Thirty - Jill Emerson [64]
Here’s what they changed it to: I Am Curious Thirty
That makes little enough sense on the face of it, and even less when you know the reference. A year or so before the book came out, a sexually adventurous Swedish film was released in America with the English title I Am Curious—Yellow. That title didn’t mean much of anything, as far as I can tell, although it may be just plain terrific in Swedish. But Thirty’s new title was designed, I guess, to make people think of this Swedish film, which by then had pretty much disappeared from this country’s consciousness, not to mention its theaters.
Oh, never mind.
Jill Emerson followed Thirty with a book she called Three. That was changed to Threesome, which was probably an improvement, truth to tell. Next came A Madwoman’s Diary, another shot at diary form, and that title was changed to Sensuous. Next came a novel in the form of letters to and from the protagonist—but so many people who read it liked it so much that I put my own name on it instead of Jill’s, and sent it not to Berkley but to some hardcover publishers. Bernard Geis published it with my title: Ronald Rabbit is a Dirty Old Man.
But that’s another story. In fact it’s a whole batch of other stories, to be recounted elsewhere.
I hope you enjoyed this one.
-30-
—Lawrence Block
Greenwich Village
Lawrence Block (lawbloc@gmail.com) welcomes your email responses; he reads them all, and replies when he can.
A Biography of Lawrence Block
Lawrence Block (b. 1938) is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and an internationally renowned bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series as well as dozens of short stories, articles, and books on writing. He has won four Edgar and Shamus Awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of the United Kingdom. In France, he has been awarded the title Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice received the Societe 813 trophy.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Block attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Leaving school before graduation, he moved to New York City, a locale that features prominently in most of his works. His earliest published writing appeared in the 1950s, frequently under pseudonyms, and many of these novels are now considered classics of the pulp fiction genre. During his early writing years, Block also worked in the mailroom of a publishing house and reviewed the submission slush pile for a literary agency. He has cited the latter experience as a valuable lesson for a beginning writer.
Block’s first short story, “You Can’t Lose,” was published in 1957 in Manhunt, the first of dozens of short stories and articles that he would publish over the years in publications including American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and the New York Times. His short fiction has been featured and reprinted in over eleven collections including Enough Rope (2002), which is comprised of eighty-four of his short stories.
In 1966, Block introduced the insomniac protagonist Evan Tanner in the novel The Thief Who Couldn’t Sleep. Block’s diverse heroes also include the urbane and witty bookseller—and thief-on-the-side—Bernie Rhodenbarr; the gritty recovering alcoholic and private investigator Matthew Scudder; and Chip Harrison, the comical assistant to a private investigator with a Nero Wolfe fixation who appears in No Score, Chip Harrison Scores Again, Make Out with Murder, and The Topless Tulip Caper. Block has also written several short stories and novels featuring Keller, a professional hit man. Block’s work is praised for his richly imagined and varied characters and frequent use of humor.
A father of three daughters, Block lives