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So Willing
A young lecher embarks on a quest to bed a virgin and quickly discovers that his town’s so-called virgins are more experienced—and aggressive—than they seem A certified sex-hunter at seventeen, Vince is making the leap to that most elusive game: the maiden. With his skills, seducing a virgin would be short work but for a simple problem: he can’t find any. First there’s Betty, whom he beds before learning she has a prude’s reputation only because she restricts her affairs to men from other towns. Then there’s Rhonda, frigid until a few sips of wine send her into an all-too-familiar sexual frenzy; and Adele, a sylphlike beauty who’s far from virginal but doesn’t sleep with boys; and finally Saralee, a small-town beauty queen who drags him to the big city, determined to love him until he collapses from exhaustion. Seventeen might be too young to be a sex-hunter. But it’s certainly old enough to be prey. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lawrence Block, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from his personal collection, and a new afterword written by the author.
Lawrence Block (b. 1938) is a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and an internationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author. His awards include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crime Writers’ Association (UK). Although he is best known for his four main mystery series, Block explored a variety of genres, including thrillers and erotica, and developed an early following as a pulp-fiction writer under a number of pseudonyms. Born in Buffalo, New York, Block has three daughters and currently lives with his wife in New York City.
- GenresFiction
135 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1960
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
760 books3,001 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 23, 2020
A little silly, a little sexy, and surprisingly sweet. If it were a movie its quaint erotica would only rate a mild-R. Maybe only 2.5 stars, but it was fun.
June 19, 2017
Long before they became two of America’s most celebrated and popular fiction authors, Donald Westlake and Lawrence Block were struggling writers of short stories and trashy pseudonymous sex novels. They struck a friendship in these niche backwaters of the New York publishing world in the late 1950’s which ultimately lasted until Don’s passing over half a century later. (Larry is thankfully still with us and continuing to craft award-winning fiction.)
Their only professional collaboration consisted of three paperback originals written under assumed names—their so-called “Hellcats and Honeygirls” trilogy:
A Girl Called Honey (1960) by “Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall”
So Willing (1960) by “Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall”
Sin Hellcat (1962) by “Andrew Shaw”
I enjoyed the first book because it transcended its sex novel roots and evolved into a decent little character-driven crime novel. Block claimed in his afterward he and Westlake never discussed the plot. It was fun watching the two authors up the ante in each alternating chapter, creating cliffhangers just to see how the other one would get out of it.
Unlike its predecessor, So Willing did not try to escape the confines of its birth. The first several chapters follow a wholly unremarkable seventeen-year old Vince as he tries unsuccessfully to find a virgin to sleep with. These chapters were occasionally amusing but never amounted to actually being funny. (Block would essentially re-write this theme 10 years later in No Score, a novel that is more humorous and has more memorable characters.)
Things improve in the middle act when Vince runs into a married nymphomaniac who involves him in a crime, convinces him to flee to New York, then deserts him penniless and desperate. For a while, the writers revive their old form, with the pattern of increasing stakes, outlandish cliffhangers, and surprising reversals of fortune.
Unfortunately, Block worms his way too quickly out of the interesting predicaments of chapter eight, then Westlake adds a mundane twist (true love!) that sends the whole thing hurling headlong towards a flat, uninspired everything-works-out-in-the-end conclusion.
Their only professional collaboration consisted of three paperback originals written under assumed names—their so-called “Hellcats and Honeygirls” trilogy:
A Girl Called Honey (1960) by “Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall”
So Willing (1960) by “Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall”
Sin Hellcat (1962) by “Andrew Shaw”
I enjoyed the first book because it transcended its sex novel roots and evolved into a decent little character-driven crime novel. Block claimed in his afterward he and Westlake never discussed the plot. It was fun watching the two authors up the ante in each alternating chapter, creating cliffhangers just to see how the other one would get out of it.
Unlike its predecessor, So Willing did not try to escape the confines of its birth. The first several chapters follow a wholly unremarkable seventeen-year old Vince as he tries unsuccessfully to find a virgin to sleep with. These chapters were occasionally amusing but never amounted to actually being funny. (Block would essentially re-write this theme 10 years later in No Score, a novel that is more humorous and has more memorable characters.)
Things improve in the middle act when Vince runs into a married nymphomaniac who involves him in a crime, convinces him to flee to New York, then deserts him penniless and desperate. For a while, the writers revive their old form, with the pattern of increasing stakes, outlandish cliffhangers, and surprising reversals of fortune.
Unfortunately, Block worms his way too quickly out of the interesting predicaments of chapter eight, then Westlake adds a mundane twist (true love!) that sends the whole thing hurling headlong towards a flat, uninspired everything-works-out-in-the-end conclusion.
i-get-the-picture
October 30, 2025Actually, didn’t read. Read the first chapter; skimmed the second chapter.
Lawrence Block and Donald Westlake, So Willing (1960), writing as Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall. And my descent into pure ‘pulp’ is now approaching its nadir….
Three novels published in 1960 were co-authored by Westlake and Block ("Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall"): A Girl Called Honey, dedicated to Westlake and Block, and So Willing, dedicated to "Nedra and Loretta", who were (at that time) Westlake and Block's wives.
Their first collaboration was described by Block thus: ‘And somewhere along the way [they were each about 24 or 25 years], we discussed the possibility of collaborating. I wrote the first chapter of A Girl Called Honey. I sent a carbon copy to Don, and he wrote chapter two and sent it to me, and we continued in that vein until the book was done. We never discussed the plot or the characters. At one point I tired of a character he’d introduced and killed him off, whereupon Don retaliated by getting my character arrested for murder’.
This book, So Willing, was their second collaboration. Sin Hellcat was their third. As to where it all is now [2010], Block added: ‘There are people out there practicing a weird form of scholarship on the crap we wrote—we, who thought of it so little.’ Anyway, Block reprinted this in 2010, shortly after Westlake’s death.
Lawrence Block and Donald Westlake, So Willing (1960), writing as Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall. And my descent into pure ‘pulp’ is now approaching its nadir….
Three novels published in 1960 were co-authored by Westlake and Block ("Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall"): A Girl Called Honey, dedicated to Westlake and Block, and So Willing, dedicated to "Nedra and Loretta", who were (at that time) Westlake and Block's wives.
Their first collaboration was described by Block thus: ‘And somewhere along the way [they were each about 24 or 25 years], we discussed the possibility of collaborating. I wrote the first chapter of A Girl Called Honey. I sent a carbon copy to Don, and he wrote chapter two and sent it to me, and we continued in that vein until the book was done. We never discussed the plot or the characters. At one point I tired of a character he’d introduced and killed him off, whereupon Don retaliated by getting my character arrested for murder’.
This book, So Willing, was their second collaboration. Sin Hellcat was their third. As to where it all is now [2010], Block added: ‘There are people out there practicing a weird form of scholarship on the crap we wrote—we, who thought of it so little.’ Anyway, Block reprinted this in 2010, shortly after Westlake’s death.
Want to read
October 21, 2020The following non-review is going into a time machine to be read by Future!Pooks when she looks at this title on her list and wants to know wtf?
I just added this book to my want to read list. Why?
Lawrence Block/Donald E Westlake erotica? I recall him saying he wrote it back in the day but had forgotten! This has to be hilarious. Along with, presumably, erotic.
I have to check this out.
I just added this book to my want to read list. Why?
Lawrence Block/Donald E Westlake erotica? I recall him saying he wrote it back in the day but had forgotten! This has to be hilarious. Along with, presumably, erotic.
I have to check this out.
February 24, 2015
A coming of age novel. Waste of time. Loved Block's Burglar series, but not this one.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews