A nonsmoker who consumes little alcohol, she confesses to at least one vice: "I drink two cups of coffee in the morning, sometimes more. Also not wonderfully good for you -- but I never said I was a hundred percent good." ******** WESTSIDER ISAAC ASIMOV Author of 188 books 10-29-77 In 1965, when the Science Fiction Writers of America held a national convention to vote on the best science fiction ever published in this country, they sifted through hundreds of nominations dating back to the 1920s before coming up with the winners. _Nightfall_ (1941) received the most votes for a short story and the _Foundation_ trilogy won for the best series of novels. The author of both works: Westsider Isaac Asimov. Had Asimov died 25 years ago, his fame would still be secure. But he remains more active than ever. He is, among other things, one of the most prolific authors in the world, publishing an average of one book and three or four magazine articles per month. He is sitting at an electric typewriter in his West 66th Street penthouse when the doorman informs him that two visitors have arrived. Asimov is expecting a single reporter; but he says OK, so my roommate John Cimino and I get on the elevator. We stop at the 33rd floor. Asimov, clad in his undershirt, meets us at the door, hangs up our coats, and takes us into the living room adjacent to his working area. Along one wall is a glass-enclosed bookcase containing the 188 books Asimov has written in his 40-year literary career. "This is my section of the apartment," he says. "The blinds are down because I always work by artificial light." I tell him that John has come along to ask questions about science -- Asimov is an expert in more than 20 scientific disciplines -- while I will be asking about science fiction Asimov complies, and after about 10 minutes, he opens us completely and gives each answer with enthusiasm. He has lost a little weight recently, and in fact had a mild heart attack earlier this year, but Dr. Asimov is as creative as ever -- perhaps more so. One of his latest projects is _Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine_. It first appeared on the newsstands early in 1977 and has since built up a broad readership throughout the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. "It was the idea of Joel Davis of Davis Publications," says Asimov. "He publishes _Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine_, _Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine_, and many others. He decided that science fiction was doing well and that he wanted a science fiction magazine -- something with the name of someone, like Ellery Queen. ... He asked me if I was interested. ... I wasn't really, because I had neither the time nor the inclination to edit the magazine."