital format for the first time! At their big prom, Ed Japhet scares the wits out of the attendees with his fantastic and dangerous feats of magic. Then when the young man and his girlfriend leave, they see four figures sitting inside his father's car, one with a chain around his fist. That's only the beginning of this story of a screwed-up justice system and a high-school student who decides to use his magic tricks to stop a toug...

Cliffhaven--Magnificent new resort near Big Sur. Surrounded by redwoods. Guarded by oceanside cliffs. Protected from prying eyes. By reservation only. Cliffhaven--Founded by a man with very special interests, catering to a very special clientele. Margaret and Henry Brown, vacationing New Yorkers innocently driving down the sea-washed coast of California, are just the right sort of people. Cliffhaven--It has a spectacular entrance, a three-star restaurant, lavish accommodations--and no exit...

Roger Maxwell was a successful banker. He was the new owner of a beautiful old house in the country. He was the loving husband of a captivating and sensual woman. He was the proud father of four “great kids.” Then, on one long holiday weekend at his isolated home, Roger Maxwell began to learn the truth about his children, his wife, and himself—as his whole world of illusion came apart in bloody pieces…

Susan Whitcomb, a brilliant New York trial lawyer, has learned her craft from the best in the field—Professor Farlan Amory Adams, her Columbia law teacher, millionaire mentor, and eloquent would-be lover. She needs every shred of the rigorous mental training he has given her when, without warning, she is catapulted into the vicious world of international terrorism. Susan’s well-ordered Manhattan life comes to a sudden end with the news that her father, an army general based in Rome, has be...

Peter Carmody is a man most people would envy. He has a successful career, an attractive wife, two children he loves and who love him. Yet Peter Carmody has been playing at a marriage that has run down over the years through emotional attrition and boredom. Sometimes, when the martinis come fast enough and the determined, frenetic gaiety of friends momentarily fills up the emptiness, the charade is almost convincing. But in the small, honest hours of the night, Peter recognizes his arrange...

As one of the characters in this enthralling novel remarks, “The Russians play chess, Americans play checkers.” Into this arena, as if into a trap, walks George Thomassy, a brilliant defense attorney coerced into defending a gifted young man accused of murdering America’s most prescient Russian expert just as he is about to finish his major work on the U.S.S.R. Thomassy’s lover, Francine Widmer, an attractive, bright, politically aware woman, understands what Thomassy doesn’t: in this, His...

"It's good to be ambitious. Only remember, the nearer you get to the front of the line, the more people with knives can see your back." That's Louie Riller giving advice to his son, Ben, who happens to be the most successful producer on Broadway. Louie Riller himself happens to be long dead. "Joan of Arc heard voices," Ben Riller's secretary tells him. "Why shouldn't you?" But Ben isn't just hearing voices; he's having a running argument with the late Louie about life, love, and Ben's newe...

Shirley Hartman, at twenty-eight, was the star of Madison Avenue, a woman who’d made it to the top in the male-dominated advertising game. Beauty, brains, fame, love…yet there she was, standing on a lonely rooftop, contemplating suicide. Had Shirley pushed too hard and reached too far—or can this extraordinary woman break out to some living room beyond career success and the usual arrangements with a man?