Leonore Fleischer

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Leonore Fleischer (September 5, 1932 – 2009) was an American writer who specialized in novelizations of movies. She published more than 40 tie‑in novels, using several pen names as well as her own name.

Career and writing life
- In 1969, while a senior editor at Ballantine Books, she was asked to write a novelization of the biker film C.C. & Company. She used the pseudonym Mike Roote because she worried it would cause problems at work. She then wrote six novels as Roote, including Enter the Dragon.
- She also published six novels under the name Alexander Edwards and many more under other pen names before writing full‑time as herself.
- Fleischer’s writing pace was very fast. She often wrote several novelizations in a year, sometimes completing books in a few days. Early in her career, the tight deadlines and her full‑time job led to the use of amphetamines to keep up.

Impact and later work
- In the 1970s she was called the “den mother of novelizers” and “the leader of the pack.” Her tie‑in for Benji (1974, as Allison Thomas) sold over three million copies, and A Star Is Born (1976, as Alexander Edwards) sold over a million.
- She described her process openly: painting by numbers, adding background, imputed motivation, and invented gestures. She continued to write through the 1980s and 1990s, even as the popularity of film novelizations declined. Her later work included Annie, Rain Man, The Net, plus non‑fiction about Joni Mitchell and Dolly Parton, and the Hearts and Diamonds teen series.

Selected works and pen names
- As Mike Roote: C.C. & Company (1970), Born To Win (1970), Scorpio (1972), Prime Cut (1972), Badge 373 (1973), Enter the Dragon (1973)
- As Alexander Edwards: McQ (1973), The Last of Sheila (1973), A Star Is Born (1976)
- As Allison Thomas: Benji (1975)
- As Webster Carey: Walking Tall Part 2 (1975)
- As Leonore Fleischer: Funny Lady (1975), Lipstick (1976), The Lords of Flatbush (1977), Ice Castles (1978), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Running (1979), The Rose (1979), Fame (1980), Annie (1982), Making Love (1982), Breathless (1983), Staying Alive (1983), It Came upon the Midnight Clear (1984), Sweet Dreams (1985), Agnes of God (1986), Three Amigos (1987), Betrayed (1988), Sweet Hearts Dance (1988), Rain Man (1989), Flatliners (1990), The Fisher King (1991), Hero (1992), Shadowlands (1993), Junior (1994), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), Rapa Nui (1994), The Net (1995), Les Misérables (1998), 8mm (1999)

Leonore Fleischer passed away in 2009.