Steve Zettler Interview Published on: 16, Dec 2021

I grew up above the family restaurant and oddly spent more time with the waitresses, cooks and pot washers than I ever did with my parents. They worked like dogs, and child rearing was not one of their strong suits. I remember once asking one of the waitresses why they all had different colored lipstick? She told me it was because that was the only way they knew whose cigarette was whose when the returned to the kitchen. I also remember once asking my Dad why he never hired waiters and only waitresses. He dodged the question.

I was a late bloomer to writing. My first book was “The Second Man.” It’s a thriller and I didn’t write it until I was in my forties. It’s set in Venice, Italy; a city I’m very familiar with, so coming up with vivid descriptions came naturally. Just the mere mysteriousness of the city added to the suspense. Anyway, my wife was a published author at the time so I didn’t need to look far for an agent. Her agent loved it and he got me a two-book deal. I can’t tell you how much that story bugs other authors who work for years trying to get a foot in the door with an agent.

I started out in New York City as a photographer and then segued into acting. There’s no slowing down in New York, which is what makes it the great city it is. The theatre scene is vibrant and teeming with creativity. Eventually the acting took me to Los Angeles, which has almost the opposite vibe; lots of down time, lots of driving here and there, lots of sitting around the pool. That’s when my wife suggested I use my time “a little more wisely” by writing. So I began my first book. It instantly pulled me out of a non-creative rut and I’ve been writing even since.

I was a photo geek from the moment I was given my first Brownie camera; probably at six or seven years old. I had a wonderful mentor as a child. His name was Dave; he was African American, very dark skinned, and worked at the family restaurant. The first photo I took was of Dave. Everything was in black and white in those days, and when the prints came back there was no detail in Dave’s face. So I spent weeks with Dave experimenting with lighting until we solved the issue. Photography is lighting. I learned that lesson very early on. Though I found that the local drugstore film processing was very iffy to say the least and I built my own darkroom before I was ten years old.

Seventy-five percent of “Careless Love” is autobiographical. It’s been boiling within me for years. Plot-wise it’s a doomed love story; one I lived through (though adjusted somewhat for the novel) – One of the main characters, Lee, is murdered at the end of the book; clearly I’m still very much alive. No spoiler alert necessary, the reader learns of Lee’s death early on. Most of the events described in “Careless Love” I’ve lived through; from the Vietnam issues (during and after the war), to life in a restaurant (private club) atmosphere, which is where much of the story takes place. Though fiction, it’s a very much a “write what you know” novel.

I wrote this series with my wife, twelve books in all, and quite often people would remark, “There’s the great mystery… How does one write a book with their life-partner without them ending up killing one another?” We had to change our disciplines drastically. In our own writing both of us tend to just take off without the use of an outline. We found from the very beginning this approach wouldn’t work in a coauthor situation; we needed to create outlines for each book before we jumped in. Otherwise one of us would end up in Alaska while the other was catching a tan in the Bahamas.

“Audience” is a concept that has plagued me throughout my creative career. As a photographer I never focused on audience. I did portraits, was featured in a gallery focused on “art” prints, did commercial work, photographed New York actors and theatre productions; none of which indicated that they were shot by the same photographer. No one could say, “That’s clearly a Steve Zettler photograph.” Same with acting; I played doctors and lawyers, but also petty thieves and drug addicts. Casting directors were unable to pigeonhole me. They didn’t know who I was, which is not a good success model for an actor. “Audiences” expect something when they go to a Dustin Hoffman movie and that’s what they get – Dustin Hoffman. And as a writer it’s hard to cultivate a fan base, or audience, if you don’t focus on a genre; which I have never done. My first three books were hard-hitting thrillers, then the twelve “cozy” mysteries. “Careless Love” is basically literary fiction or romantic suspense. My next book will be another thriller (though more a caper actually) and I’ve just started a memoir. As a result having my name on a novel is no indication of what’s on the inside of the book.

I’ve never really had writer’s block. But then again, I can go long periods without writing anything, but that’s by choice. I just wait until the spirit moves me. And when it does, I’m off and running. I know where the novel is going to start and I know where it will end. I create strong willed characters and let them walk me through the story. Sometimes I feel as if I’m just taking dictation. I sit back and enjoy the scenery. In my next novel, the caper I mentioned, at one point the CIA walks into it and I was as surprised as anyone might be. I thought, “Why the hell is the CIA snooping around?” Well, I just went with it and it all made sense in the end.

As I said, I was extremely lucky in having a literary agent “in the family” so to speak. He has great connections, likes my work, and has set me up with some dynamite editors. All these factors are usually torturous paths that writers must struggle with, and I’ve skated down them enjoying the ride the entire way. I suppose the least favorite part of publishing (or any artistic endeavor for that matter) is sales and promotion. Clearly the most popular writers handle this very well or have the resources to have someone else handle it for them, and this is one reason why they’re more popular than other writers. Personally, I’ve never been good at the promotion end of things.

Philadelphia (where I live) has a very strong artistic community. The writers are very supportive of one another, and this holds true for the theatre, dance, and the other arts. But as far as other authors “helping” me in my writing; I don’t share anything until it’s finished, and then it goes straight to the agent without any input from other writers… Except maybe my wife. One of my great downfalls is this pig-headed attitude I seem to have. Though, because of my acting experience, I take direction very well, and love to collaborate with editors. I just don’t like making changes at the suggestion of other writers. To me it seems to steal some of the creativity from me and I’m not happy about that. If an idea comes from another author I somehow feel as if I’m plagiarizing in some way.

Having had two previous careers in the arts I had developed a pretty tough hide before I began to write; criticism is brutal, but I’d been down that road many times, and I don’t think I would have lasted very long as a writer if I didn’t have the background I have. As a result, I can’t say I’ve learned a great deal about myself that I didn’t already know. Though I have to say, I’m much more encouraging to other writers than I ever was to other actors and photographers. I feel no need to be competitive as a writer. I love observing my colleague’s successes.

I don’t do theatre any longer, and to be honest, I haven’t pursued other acting work very aggressively as of late. Most of the film and television jobs that drift through Philadelphia are already cast in New York or Los Angeles and by the time the production crew sets up here in Philly they are only offering extra work or bit parts. I’d rather be writing than sitting around doing nothing on a T.V. set. There are three or four local directors, doing mostly film festival shorts, who call me in whenever they need a grumpy old man, but that tends to be it at the moment.

I’ve been to Sub-Saharan Africa a number of times. I’m in love with the place; the people, the wildlife, the mammoth scale of everything. It’s nearly impossible to take a bad photo there. And the same holds true for North Africa; Morocco, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula. The people fascinate me. Their faces all tell a unique story.

My next book is a thriller (or caper) set in the Panama Canal Zone just before the canal was handed back to the Panamanians in 2000; it’s entitled “Piece of Cake.” The publication date isn’t until October 2023. It will be published by Vine Leaves Press, who also published “Careless Love.”

I joined AllAuthor in July of 2021 with the release of “Careless Love,” and I’ve found them to be a wonderfully supportive organization. With so much of the business being conducted over the internet, it’s great to know you have some positive people in your corner.