Bookpleasures.comis delighted to welcome Richard A. Lefkowitz, author of the memoirWelcome to Fabulous Angeles—a vivid, heartfelt journey through1960s and ’70s Los Angeles, exploring music, rebellion, friendship,and coming of age during one of the most dynamic eras in Americanculture.

Richardis an attorney specializing in civil litigation of real propertycases. His writing has appeared in law reviews, newspapers, andliterary and trade journals. 

He has taught journalism, ledprofessional seminars, mentored students, and served as a judicialauthority for Southern California superior courts.

Alifelong seeker of knowledge, fulfillment, and good plain fun, Richard took a nontraditional academic path—graduating highschool in 1974, earning his English degree in 1985, completing lawschool in 1992, and finally receiving an MFA in creative writing fromthe Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa Universityin 2017.

Helives in the Los Angeles area with his wife of 33 years, twochildren, and their beloved now-grown puppy.

 His passions includerunning, hiking, playing guitar, composing songs, and celebrating allthings LA—from the Dodgers and Lakers to the city’s lastingcultural imprint.

Good day Richard and thanks for taking part in our interview.

Norm: Lookingback on your own teenage years, why did you feel compelled to tellthis story now? Was there a particular moment that made you realizeit was time to revisit and share your youth?

Richard:I’ve always wanted to tell this story, but it didn’t cometogether until I’d gained enough personal growth, perspective, andclarity to connect the dots. 

I didn’t wake up one day and decide towrite; it’s been on my mind for decades. But it took lifeexperience, maturity, and old-fashioned hard work for the stars tofinally align.

Norm:Moxie is such a vivid character. What kept you connected to Moxie,even when others, like your mother, saw him as trouble? What did hispresence unlock in you that might not have emerged otherwise?

Richard:Maybe I stayed connected to Moxie because my mother saw him astrouble. From the day we met, we shared grandiose goals: to find fun,live life to its fullest, and not waste our youth on being young. 

Wecreated our own world with our own language and our own definition ofspace-time. I soaked up courage and confidence from mylarger-than-life buddy, who unlike me was forced to fend for himselfat a young age. 

Norm:Your story highlights both rebellion and connection as keys togrowing up. How did your friendships, especially with Moxie andAimee, shape your sense of identity during those years?

Richard:My best-friend bond with Moxie altered my self-perception. 

Instead ofbuying into the propaganda I heard at home daily—my mother knewbest, I was a spoiled brat—I broke free, or so I believed. Aimeeinflated my self-esteem, but that backfired when she proved to be asimmature as me.

Norm:Aimee is portrayed with tenderness and vulnerability—how did thatyoung love impact you long-term? And what did revisiting it throughwriting teach you about emotional memory?

Richard:Like any love, it cut both ways. It instilled warmth, comfort, andsecurity but also led me into uncertainty. Years later, when Istopped to reflect and contemplate, I learned that memory isn’tmerely mental; it lives in the cells of our bodies. 

Sinking intothose stifled sensations, as a somatic exercise, became a valuableasset for recalling scenes. But it felt like a blood-letting—like Istabbed myself in the chest with a pen and spilled my guts all overthe page.

Norm:The scenes with your mother show real tension between generations.Have your views on her concerns changed now that you’re a parentyourself?

Richard:The way we raised ourkids compared to what I went through in my nuclear family might aswell have been in two alien civilizations in two different galaxies. 

Parenthood helped me realize the depth of the dysfunction in myparents’ house. I know different generations treat parentingdifferently. But my wife and I didn’t shame our kids or fill themwith guilt and hostility. 

Parenthood served as a major validation forme. It was also the greatest joy, honor, and blessing.

Norm:The memoir bursts with music—Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, B. B.King. How did a teenager like you find access to such legendarymoments? Were they planned or just wild luck?

Richard:We felt like we made our own luck. We placed ourselves in fortuitouscircumstances and seized any slight opportunity. We learned to followthe flow, trust our instincts, and watch and listen carefully. 

Youcan’t be afraid to jiggle locked doors just because the sign says“No Admittance.” In fact, that’s the door asking to be opened.Our credo was “Act like you own the place,” which I used, inpart, as a chapter title.

Norm:Was there a single show, song, or musical experience that made youfeel like your life had changed?

Richard:The Rolling Stones’five-night stand at the Fabulous Forum, July 9 through 13, 1975. Ittells you something that after fifty years, off the top of my head, Iremember the exact dates. 

During those shows, we reveled in a senseof freedom and ecstasy that we came to claim as birthrights. It setus on a supernatural trajectory to insist on being happy—no matterthe price.

Norm:Music clearly shaped your worldview—did it help you process youradolescence, or was it more of an escape?

Richard:Music actedas a life preserver, safety net, therapy session, rocket ship, andhigher power. It provided escape and confirmation and gave us theidea that maybe we weren’t such bad kids after all. 

Mostimportantly, being part of a like-minded community helped us slake aburning spiritual thirst. Even to this day, when I write or playmusic, I lose track of time, place, and space. It’s truly a giftfrom above, then, now, and always.

Norm:You write with a vivid, sensory style—phrases like “decadesdissipated like smoke above a fire pit” stick with readers. How didyou develop that voice? 

Richard:From my earlyyears, I’ve possessed a need to share thoughts on a page. Forwhatever reason, my flower didn’t bud until well past spring. 

Ittook me a lifetime to learn how to crystallize the truth and craftthis particular story. My path was circuitous, and it took arduouslabor combined with an inherent artistic sensibility. 

Norm:What was the most difficult scene or period to write about? Did anyparticular moment require you to step away and reflect more deeplybefore putting it into words?

Richard:Everything! As you know, Norm, this is a highly personal story. Ididn’t try to sugar-coat any of the scenes. 

My mission statementwas to tell the truth, the whole truth—and you know the rest. As Isaid earlier, I forced myself to inhabit the cells in my body, whichunlocked painful and pleasurable memories. 

I time-traveled into thekitchen with my mom, sat on top of the bed next to Aimee, laughed andcried until I could summon those ghosts for cross-examination. Ifigured if I didn’t feel the depth of those emotions, the readerwouldn’t either. I saw it as taking one for the team.

Norm;There’s a deep nostalgia in the book, but also honesty aboutmistakes and regrets. Was it important to you to strike that balancebetween celebration and reflection?

Richard:My job as a journalist was to present both sides objectively. My onlyagenda was to tell the truth in an entertaining way. I had to becompassionate, or I could’ve presented my family and friends in anunfair light. 

We’re all humans, full of multitudes of complexities,and the fact that it’s my story didn’t absolve me from the sacredquest for accuracy.

 I intend for this work to last far longer thanme, and I wasn’t going to compromise the work with my hurt feelingsor egotistical need to hide my dumb mistakes. 

For others to learnfrom this special time and place, they need to know exactly what thatperiod was like, without it being tainted by my own vanity. 

Norm;What do you hope readers—especially those who didn’t grow up inLA or in the ’60s/’70s—take away from your journey? And whatwould you say to the teenage version of yourself if you could?

Richard:I see myself as apop culture historian, using the art of language to assist in theevolution of humankind. It’s my heartfelt attempt to move thecentury forward a few inches. 

I’m also an anthropologist and anarcheologist, preserving artifacts for future generations. What theychoose to do with those items—if anything—is up to them. I willsay this, though: Welcome to Fabulous Angeles is my love letter toour much-maligned metropolis. 

It’sactually a blast living under the lambent light of endless summer inour angelic land of milk and honey, where seekers gather to pursuetheir dreams. 

If I could, I’d pass that sentiment to the youngerme. I’d say, “Trust your gut, follow your heart, and always staytrue to your highest calling.” \

Norm:Where can our readers find out more about you and Welcome toFabulous Angeles?

Richard:They can visit  my WEBSITE and follow me on Facebook and Instagram.Thanks.

Thanksonce again and good luck with all of your endeavors

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