Author/TV Producer Lee Goldberg

His mother wanted him to be a doctor, and his grandfather wanted him to go into the family furniture business. Instead, he put himself through UCLA as a freelance journalist, writing for such publications as American Film, Starlog, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, The Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle (He also wrote erotic letters to the editor for Playgirl at $25-a-letter, but he doesn't tell people about that, he just likes to boast about those "tiffany" credits).

He published his first book .357 Vigilante (as "Ian Ludlow," so he'd be on the shelf next to Robert Ludlum) while he was still a UCLA student. The West Coast Review of Books called his debut "as stunning as the report of a .357 Magnum, a dynamic premiere effort," singling the book out as "The Best New Paperback Series" of the year. Naturally, the publisher promptly went bankrupt and he never saw a dime in royalties.

His subsequent books include the non-fiction books Successful Television Writing and Unsold Television Pilots ("The Best Bathroom Reading Ever!" San Francisco Chronicle) as well as the novels My Gun Has Bullets ("It will make you cackle like a sitcom laugh track," Entertainment Weekly), Dead Space ("Outrageously entertaining," Kirkus Reviews), and Watch Me Die ("as dark and twisted as anything Hammet or Chandler ever dreamed up," Kirkus Reviews).

Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to Spenser: For Hire. Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (SeaQuest), cop shows (Hunter), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid's shows (R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room), T&A (Baywatch), comedy (Monk) and utter crap (The Highwayman). His TV work has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.

His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he began writing the Diagnosis Murder series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced. And he also writes novels based on Monk, another show he's worked on.

Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter.  You can learn more about Lee and his work at http://www.leegoldberg.com/

What is the current project you are working on?

I have several projects going. In print, I am working on my fifteenth, and final, Monk novel. I am writing my second King City novel for Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer imprint (the first one comes out in June), and I am writing & supervising the Dead Man series of original, monthly novels with William Rabkin for Amazon’s 47^th North imprint (we have a dozen writers who are penning those tales). In television, I’ve written, and it looks like I will produce, a four-hour western mini-series, based on two of author Bill Crider’s books, for a major cable network in 2012…and I’ve written a feature version of Victor Gischler’s book Gun Monkeys that has a major, Oscar-winning star attached, but is still in the financing stage.


What would you say if you could talk to your teenage self?

Relax, Lee, because believe it or not, your dreams are going to come true. That book on unsold TV pilots you’ve been working on since you were nine-years-old is going to be published, you’re going to write novels and produce and TV shows…and you know that writer/producer you idolize, Steve Cannell? Well, you’re not only going to work together, you’re going to become good friends. Oh, and pay attention in French class, you stupid jerk, because you’re going to marry a French woman and knowing the language will come in handy.

What is the "Dead Man Series" about?



Matthew Cahill was a simple man leading a quiet life...who was tragically killed in an avalanche at a ski resort. Three months later his corpse was found and sent to the morgue...but then something inexplicable happened.

He awoke.

Now he is a soldier in the unseen, eternal battle between good and evil...between gifted mortals and dark entities only hinted about in lore...a battle waged every day in front of our eyes...and yet we cannot see.

We all know it is there.

But only Cahill can see the afflicted, and stop them before they strike.

Only Cahill can defeat the Dark Man, a mysterious, supernatural figure who, with the help of his fearsome minions, lives for evil, and will do anything to stop him....and holds the secret to Cahill's miraculous rebirth...and his mission.

Only the Dark Man can tell Cahill whether he is still a man...or the walking dead.

For Matthew Cahill, each day is a journey...into a supernatural world he knows nothing about...a quest for the answers to who he is, and what he has become...and a fight to save us, and his soul, from the clutches of pure evil.

What is your short film "Remaindered" about?

Kevin Dangler is a once-famous author desperate to regain his lost glory while traveling the back-roads of middle America, selling remaindered, fifth-editions of his first book out of the trunk of his car. Along the way, he meets his ultimate fan, a woman who might be his salvation...or a novel way to die. To say any more would ruin it, since the movie is only a 20 minute short, based on my short story of the same name. I am a going back to Owensboro,Kentucky in March to shoot a sequel. I can’t wait. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXE69nFIlPo)

How do you define success?

Being able to provide for my family, keeping busy, and enjoying the work that I do.


How do you handle rejection?

I take it in stride because it’s part of my job. I never take it personally and my feelings don’t get hurt. I have a very, very thick skin when it comes to what I write…I think it’s because I come from a journalism background, so I am used to my work being edited, reworked, or rejected. Everybody’s tastes are different…and everybody’s needs are different. I do my best to satisfy whoever I am working for…whether it’s a network, studio, publisher, producer, editor, whomever. What matters to me is knowing that I gave it my best shot, that I did a professional job, and that I delivered the work on time.


Did you always want to be a writer?

Yes. I am one of the very lucky people who can say he’s doing exactly what he dreamed of doing when he was a kid.


What inspired you to become a writer?

That’s like asking me what inspired me to breath. I just always knew it was what I wanted to do, whether it was for TV or print. But I knew I wanted to do both. I still have the “novels” I wrote when I was a kid in boxes in my garage. They are pretty funny…and cringe inducing.


What is the best thing about being one?

I get paid to do what I love. Or, as my daughter once put it, I get paid to pretend. I don’t need a factory or special equipment to do my job. Just a blank piece of paper and a pen. Or a blank computer screen and a keyboard.


What is the worst thing about being one?

The insecurity of the job, the big ups and downs. I have to prove myself every day…and the gigs get harder and harder to come by. It never gets any easier. In fact, it may be getting harder, in TV and in publishing. But I don’t think much about that. All I can do is keep writing and hope what I put out there, whether it’s books or scripts, entertains people enough to pay me for it.

Have you had any other jobs before you decided to become a writer?

Most of my jobs, at least in adulthood, had to do with writing. I put myself through school as a freelance writer, covering the entertainment industry for Newsweek, Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Starlog, and scores of other magazines. And a girlfriend of mine got me a gig writing  “letters to the editor” for Playgirl that were basically porn…but it was good practice for writing sex scenes in my novels. In high school, I worked at a bookstore, and at the local newspaper (writing articles), and for a short time, at a hardware store.


Who is your favorite author?

I don’t have one – I have dozens. Larry McMurtry, John Irving, Elmore Leonard, Charles Willeford, Harry Whittington, Elmer Kelton, Frederick Manfred, Michael Connelly, Robert B. Parker, Tom Franklin, Daniel Woodrell, Garry Disher, Don Winslow, H.A. DeRosso, Richard S. Prather, Thomas Perry…and that’s just scratching the surface.

What is one piece of advice you can give to someone who also wants to be a writer?

Write.

And if you want to write books, read lots of them.

And if you want to write for TV, watch a lot of it.

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Thanks for doing the interview Lee. I'm planning on reading "The Dead Man" series soon.