Los Angeles Times Bestselling Author Stephen Jay Schwartz spent a number of years as the Director of Development for Wolfgang Petersen where he worked with writers, producers and studio executives to develop screenplays for production. Among the film projects he helped developed are Air Force One, Outbreak and Bicentennial Man.
His two novels, Boulevard and Beat, follow the dysfunctional journey of LAPD Robbery-Homicide detective Hayden Glass as he fights crime while struggling with his own sex-addiction. The series has been optioned by Ben Silverman (producer of The Office, Ugly Betty, and The Tudors) for development as a television series.
Stephen recently finished writing Grinder, a 3D action-thriller for HyperEmotive Films and Venture3D at Sony Studios. He was also recently a judge in the Best Novel category for the 2012 Edgar Awards and the head judge in the short story category of the ITW Awards.
Stephen is currently writing a third book in the Hayden Glass series.
Stephen Jay Schwartz lives in Southern California with his wife and two children and can be found at his website, www.stephenjayschwartz.com
PRAISE FOR BOULEVARD:
“Schwartz is skillful at rendering charcoal-sketch views of the darker corners of Sunset Boulevard, and he dazzles the reader with intermittent flashes of a poetic sensibility…A book full of merit, by an author loaded with talent.”
Los Angeles Times
“Boulevard is raw, twisted, and so hard-boiled it simmers from beginning to end.”
Robert Crais, New York Times bestselling author of The First Rule
“Boulevard is terrific. Fast-paced and convincingly told. The streets of L.A. have never been meaner or seamier. Stephen Jay Schwartz’s clear vision and knowing heart make him a gifted writer to watch.”
T. Jefferson Parker, New York Times bestselling author of Iron River
“Relentless and unflinching, a shocking thriller that dares you to keep reading. Schwartz has created one of the most complex and tortured protagonists I’ve encountered in a long time. A powerful debut.”
- Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of the Rizzoli and Isles series
“Like James Ellroy, Schwartz can make the reader squirm…Schwartz does a fine job of blurring the lines between sexuality and violence, the criminal world and the police world.”
Publishers Weekly
“Schwartz hasn’t missed a trick in this gripping first novel…He skillfully develops Hayden’s flawed character, showing him to be decent, haunted, and sometimes loathsome. Most important, he artfully builds tension and suspense into horror and finishes with a stunning Grand Guignol climax. Expect much more from this talented writer.”
Booklist
“Plot twists and turns plus an unusual denouement make Schwartz an author to watch. Mystery fans who enjoy reading about the mean streets of L.A. (a la Robert Crais, Michael Connelly, T. Jefferson Parker) will devour this.”
Library Journal
“Boulevard is a mesmerizing read; Schwartz has drawn a swift, brutal and compelling portrait of a nightmare underworld of Los Angeles and a protagonist tormented by his own sexual addiction as well as by a real human evil. Boulevard is one of the most compelling books on addiction I’ve ever read, wrapped up in a gripping thriller.”
Alexandra Sokoloff, ITW Award-winning author of The Unseen.
“Dark and gritty, Schwartz’s dicey debut is seriously twisted.”
Robert Ellis, national bestselling author of The Lost Witness
“A lurid nightmare tour through dark streets and dark minds. Stephen Jay Schwartz writes with the fevered intensity of early James Ellroy.”
Marcus Sakey, author of The Amateurs
“Tightly written and wildly original, you’ll be thinking about this story long after you close the covers. Sex-addict Detective Hayden Glass is an unforgettable antihero you’ll love and hate at the same time. Stephen Jay Schwartz is going to give Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch a run for his money. Boulevard is just plain excellent.”
J.T. Ellison, bestselling author of The Immortals
“Boulevard is one of the most riveting debuts I have ever read. Stephen Schwartz has written a story that will enthrall you, haunt you, disturb you, and keep you thinking long after you’ve finished reading it. Once you begin this book you won’t be able to look away.”
Brett Battles, Barry Award winning author of Shadow of Betrayal
“Stephen Jay Schwartz is a brave and gifted author, and Boulevard is an electrifying journey into sinful delights and escalating evil. Morally sound, addictive as a speedball, and rich with insight into human frailty—this novel kept me awake and disturbed my dreams in all the right ways. Lock your doors and read it.”
Christopher Ransom, bestselling author of The Birthing House
“This may be Stephen Jay Schwartz’s first book, but you’d never know it from the writing. Or the plotting. Or the characters. Boulevard is all adrenaline, a spiraling dance of doomed souls in the best tradition of L.A. noir. The streets here are so well drawn you can almost see the heat shimmering off the asphalt and smell the exhaust as hookers, cops and addicts of various kinds do their perpetual dance. Hayden Glass is a cop with a secret, a secret that not only endangers his search for a vicious serial predator, but also brings Glass to the jolting realization that he is somehow part of the predator’s scenario. From the first scene to the dead-stop conclusion, Schwartz never lets up, and his story lifts a corner of the social fabric and peers beneath it to shine light on a part of the urban world that most of us, if we are lucky, will never be part of.”
Timothy Hallinan, bestselling author of Breathing Water
PRAISE FOR BEAT:
“Just as I thought there wasn't an original take left on the detective novel, along comes Stephen Jay Schwartz and Beat. Fast and slick, this book is a great ride!”
- Michael Connelly, New York Times bestselling author of the Harry Bosch novels
“Stephen Jay Schwartz writes with a paintbrush and expertly guides us through the gates of hell into a world where sex and violence merge into a toxic yet highly addictive alternative reality. Hayden Glass is a character we’ve not seen before, with fiendish impulses and a desperate desire to overcome his past. This is one of the most darkly sexual books I’ve ever read and I devoured it in one suspenseful sitting. Schwartz pulled me in and held me captive from beginning to end.”
--Katie Arnoldi, Los Angeles Times bestselling author of Point Dume
“Beat is an old-fashioned nail-biter that the not-too-squeamish aficionado of the hard-boiled genre will enjoy.”
-- Kirkus Reviews
“The soiled hero’s relentless interrogation of his motives for pursuing Cora will make it hard for like-minded readers to put down his odyssey unfinished.”
-- Booklist
“Glass is tough to like, impossible to admire, but relentless against insuperable odds.”
-- Publishers Weekly
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