Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Falling into the Mob
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1942
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-zousmer-026a077/ * http://julialordliterary.com/stevezousmer.html
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 79066311
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n79066311
HEADING: Zousmer, Steve
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100 1_ |a Zousmer, Steve
400 1_ |a Zousmer, Steven, |d 1942-
670 __ |a His “Famous,” c1979: |b t.p. (Steve Zousmer)
670 __ |a His TV news off-camera, c1987: |b CIP t.p. (Steven Zousmer) data sheet (b. 1942)
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PERSONAL
Born 1942; married; children: one son, one daughter.
EDUCATION:Graduated from Stanford University and Columbia University.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. ABC News, New York, NY, chief writer for Good Morning America and 20/20, senior producer of Nightline, writer for Harry Reasoner and Peter Jennings. Has also worked as a journalist and speechwriter.
MIILITARY:U.S. Navy, served as officer in Vietnam.
WRITINGS
Also, writer of documentaries for National Geographic, Smithsonian World, Audubon, and Discovery.
SIDELIGHTS
Steve Zousmer is a writer of books of both fiction and nonfiction. He has also worked as a journalist and speechwriter. Zousmer previously worked in various capacities for ABC News. He served as a writer for Peter Jennings and Harry Reasoner, news reporters on the network. Zousmer also worked as a senior producer for the network’s Nightline program and as a chief writer for its 20/20 and Good Morning America programs. During the Vietnam War, Zousmer served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He holds degrees from Stanford University and Columbia University.
In 1979, Zousmer released his first book, the novel “Famous.” His following book is a work of nonfiction called TV News Off-Camera: An Insider’s Guide to Newswriting and Newspeople.
Zousmer collaborated with David W. Steadman to write the 1988 nonfiction book, Galápagos: Discovery on Darwin’s Islands. In this volume, the authors discuss the unique flora and fauna found on the island off the coast of Ecuador.
You Don't Have to Be Famous
In 2007, Zousmer released You Don’t Have to Be Famous: How to Write Your Life Story. In this volume, he offers tips to readers who are interested in writing a biographical work. Zousmer urges readers to hone in on their vision for the work and to return to that vision to ensure that their writing serves it. He emphasizes the importance of choosing a structure for the work and of perfecting one’s voice. Zousmer also coaches readers on determining what to include in the work and what to leave out.
A contributor to the Bookwatch offered a favorable review of the book. The contributor asserted: “Any who would record their life history for future generations … will appreciate Steve Zousmer’s You Don’t Have to Be Famous.“
Falling into the Mob
In Falling into the Mob, a novel published in 2017, Zousmer tells the story of a divorced, middle-aged speechwriter named Phillip Vail. Phil, who narrates the book, is contemplating retirement when he becomes acquainted with Sylvia Sforza, the daughter of the leader of the Sforza crime organization, while riding a train bound for Westchester County. After a dustup with three thugs on the train, Sylvia decides Phil should meet her father, Jacopo. Jacopo, who is on his deathbed, is struck by Phil’s character and announces that Phil will be his replacement when he dies. Phil agrees, despite reservations, in part because he is falling for Sylvia. Phil is quickly immersed in the Sforza family’s business endeavors and their problems, including various investigations organized by the FBI and threats from rival crime families.
A Kirkus Reviews critic suggested that Zousmer took inspiration from celebrated crime novelists, including Peter Lefcourt, Carl Hiaasen, and Elmore Leonard. However, the critic remarked: “Compared to the effortless mayhem that the authors cited above unleash, the mechanics here show the strain.” In a more favorable assessment of the book in Publishers Weekly, a reviewer described it as an “exceptional comic crime novel” and a “clever, captivating romp.” Gloria Feit, contributor to the Promoting Crime Fiction by Lizzie Hayes website, noted that Falling into the Mob was “written in so engaging a fashion that it has the reader swiftly engaged in the tale.” Feit also stated: “The novel references writings and writers including John LeCarre and William Shakespeare, just an example of the erudition and simply wonderful writing found here. A very fast and terrific read, the novel is highly recommended.” Writing on the WSHU website, Joan Baum commented: “Told in smart-alecky prose and filled with wit, humor and farcical flair, including an all-out fist and bullet fight in a high end East Side restaurant, Falling Into the Mob has enough blood and gore and political cynicism to make it seem plausible.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Bookwatch, October, 2007, “Writer’s Digest Books,” review of You Don’t Have to Be Famous: How to Write Your Life Story.
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2016, review of Falling into the Mob.
Publishers Weekly, October 17, 2016, review of Falling into the Mob, p. 51.
ONLINE
Promoting Crime Fiction by Lizzie Hayes, http://promotingcrime.blogspot.com/ (May 31, 2017), Gloria Feit, review of Falling Into The Mob and author profile.
WSHU Online, http://wshu.org/ (January 4, 2017), Joan Baum, review of Falling Into The Mob.*
Steve Zousmer spent half his career as a journalist, mainly with ABC News, and the other half as a freelance speechwriter for the CEOs or presidents of about 30 major corporations. His ABC assignments included chief writer of Good Morning America and 20/20, senior producer of Nightline, and writer for Harry Reasoner and Peter Jennings. He also wrote documentaries for Discovery, Audubon, Smithsonian World, and National Geographic. He is a graduate of Stanford and Columbia Universities and served as a United States Navy officer in Vietnam. He has written six books: two novels, three books on writing, and a Smithsonian book on evolution in the Galapagos.
QUOTED: "Compared to the effortless mayhem that the authors cited above
unleash, the mechanics here show the strain."
Zousmer, Steve: FALLING INTO THE MOB
Kirkus Reviews.
(Nov. 15, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Zousmer, Steve FALLING INTO THE MOB Permanent Press (Adult Fiction) $29.95 1, 17 ISBN: 978-1-57962-436-1
A chance meeting on a commuter train gives a freelance speechwriter a chance to become a mob boss in this comic thriller.Phil Vail is middleaged,
divorced, settled, and bored when, on the train back to Westchester, he strikes up a conversation with a beauty who turns out to be the
daughter of a mob boss. Before the ride is over, Phil will get a taste of just how tough she is and how unforgiving the world in which she was
raised. The ride is just Phil's entree into the world of the mob, made even more tempting by Sylvia, the woman on the train. And so Phil assents
when offered his own place in the organization. This book aspires to be a comic thriller and also a novel of middle-aged rebirth, similar to late
Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, and the farces of Peter Lefcourt. There are the requisite complications, attempting to compare the screwball and
the sinister, and the inevitable ending which promises a new life for our hero. But compared to the effortless mayhem that the authors cited above
unleash, the mechanics here show the strain. And the ugly racial stereotype that sets the whole thing in motion imparts a distasteful cast that the
story never shakes. This offer you can refuse.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Zousmer, Steve: FALLING INTO THE MOB." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA469865722&it=r&asid=9e18dc55c3211077b1b4b9e6f632f831. Accessed 9 July
2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A469865722
---
QUOTED: "exceptional comic crime novel" "clever, captivating romp."
7/9/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1499657389848 2/3
Falling into the Mob
Publishers Weekly.
263.42 (Oct. 17, 2016): p51.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Falling into the Mob
Steve Zousmer. Permanent, $29.95 (320p) ISBN 978-1-57962-436-1
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Freelance speechwriter Phillip Vail, the 59-year-old divorced narrator of this exceptional comic crime novel, is considering fading away into the
sunset until he's suddenly presented with two big opportunities. One is to become idea man and ghostwriter for retired CEO Peter Draybin, who's
considering running for president, but he settles for the far less likely option to become head of the Sforza crime family. On a train from
Manhattan to his home in Westchester County, Phil meets Sylvia Sforza, the beautiful, hard-edged daughter of the head of the clan, and together
they face down a trio of thugs, though Sylvia does most of the facing down. Sylvia later introduces Phil to her dying dad, Jacopo, who decides
that Phil is just who the family needs to replace him. The initially hesitant Phil, who's smitten by Sylvia, slides into his new life after Jacopo's
death. He must quickly get his footing as the Sforzas have to contend with FBI probes, as well as other mobs looking to take them over, in this
clever, captivating romp. Zousmer, who has worked as a freelance speechwriter for CEOs of major corporations, is also the author of the novel
Famous (with Richard Liebman-Smith). (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Falling into the Mob." Publishers Weekly, 17 Oct. 2016, p. 51. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA468700022&it=r&asid=fcc40e1d8ae5a22d957cf3b37ef35c92. Accessed 9 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A468700022
---
QUOTED: "Any who would record their life history for future generations ... will appreciate Steve Zousmer's You Don't Have to Be Famous."
7/9/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1499657389848 3/3
Writer's Digest Books
The Bookwatch.
(Oct. 2007):
COPYRIGHT 2007 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bw/index.htm
Full Text:
Writer's Digest Books
c/o F&W Publications
4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.fwpublications.com
Any who would record their life history for future generations--whether it be the general public or their descendants--will appreciate Steve
Zousmer's You Don't Have to Be Famous: How to Write Your Life Story (9781592974355, $16.99). Different writing models, from flashback
chronology to something more versatile, are surveyed in chapters which discuss writing techniques, solidifying objectives, and putting everything
in writing. An excellent guide most accessible to beginners who may have no professional writing experience or objectives but plenty of desire to
chart a life for future generations. General-interest libraries will find it a popular pick, especially with scrapbooking gaining such attention for its
visual memories. The 2008 GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS (1582975035, $26.99) tells how to find the right agent to represent work and has
been completely updated and revised to pack new details in its 17th Annual Edition. Over six hundred listing of script agents, literary agents, and
writer's conferences guide would-be pros to the best paths for promoting and distributing writing. Leigh Michaels' ON WRITING ROMANCE:
HOW TO CRAFT A NOVEL THAT SELLS (1582974365, $16.99) comes from a noted romance novelist who guides writers through the process
of writing and publishing romance. From avoiding genre stereotypes and cliches to highlighting relationship developments and creating logical
trains of thought, using tension and timing to develop sensuality, ON WRITING ROMANCE is packed with insights.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Writer's Digest Books." The Bookwatch, Oct. 2007. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA169635002&it=r&asid=e9418d6b88826583d3e52804ddd6da45. Accessed 9 July
2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A169635002
QUOTED: "written in so engaging a fashion that it has the reader swiftly engaged in the tale."
"The novel references writings and writers including John LeCarre and William Shakespeare, just an example of the erudition and simply wonderful writing found here. A very fast and terrific read, the novel is highly recommended."
Promoting Crime Fiction by Lizzie Hayes
As a founder member of Mystery Women in 1997, promoting Crime Fiction has always been my passion. Following the closure of Mystery Women, a new group was formed on 30th January 2012 promoting crime fiction. New reviews are posted daily, but to search for earlier reviews please click on the Mystery People link below and select 'reviews' from the welcome page. This will displays an alphabetic option for you to find the review you would like to read
For PREVIOUS REVIEWS- Click on MYSTERY PEOPLE below -
Mystery People
Wednesday, 31 May 2017
‘Falling into the Mob’ By Steve Zousmer
Published by Permanent Press,
31 January 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-57962-436-1 (HB)
From the publisher: At 59, facing a dull and lonely future, Phil Vail yearns for a way to put vigor and purpose into his remaining years. Then he finds the Mafia. He is riding a commuter train, enjoying a chat with the younger woman sitting next to him when they encounter three drunks threatening violence and rape. Phil is powerless and terrified but the woman is neither: her father is the caporegime of New York’s Sforza crime family and a cell call brings her three mobster brothers who deal out brutal punishment. Phil is appalled but fascinated. In subsequent contacts with the woman he finds himself falling in love and his fall takes him deeper into the Mob. Then comes the game changer: a crazy-seeming offer to become a crime boss himself, an offer he cannot refuse. Phil sees the dark comedy in his situation but tells the story earnestly in a first-person account describing his emotions, reflections and surprising leadership as well as adventures including a sensational brawl with a Mafia kingpin in a posh Manhattan restaurant, a near-death experience in a karate dojo, and a spectacular stunt to force the hand of the FBI.
This novel had me hooked from the first page, something that seldom happens, I must admit, But the opening scene, which has our protagonist falling in love and falling into the mob in quick succession, is written in so engaging a fashion that it has the reader swiftly engaged in the tale.
Phil, divorced for 3 years and with a 26-year-old son, is 20 years older than Sylvia, the woman who entrances him immediately. A former client, who also was his last-remaining client, decides he wants to run for the presidency of the US. His description in this regard may sound familiar to many: “He had no elected-office experience, no campaign experience, no voter constituency, and no political agenda.’ The author also speaks of a high-lever meeting which takes place in a venue whose guests include “a celebrity real estate mogul who pushed to the front eager for camera time,” a description which might also sound familiar.
Our protagonist muses that he “was finally getting the hang of gangster rock ‘n’ roll.” The novel references writings and writers including John LeCarre and William Shakespeare, just an example of the erudition and simply wonderful writing found here. A very fast and terrific read, the novel is highly recommended.
------
Reviewer: Gloria Feit
QUOTED: "Told in smart-alecky prose and filled with wit, humor and farcical flair, including an all-out fist and bullet fight in a high end East Side restaurant, Falling Into the Mob has enough blood and gore and political cynicism to make it seem plausible."
Book Review: Falling Into The Mob
By JOAN BAUM • JAN 4, 2017
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It’s blustery cold, gets dark early, and has been a challenging political season – a perfect storm that suggests it just might be the time to settle in with good escapist fiction. Falling Into the Mob more than qualifies. It’ll make you laugh and hold your attention as you try to figure out how its skillful author will resolve the absurdities and threats surrounding his unlikely hero. Written by veteran journalist and corporate speechwriter Steve Zousmer, Falling Into the Mob is sure to restore your spirits and at the same time get you thinking about life at the top – the political top and the top of a major New York crime family.
When we meet Phillip Vail, a 59-year old divorced, mild-mannered guy living alone in Westchester, he’s out of breath, and out of ideas of what to do with his life. He’s been thinking about retirement or as he calls it the “transition to geezerdom,” even though his one remaining speechwriting client may declare for the presidency of the United States. For sure, Phil doesn’t want to exercise or go overseas on bus tours, but so far nothing grabs his interest. He’s feeling, he says, “superfluous, marginalized, pushed to the sidelines.” Then fate intervenes. Doesn’t it always.
Late one night going home from the city and thinking he’s too old to run for a train, he does. And makes it just as the door closes and he’s lurched into an aisle seat, almost tumbling into the woman sitting next to him. Later, about to exit the train he finds himself suddenly thrust into a violent situation, as a group of thugs intent on trouble, start beating him up. And then decide to gang rape the woman. From what resources he doesn’t know, but Phil refuses to get off at his stop and leave the woman alone. In short order, he will discover she can protect herself. The daughter of a dying Mafioso boss who loves to quote Shakespeare, she’s called her mob-brothers who rush to the train in their pajamas and, well, take care of the thugs.
The Mafia boss insists on thanking Phil in person. And that in turn leads to Phil’s being made an offer he CAN refuse but…doesn’t. What ensues is wildly entertaining and inordinately clever as plot complication. The Mafiosi here have studied The Godfather, and one baddy obsesses reverently over Putin as a role model. For all the wackiness, however, the narrative rings true as an insider look at good bad guys and bad good guys in law enforcement and organized crime.
Told in smart-alecky prose and filled with wit, humor and farcical flair, including an all-out fist and bullet fight in a high end East Side restaurant, Falling Into the Mob has enough blood and gore and political cynicism to make it seem plausible. If truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction, fiction can sometimes be more powerful than facts. As Phil says, “Why lose credibility by telling the truth?” Fall Into the Mob is a lot of fun.