Peter Jewell Heck (born September 4, 1941, in

Chestertown, Maryland Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,252 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown rose in stature when it was named one of the English col ...

) is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

and mystery

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. His books include the "

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

Mysteries"—historical

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the cl ...

s featuring the famous author as a detective—and four books in the "Phule's Company" series, in collaboration with

Robert Asprin Robert Lynn Asprin (June 28, 1946 – May 22, 2008) was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, known best for his humorous series '' MythAdventures'' and '' Phule's Company''. Background Robert Asprin was born in St. ...

, best described as "

F-Troop ''F Troop'' is a satirical American television sitcom Western about U.S. soldiers and Native Americans in the Wild West during the 1860s that originally aired for two seasons on ABC. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965, and c ...

in space". He also wrote the 36th chapter of Atlanta Nights, a book meant to ruin PublishAmerica's reputation. Heck has also been an editor at

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by A. A. Wyn, Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mystery fiction, mysteries and western (genre), westerns, and soon branched out int ...

(where he edited Lynn S. Hightower and

Robert J. Sawyer Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 24 novels published and his short fiction has appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', ''Amazing Stories'', ''On Spec'', ''Nature'', and numerous ...

, among others), and created the SF newsletter ''Xignals'' and its mystery equivalent ''Crime Times'' for the

Waldenbooks Waldenbooks, operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain, from 1995 as a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as ...

chain. He is also a regular reviewer for

Asimov's Science Fiction ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publicatio ...

and Kirkus Reviews. In 2007, Heck began working as a reporter at the Kent County News in Chestertown, MD, where he and his wife moved after a number of years in Brooklyn, NY. His work for the paper includes articles on local government and history, health, environment, and the arts; it has won several awards from the MDDC Press Association. He also plays guitar and banjo in a local band, Col. Leonard's Irregulars. In 2017, Heck and his wife became editors of The Chestertown Spy, an online newspaper.

Bibliography

Novels

;The Mark Twain Mysteries # # # # # # ; Phule's Company with

# # # #

Review columns

External links

* 1941 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers American science fiction writers Asimov's Science Fiction people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers {{US-sf-writer-stub