"There was a copy last week of one co-written by Block and
Westlake. Not signed, however."
That would be So Willing, by Sheldon Lord & Alan
Marshall. At an interview and signing I attended, Westlake
confirmed it. He laughed about it and other softcore books he
wrote, calling them "euphemism books," because you couldn't
write anything too explicit in those days. I can't attest to
whether or not he signs them, since no one had a copy for him
to sign. He did sign several non-porn pseudonymous books for
me, including several Starks, a Culver, a Clark and Comfort
Station, with its wonderful blurb, "I wish I had written this
book -- Donald E Westlake."
"There are people (including Lynn Munroe) who have done a lot
of research into Block's pen names (and Westlake's and
Silverberg's)."
I've done a little bit of research myself. I looked up Block
and Westlake in the Library of Congress Copyright Card
Catalog (actual cards, not yet computerized that far
back).
I could only find one Sheldon Lord that noted the name was a
pseudonym and named Block as true author, The Sex Shuffle,
Beacon (1964). There were numerous other Lords in the catalog
(though I've seen plenty of other Lords that are not there at
all), but none specified the name as a pseudonym, much less
giving true credit. For the record, So Willing does not note
either author's name as a pseudonym.
Other Library of Congress-confirmed pen names of Block's are
(not counting those that have since been published under his
own name, like Paul Kavanagh, for instance): John Warren
Wells (though not all books by Wells), Lesley Evans and Jill
Emerson.
Edwin West is a confirmed pseudonym of Westlake's. To show
you how inexact these files are (it's entirely voluntary
whether or not a pseudonymous author wishes to identify
himself as such and/or note his real name), several authors
of books since published under Westlake's name are not listed
as pseudonyms, including Curt Clark (Anarchaos) and Thomas J
Culver (Ex Officio, AKA Power Play); Tucker Coe and Richard
Stark are both documented pen names.
"I don't know about Westlake, but Block isn't hesitant about
signing the soft porn novels he can remember having written,
and signed copies of those books turn up on eBay fairly
often, as do signed copies of Silverberg's."
I'd heard just the opposite, that Block does not sign his
early softcore books. After my research at the LoC, I sent
him an email asking about the other Lords. In a very gracious
note, he said he would "neither confirm nor deny" what books
of that sort he had written early in his career, but maybe
when or if he wrote his memoirs.
Mark
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