Action Pulp!

January 28, 2026

By Adam Messer

Eliot Kleinberg writes pulp fiction and historical novels based on Florida and its people.

Please introduce yourself.

I’m Florida native Eliot Kleinberg. Hypocrite’s Row, the first novel in my “Adventures of Nate Moran” series about the Roaring Twenties Miami police detective, launches in February 2026. I also wrote the Civil War historical novel Peace Riverand the two original “Weird Florida” books. I spent nearly a half-century as a radio, TV, and newspaper reporter. At The Palm Beach Post, I produced two Florida history columns. I wrote fourteen books — and co-wrote or contributed to several more — all of them about Florida.

What genres do you write and why?

All my early books were non-fiction. When I retired from the newspaper at the end of 2020, I decided to finally have fun and do historical fiction. Pretty much every storyline or event in my historical novels is inspired by, based on, or flat-out stolen from actual events; events I’d written about for the newspaper or my books. I love the idea of creating plot lines and characters overlayed on actual events.

What is your earliest memory of reading?

My mother says I read at age three. Naturally, I was heavily influenced by my dad, who wrote for and later ran Miami’s afternoon newspaper. My mother also steered me early on. We had an uncle who worked for Scholastic Books, and once or twice a year a big box arrived, packed with books. I devoured them.

When did you know you wanted to write? How did it happen?

I wrote for the junior high and high school papers. At the University of Florida, I thought maybe I wanted to be a lawyer. I did journalism as my undergrad major. And realized I really liked writing. And the high I got when people told me something I wrote moved them.

What’s one of your favorite scenes in one of your books?

Hoo, boy. That’s really tough. It’s like asking me to pick my favorite child. I guess like many, I am a sucker for moments of redemption and reconciliation. Moments that absolutely do not work unless everything in the book culminates in that moment. Such as the end of Peace River.

What makes a good character? A bad one?

Being new at fiction, I had to fall back on what it was that made the people I wrote news stories about stand out. Some people were memorable the minute you met them. It sounds like a cop-out, but it’s like what the judge said about pornography: “I can’t specifically define it, but I know it when I see it.” Both good and bad characters need to be complex. Not purely good or bad. In other words, human.

What moves the story for you?

While actual events form the framework for my stories, I mostly am a “pantser” (writing by the seat of my pants rather than with an outline.) Once, a friend said, “A character will do something you didn’t expect.” I said, “That’s ridiculous. I’m writing it!” The friend said, “Trust me. It will happen.” And it did. In Peace River, the main female character found herself in a jam. Suddenly I realized she was going to do something. It just came to me. It floored me.

What is your favorite book and why?Again, you’re asking me to choose my babies. Naturally, I am drawn to any books by great Florida authors. Hemingway, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, John D. MacDonald. Any of the South Florida gang – Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry, Les Standiford, Randy Wayne White, et al. If you put me on the spot, I’d say my favorite book is anything written by Howard Kleinberg. People would say, “Wasn’t your dad also a writer?” I’d say, “No. I am also a writer.”

What do you want to say to your audience?

I am a writer who deliberately pigeonholed myself. I write about Florida. That’s what I know. And – if I can say this — it’s what I am better at it than anyone who doesn’t live here and hasn’t spent a career writing about the place. Just as I never would presume to write about, say, New England. Also, I want people to see that Florida is more than Disney World and beaches and billboards.

What advice do you have for new writers?

Here’s my secret to good writing. It’s not much of a secret. Write, write, write, write, write. Read what someone else wrote. Then write some more. Avoid fact errors and clichés. Follow rules of grammar. And write as tight as you dare while still being true to your craft. And write for love. If I wanted to write just for money, I’d write phone books.

Do you have anything else you would like to add?

I hope people keep reading books. They’re a magic door. And check me out! Website: www.ekfla.com.

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