A secret under the fountain

There’s a secret buried under the fountain at South Square Mall. What seemed like a perfect hiding spot is now causing unwanted curiosity from mall tenants and workers seeking revenge and power.

So begins the premise of the comic mystery Shopping Bagged, the debut novel from Vestavia Hills resident Maury Levine. A call center manager by day and drummer for local musical theater productions by night, Levine is now an author by definition.

A trip inside Levine’s past explains how he became a self-proclaimed mall nerd looking to write a story. Levine, a Vestavia Hills High School and Birmingham-Southern College graduate, said his inspiration sprung from his early years exploring Eastwood Mall, where his father had an office.

“It was my home away from home,” Levine said. “I would spend hours there talking to people. It really was my playground.”

Four years ago, Levine’s favorite author and prolific mystery writer Donald Westlake passed away. Levine said this moment served as his catalyst to finally turn his idea about a shopping center mystery into a reality.

“After he died, I decided to take my silly mall idea and just do it,” Levine said. “The book took me a little over a year to write. I didn’t tell too many people what I was doing.”

As most writers can attest, getting the words on paper is one thing, but making the leap to published author is another challenge altogether. Levine’s story is similar to thousands of other hopefuls pounding the streets in an effort to convince publishers the next big thing is here.

“There was that long, arduous process of getting it published,” Levine said. “I went through tons of rejections. You know how that goes.”

However, unlike many others, Levine’s story has a happy ending. He was in the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest casually checking his email while his two daughters played beside him when he received a message from Black Rose Writing, a publishing company based in Texas, saying they wanted to see the full manuscript.

“It was extra exciting to have my girls there so I could tell them that daddy is getting published,” Levine said.

Black Rose Writing published Shopping Bagged in late November, and Levine describes the feeling of being published as simply “weird.” He recalls his young daughter asking him if was going to cry if no one read his book.

“If at least two people like it, that’s an accomplishment,” Levine said.

He describes the book as a humorous, lighthearted fast read. Inspired by characters and settings from his days spent at Eastwood Mall, the plot focuses on a secret hidden under the fountain at the center of the mall. Among those looking to uncover the secret are Mafia pizza cookers and revenge-seeking architects.

As for his writing future, Levine does have plans for another book, although he says he wants to wait and see how this one fares in the market. His advice for aspiring writers looking to get their feet wet in the publishing world is simply be true to yourself and your idea and have faith in the tedious process of waiting for that big moment.

 “It was so much fun for me to do it, to write every day,” Levine said. “You just have to write your own book and keep waiting for that little glimmer of hope.”

For more on Maury Levine or to purchase Shopping Bagged, visit maurylevine.wix.com/maurylevine.