Robert J. Calsyn, 65, spent more than 30 years as a psychology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. So an academic setting made sense for his first novel, "Primal Man" (iUniverse, $15.99 and as an ebook), a story involving murder, academic gender wars and Greek mythology. The Creve Coeur resident published more than 100 scientific articles but found it difficult to get a traditional agent for his novel.

Had you written fiction before? No. But I've always read mysteries.

This primal man apparently is an exhibitionist? • Primal man exposes himself to female students and throws them an index card that says, "Men are hunters, women are gatherers. Gather yourself home."

How does psychology figure in? • It helps you explore character. I was an administrator for many years. I thought writing a mystery was a more socially acceptable outlet than strangling my colleagues.