The 2012 Olympic Games get underway in London this week. Many are wondering if Michael Phelps will come close to his amazing eight-gold-medal performance in the 2008 Beijing games, especially with tough competition from his good friend, Ryan Lochte. Phelps broke the long-standing record of over three decades, seven gold medals, set by Mark Spitz in the 1972 Munich games, before that Olympiad ended in an explosion of violence and terrorism.

 One of my writers, Richard J. Foster, wrote a biography about Spitz, a personal friend, a few years ago. The book, titled Mark Spitz: The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion, was published just prior to the 2008 games, and at the time I interviewed Rich for my writers’ newsletter to learn how it all came about. What better time to repeat that interview?

I have to admit, Rich Foster threw me for a loop.

 Rich attended an experiential workshop on the “narrative hook” that I facilitated at last November’s La Jolla Writer’s Conference. At the time he had already sold his biography, Mark Spitz: The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion, to Santa Monica Press. Therefore I had to wonder why, shortly after the conference ended, Rich sought out my help with the book.

 Say what?

 Okay,  the answer is forthcoming. But first, some background.

 MS: So tell me about Richard J. Foster, Esq.

Rich Foster

RF: I am an attorney, practicing in Long Beach, California. One of my specialties is Sports Law. I have been fortunate to represent numerous professional and Olympic athletes. I have been heavily involved in the aquatic sports my entire adult life. I was President of USA Water Polo for twelve years. At present I am president of United States Aquatic Sports (the umbrella organization for swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo in the U.S.). I was a high school swimmer and water polo player and earned a scholarship to play water polo at Long Beach State University. That was thirty pounds ago.

 MS: When and where did you first meet Mark Spitz?

RF: I was the chair of the 2004 Olympic Swim Trials in Long Beach and a client called to ask if I could get tickets for a friend of his. The friend was Mark Spitz. Up to that time I didn’t know Mark, but he was one of my heroes. He and I are about the same age and I can still recall watching his seven gold medal races in 1972. I must admit that I was a little nervous making the initial phone call. I invited him to sit with me at the Swim Trials. We became good friends and I soon began to handle some legal matters for him.

 MS: Why did you decide to write the book?

RF: Mark and I were on a business trip in Italy and we had a three-hour layover in the Milan airport. Mark was telling me some anecdotes about his career and I said that I would like to read his biography. I was surprised to learn that there wasn’t one. I am a bit of a risk taker, so a couple weeks later I asked Mark if I could take a crack at it. He told me to go for it.

 MS: What happened after that?

RF: Be careful what you ask for. I had no idea what writing the book would entail. There are a lot of “how to” books, and my wife, being a former librarian, seemed to dump a new one on me every day. Well, I got incredibly lucky. I sent out proposals to about twenty publishers and in August of 2007, Santa Monica Press offered me a contract. However, I had to have the manuscript completed by January of 2008. Yikes! I had been working on the book at a leisurely pace; I only had four chapters completed. From August to January, I worked on the book every weekday at least four hours (I had to take care of my clients) and every weekend day for four to eight hours a day. I didn’t have a day off except for Christmas day and New Years Eve. I made the deadline, but not by much.

Mark Spitz today

 MS: Okay, the burning question: why come to me when you already had a book contract and a nearly completed manuscript?

RF: My wife and I attended your workshop at the conference. I found you to be interesting and upbeat. Still, I labored over whether it made sense to retain you. I wondered whether you would just be duplicating the efforts of my publisher’s editor. I decided to go for it. This was my first book and I wanted to do it right. Also, Mark is an Olympic icon and I thought that he deserved the best.

 It was a good decision. You have two traits that are valuable to writers. First, you’re an editor (some might call you an intense editor). Even though you weren’t hired to edit the manuscript, you couldn’t help yourself. Second, you are very creative and had dozens of great suggestions to make the book better. You weren’t afraid to tell me what was good and what was bad. On the way home from our meeting with you, my wife stated, “This guy is good.” I knew my decision to retain you was a good one. When I gave my publisher the final manuscript, I felt very confident; your suggestions had helped me make a good book better.

 Well, what can I say to that other than, “Thanks, Rich, it was a pleasure working with you too.” With the 2008 (now 2012) Summer Olympics coming up, what better time to read about one of the legends in Olympic history? Mark Spitz: The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion is available just about everywhere you usually buy books. Check it out!

 SWORDS & SPECTERS: my adventure fantasy novel, The Shrouded Walls of Kharith, will be available for free downloading on Amazon Kindle this Friday and Saturday, July 27^th and 28^th. This is the second book in the Ro-lan series, first published in the early ’80s. Also, just a reminder to any southern Californians: I will be joining about three dozen Oceanside authors at an event called “Write On, Oceanside!” It will take place on Saturday, July 28^th, from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m.