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62

October 4 2012

Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer

T

om Mahoney isn't being
introduced for the first time
in Peter Levine's new collec-
tion of short stories.
More than half of the 10 stories
have appeared separately in liter-
ary magazines, but the character is
defined more fully in a new book,

The Appearance of a Hero: The Tom
Mahoney Stories (St. Martin's Press).
Levine will read from his anthology
and answer questions about it during
two sessions at the Barnes & Noble
in West Bloomfield, from 2-4 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 6, and 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 7.
"I like the way the book flows," says
Levine, 34, in a phone conversation
from his home in Washington, D.C. "I
tried to write this as a novel, but it was
too episodic and just didn't work.
"I put the writing away, but I was
intrigued with the Mahoney character
so I started writing the stories. I accu-
mulated enough that I was able to put
them in a kind of order that painted
a picture of this guy's life, and
that's what the
book became."
Mahoney, an
amalgam of a half
dozen people Levine
has known, was
planned to show the
effects of personal mag-
netism on relationships.
"He's the kind of guy
everyone wants to be
around but no one really
has access to," the author
explains. "Part of the fun for me was
trying to figure out what goes on in his
life and in his head:
One story, "Our Hero David Katz:'
develops a Jewish character very dif-
ferent from Mahoney.
"Tom is supposed to be my age, and
it's interesting to write about some-
one who reaches his 30s and hasn't
quite figured it out:' says Levine, who
figured out he wanted to be a writer
when he was in college and earned
his master's degree from the Writing
Seminars at the Johns Hopkins
University.
Writing projects came after working
hours, teaching English to non-native
speakers at Georgetown University and
creative writing at George Washington

Peter Levine: Exploring men's

friendships.

University.
"The stories also explore the rela-
tionship between men in a way that
hopefully is treated seriously:' Levine
says. "I definitely wanted to explore
male friendships and how they are dif-
ferent from female friendships."
Levine, who grew up in subur-
ban Chicago, used JDate to meet
his wife, social worker Shari
Sitron, raised in Southfield and
Farmington Hills. Frequently
visiting her parents, Rita and
Ed Sitron of Farmington
Hills, the two now are
' focused on the upbringing
of their 4-month-old son,
Ilan.
"Judaism is a big fac-
tor culturally in my own
life:' Levine says. "I see it as a license
to pursue something intellectual like
writing."
Levine writes in short spurts. "I can
sit down for a half hour to an hour, but
I tap out after that point," he says.
"I'm still writing about Tom
Mahoney, and I'm hoping something
longer comes of it." L

Peter Levine will read from and
sign copies of his book 2-4 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 6, and 1:30-3:30
p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7, at Barnes
& Noble, 6800 Orchard Lake
Road, in West Bloomfield. (248)
626-6804; http://store-locator.
barnesandnoble.com/store/2629.

