An Evening With Dennis Lehane

This year my friend George (from The Thirty Year Itch) and I got tickets to the Cuyahoga County Library's Writers Center Stage series. We have great seats--the middle of the third row. We're right in front of the speaker and we don't have to crane our necks to see him/her.

The October event featured Dennis Lehane and was this past Thursday. He gave an astounding presentation. If you follow the Criminal Element twitter feed, I live tweeted a lot of it, but want to share the event and some photos with you here.

For long-time blog readers, you may remember that Dennis participated in the Six-Word Memoir series and his memoir was "I owe it all to libraries." That memoir came screaming back as he began his presentation Thursday night. He said he was going to talk about the 20 reasons he is where he is today. "One through ten are...libraries," he proclaimed.

As a first grader, Dennis' teacher called his parents to tell them he liked to read. And with that motivation, his Irish-immigrant mother took him to the local branch of the Boston Public Library and got him a library card. The librarian told a young Dennis that he could borrow any of the books in the library, he just had to bring them back in two weeks. To a six-year-old boy from the wrong side of the tracks, being told that he was just as entitled to the books in his library as was the boy who was dropped off in the Bentley indicated to Dennis that he mattered.

One of the best lines of the night (and there were quite a few) was Dennis' jab at the Tea Party. He said, "By the way, Tea Partiers would consider this socialism, but we called it a library."

So after the huge importance of libraries, Lehane explained that he was not from a literary family. His parents were both Irish immigrants without a high school education. But he was from a storytelling family. His father was one of eighteen children, most of whom immigrated to the United States and all settled in the same geographic location. They were very insular, so before Dennis started school he was surrounded more by 1930s Irish culture than 1970s Boston culture. (Those Boston vowels do still pepper his dialogue, though.)

One of the characteristics of that Irish culture was that the families would all regularly get together and tell stories about Ireland. Dennis says he and his brother quickly learned that their family had a shaky relationship with "facts." The same story would be told at various times with tweaks to the events.

Unbeknownst to his mother, Dennis' father would take him to Vaughn's Tavern on Dot Avenue where everyone would sit around and tell stories as well. Here he learned three rules: #1 - TELL THE STORY! Don't go into long drawn out descriptions and set-up, just tell the story. #2 - Make it funny. Because Rule #3 is the point of the working class story is 'the man got screwed.'

So while Dennis Lehane didn't get a literary education through his youth, he did learn to tell stories. And he also learned to listen, which ultimately strengthened his gift with dialogue. His skills with the oral story tradition were evident as he entertained and awed the crowd.

Lehane also informed the audience that he had to be dedicated at a very young age. "Liking to read in working class Dorchester got you one thing--your ass beat. So if you're going to do it, you need to be dedicated." And dedicated he was. He says that in Dorchester, you didn't become a writer. You became a cop, a plumber, a fireman, but you didn't become a writer. So he knew if he returned to his hometown and wasn't a writer, he'd be tending bar at Vaughn's Tavern on Dot Avenue with customers yelling, "hey Hemingway, give me another Schlitz."

Dennis Lehane says he has No. Other. Talents. None. He tried his hand at a few other things in college and failed miserably. Telling stories is what he knows how to do. And we benefit from that in many realms. He's a novelist, a screenwriter, a play write. When asked what he prefers he said that screenwriting is easier because you're part of a team. The whole project doesn't sit on your shoulders. But, "When you write a book, you're God...it's a pain in the ass being God, but at the end of the day it's the most rewarding."

The whole event was wonderful. Lehane's stories, his enthusiasm, his gift for story-telling, it was a fantastic time. I can't encourage you enough that if you have the chance to see him, take it. You'll feel like you're sitting in the bar listening to the story-telling and mentally watching the worlds form around  you. This event was so great that now the rest of the series has a very high bar to live up to. I'll let you know how everyone does.

Happy Reading!

More from Longmire Days

One of my favorite events during Longmire Days was a session with Craig Johnson at the Johnson County Library called "So You Want to Write a Mystery." When I spoke to Craig afterward he said that he had hoped it could be more of a workshop-type event, but that didn't happen. However, it was still incredibly successful as they packed the library, possibly to the point of some fire code violations? Who knows.

Johnson County Library building

A statue outside the library that attracted my attention.

Craig arrived a little early and he informally started taking questions which set the tone for the entire session. After having attended many author events, some questions have become slightly tiring to me (who proofreads your books? who writes the copy for the dust jackets?--thank God no one asked where he gets his ideas!) but again, I attend a lot of these things and these types of questions simply don't interest me...unless of course there's some cool story to go with them. "Well, I'm glad you asked, President Obama actually proofreads my books because years ago we had a bet..." (of course Craig did not say that). And you know, you really have to give kudos to the authors who have to repeatedly discuss things like that. But....

There were great questions and great discussion in the session as well.

Craig shared with the group that when he started writing he was advised never to do three things:

1.) give your characters a pet--because then you have to take care of it. Craig said he manages a ranch, writes books and is still able to take care of all his animals, so he thought Walt aught to be able to handle one dog. His alternative was to have an armed man driving alone all over Wyoming talking to himself...it's much better he has his dog to talk to.

2.) take your characters to a new setting. Well in book three, Craig takes his characters to Philadelphia.

3.) have your characters hook up--sexual tension is o.k., but no follow through. And of course in that same book three, Craig writes his famous three-sentence sex scene.

The point of his story, though, was never let someone else tell you how to write your book. Write the story you want to tell.

For Craig (as I've heard some other writers mention) there is no "literary" and "genre" fiction. There aren't various different types of genres, but there are two categories: good writing and bad writing.  Craig aims for the good with each book he writes. Craig enjoys investigating Walt and his character and trying a new approach with each book. His aim is less to write a book than to have his reader feel like they've just walked up to the bar, taken a seat next to Walt and had him turn to them and say, "let me tell you a story." Then the reader falls into that story along with Walt.

When Craig was asked which character he most enjoys writing dialogue for, he said it is all dependent on his mood. I'll let you guess who he likes to write when he's in a foul mood...

In the realm of where do you get your ideas....Craig shared that the real-life Dorothy (from the Busy Bee) gave him the inspiration for Death Without Company. As he was battling with ideas about the book, going back and forth about motivations, she got fed up and said to him, "if you want to know why a man is the way he is, find the woman in his past." That set off all the triggers and away he went.

A popular question for Craig: "why did you choose Rainier Beer?" He says not a week goes by that he doesn't get an inquiry as to why he has Walt drink that awful beer. Craig says Walt just isn't a "microbrew, blueberry beer kinda guy." He wanted a blue-collar type beer. Budwiser and Coors didn't need any help from him, so he went in search of something that reflected the West. Ultimately he ended up with Rainier (which incidentally, was a big sponsor of the Longmire Days!).

Another question for Craig--less about writing, more about the television show--does he want to appear on the show. Craig has been asked by the staff every time he's on the set if he'd like to appear in the show and he says he isn't interested. He likened it to the scene in Field of Dreams when Moonlight Graham crosses the line and knows that life isn't ever going to be the same. Craig says he's just not "of that world." 

And that question is a great lead-in to the first guest to join the session. Robert Taylor arrived about mid-way through and the audience had plenty of questions for him as well. The ease with which Taylor and Johnson joked reflected a special connection between the novel writer and the actor that I would think is rather rare in instances like this.

Robert Taylor explained that he has read The Cold Dish but had to stop at that book. Once the show has run its course, which he hopes won't be for awhile of course, he plans to read all of the books. But allowing Craig's Walt Longmire to seep into his brain would cause problems because it isn't the same Walt that the show's writers have created. So in order to keep them separated, he refrains from reading the books...right now.

Taylor was also asked how he got into acting. His response, "I literally fell into it." Taylor originally wanted to be in the Navy and he did enlist. But when a fall on his ship put him in the hospital, he happened upon a casting call in the newspaper he was reading. He answered it and the rest is history. Of course his wide geographical resume has confused his accent quite a bit. He claims he's pretty much lost track of it after all the work in the UK, playing a drunk Irish priest, his work in the US and others.

And as if two major speakers at this session weren't enough, Hunt Baldwin, a writer and executive producer for the show, also joined in. He received an inquiry about when they were going to have Dog join the cast. To which he informed the audience that's one of the most common questions they get for the show. They'd like to add Dog, but he said don't hold your breath.

Of course, being in the real-life Durant, locals wanted to know why all the filming for the show is done in New Mexico. Essentially it comes down to money and weather. New Mexico already has sound stages and crews in place (Wyoming has none of either), there are tax credits involved and they can film in March.

Like Taylor, the writers on the show have all read The Cold Dish. Beyond that, some have read all the books, some only The Cold Dish and others somewhere in between. A lot of what determines that is the individual writer's approach to research.

Another question for Baldwin was how far ahead the staff writes. The answer: in March they are way ahead and by June they're about a day and a half ahead.

Craig doesn't envy the TV writers. Their scripts have to be 42 minutes long--not 42 minutes and 13 seconds, 42 minutes period. For Craig, that's like writing haiku. He says another drawback is that the sponsors tend to infringe on those 42 minutes. His example was Dodge. With the exception of Walt's truck, the cars on the show have all had to transition (through on scene accidents and such) to Dodge vehicles.

And of course the question of renewal came up for the television show. The three representatives explained that the hold-up is actually a battle between A&E and Warner Brothers. Each has claims to different revenues from the show. But due to its success each wants in on parts of the other's now, so the battle isn't about the popularity of the show (well, indirectly it is) but it's about the executives duking out the profit distribution (sound familiar?). 

The stars were put to work signing after the session. They had A LOT to sign!

This session was absolutely fascinating and I think I could have spent an entire day listening to Johnson and Baldwin talking about the different facets of their writing mediums and the different approaches they call for. Their humor, authenticity and candid responses made this one of the big highlights of my trip. I hope I did it some justice for you today. I'll leave you with my wonderful picture with Robert Taylor. Many thanks to a new friend, Diana, who snapped the shot for me.

If you missed my previous writings about my Longmire Days adventure, you can find my literary tour of Buffalo (a.k.a. Durant) here and my overview of the weekend for Criminal Element here. There will be a couple more articles here at the blog in the coming days.

Alafair Burke On Tour for 212

This past Saturday I drove to Oakmont, Pennsylvania - yes that would make twice in two weeks, but those folks at Mystery Lovers know how to book great authors. This time I was going to see Alafair Burke. Alafair is actually the reason I discovered Mystery Lovers in the first place. I researched the store when she was there for her Angel's Tip tour.

But, back to 212 because that is why Alafair was in Oakmont this time. And as I mentioned on Facebook, any day I have the chance to hang out with Alafair is a great day. This event was no exception.

Oakmont was actually the first stop outside of her hometown, New York, that she was making on her tour. In New York she didn't have to explain the title, but she informed the Pennsylvania audience that 212 is the original area code for Manhatten. And it's almost become a status symbol as new area codes have been added, like "old money." Titles have always been a struggle for Alafair; she finally opted for 212 because she felt this book was "the most New York-ish" of all her books to date.

I've yet to attend an event or listen to Alafair speak in any setting and not learn some new tidbit about her or her writing. One of the interesting factoids I picked up on Saturday was that the name Ellie Hatcher actually came from Alafair's mother-in-law. She started out with it as a place holder but the more she wrote, the more she started thinking of her character as Ellie Hatcher. And before she knew it her husband was having to call his mother to give her a heads up on the publication of DEAD CONNECTION.

212, like all of Alafair's books before it, originated from actual events. Sometimes those events were cases she actually worked as a deputy district attorney or from headline stories that really stuck with her. In this case, 212 was inspired by a couple different events, the first being the Neil Goldschmidt case out of Oregon, the former mayor who had a sexual relationship with a fourteen-year-old. The news stories focused mostly on Goldschmidt but Alafair's interest focused on the young girl and what happened to her as she grew up with affects of this "affair."

The other inspiration for 212 was the website Juicy Campus, which is now defunct. It was a gossip website allowing open postings on a message board. The site was divided by college campus and people could post completely anonymously. It even provided directions for people to use IP blockers to protect their identities. The site led to harassment, people having their reputations sullied, people losing jobs.

After explaining that these two stories provided the foundation for her plot, Alafair read an excerpt from 212 that introduces Megan, a character who gets caught in the intersection of these two plot influences. Here is a video of Alafair's reading:


Alafair also spoke about a personal incident that influenced 212 and that is her "stalker story." I'm going to let Alafair tell you this story in her own words, but Michael Connelly and Robert Crais fans will definitely want to pay attention to this short clip:


As Alafair was talking about all of the scary things that can and do happen on the Internet, we were also reminded that good things happen as well. Alafair met her husband on Match.com and of course part of that experience was the basis for DEAD CONNECTION. Luckily her husband wasn't a serial killer like in the book, though! Alafair's husband does work for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so don't be surprised if down the road there's an Alafair Burke novel with elements of the museum woven in.

Alafair bases her plots on actual events, but she does not research those events. Instead, once she decides that something is a possibility for a future plot, she stops reading anything about that event. She only wants that event to plant the idea; her own imagination is what nurtures and grows the idea into the full plot line.

Alafair feels that she has more liberty as a writer because she doesn't write full time. Whereas a full-time writer is dependent on his/her book selling so that the rent can be paid, so that he/she can eat, Alafair doesn't have those concerns. She has a regular income with her teaching job and so the rent is paid, the groceries are in the cupboard. But if she had the stresses of worrying about selling the next book, snagging the next contract, then she'd be far more likely to be stifled as a writer; she wouldn't be able to focus on what will make the best book but rather what does the reader want? what can marketing sell? And Alafair also points out that she enjoys her job as a law professor. She isn't trying to write her way out of that job like some others may be doing.

The inevitable question about whether Alafair's father influenced her choice to write came up. It always makes me chuckle when people say "is it in the genes?" I wonder if they really believe that or just say it for something to say. I mean, my father was a millwright by trade when I was born and if I say I got the hammer out everyone runs in fear. I've heard Alafair respond to this question many times now, and for those who have not Alafair actually pursued a career direction that took her away from fictional writing. But growing up with two parents who valued reading, valued books and were talented story tellers, Alafair learned a work ethic that was conducive to writing, and when there was a story she was ready to tell, she had the skills she needed to become a writer. Something she said this evening that I didn't recall ever hearing her say before was that her father taught her that "you don't need to be published to be a writer, you need to be writing to be a writer."

I learned about the writer Alafair Burke when I started reading her books. I fell in love with her style and characters and quite frankly, everything about her books. Through book events and interviews I was fortunate enough to meet the person, Alafair Burke, who I admire tremendously and absolutely adore. These days it is a true honor to say, "this is the writer Alafair Burke; she's also my friend." Thank you for letting me share her with you today.

A Man of Many Talents - Jo Nesbø

Thanks to the kind folks at Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, PA, I had the opportunity last Thursday to meet Scandinavian sensation, Jo Nesbø. What an amazing opportunity. So, today I'm going to share a little of that experience with you.

In the United States, Jo now has three novels out featuring his detective Harry Hole: THE REDBREAST, which I reviewed here last year, NEMESIS, and most recently THE DEVIL'S STAR. These however, are numbers three, four and five in the total series. Jo's Harry Hole bibliography actually includes nine novels total.

When Jo was introduced he said he had been writing for twelve years and that book signings are "sometimes an exercise in humiliation." I thought maybe he was having a little trouble with his English and meant to say humility, but no, he actually meant humiliation. As he went on he told us some stories about his travels. When he was in the Philippines, he was buying books in a bookstore and saw his own book, THE REDBREAST, behind the counter. He informed the cashier that he was the author and she wanted to go get her manager. Jo didn't want to hold up the line, but the cashier insisted. The manager came back and asked Jo if he could prove he was Jo Nesbø. Unfortunately he had left his ID back at the hotel, so no, he couldn't prove his identity. The manager apologized and said she couldn't give him the author discount on the books he was buying. Jo said quickly that he wasn't looking for a discount, but would she like him to sign his book? She said, "if you come back tomorrow with ID, you can sign one copy."

Jo's road to publishing was an exciting one. When he was 17 he was pretty certain that he would have a career as a professional soccer player. But when he tore ligaments in both of his knees, he was forced to come up with Plan B for his career path. Plan B turned out to be studying economics and business administration. According to Jo, when you don't know what you want to do with your life in Norway, that's what you study. In college Jo found an opportunity to join a band, playing guitar - when he knew all of two chords. After college, he moved back to Oslo and formed a different band with his brother and three professional musicians. Jo claims that the band didn't sound very good because he could still only play three chords. But they started playing at a small club where one of the musicians worked. They were hired every week because they "were so cheap." Jo told us they were so awful that they would change the name of the band every week, so the patrons would think someone else was coming in to perform. But after a year and a half of this, the band improved and some people starting asking for them to perform. But since they continually changed their name, people didn't have a way to ask for them specifically so they asked for "those guys." And that's what the band's name became - Those Guys.

Those Guys were fortunate enough to be heard by a record producer who happened by the club one night and offered them a record deal. They sold 5,000 copies, which Jo thought was incredible. The record company, not so much. But with album number 2, Those Guys found themselves a hit single and overnight success. They were suddenly being invited to play all over Norway. At the same time, Jo was working as a stock broker because he had promised his mother he wouldn't quit his day job - no matter what. So, he'd work his day job, fly out to the gigs at night, then fly back to return to work the next day. After the band's third year, when he played 180 dates, he needed a break.

Jo went to his boss at the brokerage firm and took a 6-month leave of absence; he informed the band that he would need to have an indefinite leave from touring. Then he took off to Australia with a laptop and an idea for a crime novel. Thus Harry Hole was born. While Jo was fairly certain that his first novel wouldn't be published, he was certain that writing was now something he HAD to do. His hope was that he would send the first novel off and at least get interest from a publisher who might see potential in his writing. So, he sent the manuscript off and forgot about it.

But he didn't forget about his love, his need, of writing. On the day he returned to the brokerage firm, he went into his office, turned on the computer, and before his screen finished loading with the stock indexes he walked into his boss's office and resigned. Then he went off in search of some freelance work with newspapers. He was working on this freelance work when the call came in from the publishing house; they were interested in his manuscript and wanted to meet with Jo.

However, they didn't know they were meeting with Jo because he originally submitted his manuscript under a pen name. If he was published, he wanted to be published on the merit of his work, not his star status as a musician. His fear was if they knew he was a celebrity, they would publish anything he wrote, even if it was crap. But when he walked into the meeting with five older men and they asked him why he submitted the manuscript under a pen name, he said, "because I'm Jo Nesbø." And they looked at each other and then said, "who's Jo Nesbø?" No one knew who Jo was and only one of the men had ever even heard the name of the band.

Jo read a section of his book in both English and Norwegian. Then a guest asked him if he was able to do that in all 40 languages his books had been translated in. Sadly, no he cannot. But, I am going to try to share that reading with you here. This is my first attempt at sharing an audio file; hopefully it will work correctly for you all:

Nesbo Sound Clip

Another member of the audience asked about the women in Harry's life and how they don't fair too well. Did Jo have any thoughts about that. Jo said when he looks back he notices that they tend to die and he tries not to analyze it.

Jo was asked if Henning Mankell influenced him because they have similarities in their writing styles. Jo actually didn't read his first Mankell novel until after he started writing, but attributes their similarities more to possibly sharing the same influences: the Scandinavian crime writers of the seventies, very likely.

Jo's mother was a librarian and his father a book lover. One of the first books that Jo's father read to him was LORD OF THE FLIES. Jo picked it out for two reasons: he could read enough to tell that the book was about kids on a deserted island and the cover had a pig head's on stake. Visual effect is important to the young writers of today, he believes, so television and movies have influenced him tremendously.

Jo is presently working on the third book in his children's series. The first was just released this year in the United States: DR. PROCTOR'S FART POWDER. I am so getting that for my nephew!

Jo wrapped up the event with a signing of course. I found it a little more difficult to connect with Jo because he was as shy if not moreso than me. I can follow, but I can't lead when it comes to starting conversations. I did however ask him about the first two books of the Harry Hole series and if they would be translated. It sounds like there's a good chance they will be translated at least in the U.K. And I managed to get this picture. The kind woman I sat with at the event took this for me, and I thank her kindly!

Jo is intelligent, talented and very funny. It was truly a treat to have this great opportunity. And again, thanks to Mystery Lovers. They do a fabulous job of booking wonderful crime fiction writers. Happy Reading, all!

Walter Mosley in Orlando

This past weekend was the weekend of CAMEX. I work for the National Association of College Stores and our yearly tradeshow is called CAMEX. This year the event took place in Orlando. Most of CAMEX would probably not be of much interest to you, but if you remember back to last year at this time, I wrote about the Book and Author Breakfast that is a part of CAMEX. This year was especially exciting for me because the three guests were Dwayne Betts, author of the memoir A QUESTION OF FREEDOM, Dave Isay, author of LISTENING IS AN ACT OF LOVE, and...WALTER MOSLEY!!! Yes, I typed that correctly, Walter Mosley attended our CAMEX Book and Author Breakfast this year.

I was thrilled beyond belief to have the opportunity to escort him from the hotel to the conference center. Bless his heart, he asked questions about the blog. And I happily filled him in. We also talked a little about bookstores.

All three authors had wonderful presentations for the audience. Dwayne Betts is a young man whose life was changed when he started reading in jail. He spoke about an anonymous person who slid THE BLACK POETS under his cell door when he was in isolation. Dwayne pointed out that an author requires a witness, that the author's words aren't complete until someone witnesses them. Many times it requires an intermediary to get those words to their witnesses. And someone sharing THE BLACK POETS with him was the only way he would have learned about it; that anonymous person changed his life and turned him into a witness. His statements were directed at the booksellers of course, but I also took a little away from that. I took away a sense that this hobby may make a difference to someone down the line; a difference I may never know anything about. It was encouragement for me to continue talking about books that I enjoy, books that mean a lot to me. And reinforcement that there should only be room here on the blog for the books I like. The important role is the one where I encourage a person to pick up a book; not the role where I encourage a person to avoid a book.

The next author to speak was Dave Isay. Dave Isay is the founder of a project called StoryCorps. If you listen to NPR you may know about this project as they play some of the stories on Friday mornings. The objective is to record people's stories, all people's stories, everyday people's stories. I think it is such an amazing idea. As Dave spoke I thought about all the people who should be participating in this project. It's also a reminder of something we all should be doing to save the stories of our families. He included some audio of people's recordings, including a husband and wife who had been with Martin Luther King, Jr. the night before he was assassinated. A pair of cousins who spoke about a neighbor of their grandmother's, Ms. Devine, who caught them lying. A man who related the story of his father, a chauffeur, staying up all night to teach himself algebra in order to be able to teach it to his son. Dave also played an animation of an interview done by a twelve-year-old with Asberger's Syndrome with his mother. The stories were funny and emotional and all worthy of being recorded for all time.

Walter Mosley wrapped up this year's program. He started off his presentation talking about the fact that he's uncomfortable trying to sell his book to people. It was very much his way of saying he didn't intend to stand up and try to talk people into buying his book. Instead, he shared some wonderful stories. The audience loved his stories; they loved him. He was animated, warm, funny and sincere.

Walter's first story tied back to Dwayne Betts. Dwayne had mentioned Etheridge Knight's influence on him as a poet. So Walter talked about a poetry convention he attended when he first thought he wanted to be a writer. Three poets spoke of stories that discourage Walter from wanting to pursue a life of writing, but Etheridge Knight opened Walter's heart to the possibilities of writing. Then Walter turned his story to a reference from Dave Isay's presentation, and he spoke about a story Studs Terkle told him about a young man burglarizing his home.

The Walter went on to talk about people who truly love books. These people create a world that allows people like Walter to survive and even thrive. True booksellers create an environment and an atmosphere where books can live, a place where people's lives can be changed.

And possibly my favorite part of Walter's presentation was the end when he spoke about his new series character Leonid McGill. You may have read my review of his first book, THE LONG FALL, and the second Leonid McGill novel, KNOWN TO EVIL will be released later this month. Walter sees Leonid McGill as a representation of America. For years Leonid has been on the wrong side of the law doing very bad things. Now he is trying to change, and that change is not a simple decision. We (America) have been doing wrong all over the world, doing wrong to people in prisons, elderly people, sick people...we do all kinds of things wrong, and now just a tiny bit we want to try and do things right. Walter says this is almost and impossible task and that's why he enjoys telling Leonid's story so much.

Following the presentations, the authors all held court and signed books. I was honored (and tickled pink) to assist Walter with his signing. He was convivial and personal, but still quick, allowing everyone to get their book signed. We even ran out of books.

Afterward, Walter posed for this picture with me. I'm going to have it enlarged to lifesize and hung in my living room! Just kidding. But it is a very precious prize to me.

Finally, I was afforded the opportunity to walk Walter back to his hotel. And I managed to almost get us lost twice. Mind you the hotel was across the street from the convention center! But we had a wonderful time chatting about everything from comic books to James Joyce. Then, Walter gave me a kiss! I plan to never wash my cheek again!

But seriously, he is an amazing man. He's funny and smart and generous and kind. Walter Mosley is the stuff heroes are made of. I am so incredibly honored to have had the chance to meet him and talk to him. I will treasure this day forever! Thank you for letting me share it with you.

Debut Author Thomas Kaufman

On Sunday I had the good fortune to be able to meet debut author Thomas Kaufman. He held a book event in Cleveland at Appletree Books in Cleveland.

Well, actually the event was down the street at this cool little restaurant called Nighttown. It was a very classy set-up. Tom joked that when he first came in there was a piano in the area where he would be speaking. He thought he would be able to stretch out on the piano (ala Michelle Pheiffer in the Fabulous Baker Boys) and present that way. No such luck. That would have made a great picture don't you think?

Anyway, as you'll remember since he was my guest blogger just last week, Thomas Kaufman just released DRINK THE TEA, which won the PWA/St. Martin's Best First Private Eye Novel contest (the same award presented to Les Roberts for PEPPER PIKE and Michael Koryta for TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE).

Tom has a wonderful sense of humor and after starting to read the first few pages of the book while I was there at the restaurant, I could see that his humor translates into his writing as well. He started writing DRINK THE TEA when his first child was born. It took him about two years to write the original version. He put it away and worked on some other things for awhile and then picked it back up. While working in a writer's group, someone suggested that he should submit his book to the PWA/St. Martin's Press contest, so he did and promptly forgot about it. He forgot about it until he received a call informing him that he had won the contest.

DRINK THE TEA involves the juvenile correction system and Tom explained that a lot of that was inspired by a colleague of his. His protagonist is a fan of jazz, and you can tell he shares that characteristic with Tom himself.

The first round of edits on DRINK THE TEA required Tom to cut nearly 50 pages from his manuscript because the book was too long, but he believes that made the book better ultimately. There is a sequel to DRINK THE TEA that Minotaur likes. Publication of the sequel will be determined based on sales of DRINK THE TEA. So, in other words, go out and get your copy quickly so we can ensure more to come from Tom Kaufman.

Tom spends a lot of time behind the lens of a camera. His day job is as a cinematographer. He's been very successful there as well, racking up several awards for his work. But in either realm he's telling stories. Tom said he first started writing at the age of twelve.

Tom Kaufman is a very animated, witty, inspiring presenter and I encourage you to meet him if you get the chance. I know he's in the New York area right now, will hit my friends at Mystery Lovers on Thursday then will make his way out west to L.A. and Arizona. You can see his list of events here. Definitely go if you have the chance!

An Evening With My Idol - Robert Crais

**WARNING: Long fan-girl post with a ridiculous number of pictures. Read at your own risk!**

As you know, I drove to Dayton, Ohio, Sunday for Robert Crais' event at Books & Co. I'm going to try to recap this evening for you, but I'm sure I won't come even close to illustrating the wonderfulness of this day. But, let's give it a go!

The drive to Dayton was about 3 1/2 hours. My wonderful friend Michael provided me with the L.A. REQUIEM audiobook from Recorded Books so I could listen to it while I drove. 3 1/2 hours literally FLEW by. I left early enough so that I could meet Christine for lunch beforehand, and we ate at this adorable English pub across the street from the bookstore, where I was SOOOO tempted to order Bangers and Mash...but, it isn't conducive to the diet, so I had to be content with just seeing it on the menu. Anyway, here's Christine and I at the pub.


It was fabulous to meet Christine; she's a regular here at the blog, has her own blog and I'm looking forward to meeting up with her again in San Francisco later this year.

We went across the street to Books & Co. about an hour before the event was set to begin. Wanted to get good seats and we were meeting Naomi and Carolyn at the store. Naomi and Carolyn beat us there, though and had front-row seats. We were directly behind them on the aisle, so no complaints whatsoever. While we waited, we got our Pike on:


And just a few minutes after 6, Robert Crais made his entrance! He was greeted with a standing ovation and an audience full of red arrows!



RC started off his presentation sharing some emails with the crowd. This kind of thing makes you think twice about what you might be emailing authors or other celebrities! ;) Some people aren't afraid, that's for sure. Many took issue with RC on his use of "bring" for "take" or "take" for "bring." You can see a video of RC reading these emails over at Naomi's blog.

People have named their pets after him. One woman sent RC a picture of her dog, "Crais." The owner lives in Manhattan and walks around with "Crais" the dog; everytime she sees a celebrity she runs over and forces them to have their picture taken with him. There was a picture of "Crais" the dog with Rick Springfield; a picture of "Crais" the dog with Olivia Newton John. RC thought this wouldn't be so bad, but he knows these celebrities think he's putting her up to it. Another person sent RC a picture of his/her cat sleeping on his book.


***UPDATE**** Hey everyone! I received an e-mail from Crais the Dog's owner, Penny! Guess what? Crais has a cat sibling named Harlan (yep, after Harlan Coben)! And another cat sibling named Olivia (after Olivia Newton-John). They all actually live in New Jersey, but Rick Springfield is Crais' Godfather. AND Rick drew an cartoonized picture of Crais the Dog that Penny the Mom had tattooed on her leg! Crais the dog can't claim any other celebrity pictures, though. Just Rick Springfield and Olivia Newton John. But who would complain about that? Thanks for writing Penny!

RC finds some of his mail disturbing. He received an email with the subject: "Elvis Cole's grooming." The author of this email said she dreamed Elvis hired her as his assistant, and one of her duties was doing Elvis' laundry where she found "undies with skid marks." My first thought was "why in God's name would someone send an e-mail like that?" And almost immediately after thinking that, RC says, "someone typed this up and sent it."


After the e-mail fun, RC launched into some discussion about THE FIRST RULE. This is his sixteenth book total, the 13th in Elvis Cole series. RC doesn't differentiate Joe's books from Elvis'; as far as he's concerned they are all the same series. In the last few books he's really getting into who the characters are - I would say this has been ever since L.A. REQUIEM. Joe is a very visual character and has the iconic image with sunglasses and the red arrows. The arrows suggest the true nature of his character. "Never back up; never give ground." This was the philosophy he established when he was young and needed to find a way to survive. "Control and dominate the environment to survive." If you have not read L.A. REQUIEM, first DO SO! But those who have, know that we really learn these facts about Joe in that novel.

After he spoke in general about Joe, RC gave some of the background story leading up to THE FIRST RULE and then read a couple of brief excerpts. One of those excerpts was near the beginning when Joe has snuck into Frank's house and is on the phone when the police go by outside. I love his reading for Joe. While I've enjoyed the audio books I've listened to of the Elvis series, Joe's voice never seemed exactly right to me. The readers often did a decent job with Elvis, but Joe's voice was never quite right. But I thought RC's Joe was the closest to what I imagined in my head. He was dramatic and animated as he read, and that was fun. It makes me all the more interested in getting his audiobook reading of THE FIRST RULE. If you do not know, he is the narrator for this audiobook. I am on the waiting list at my library to get it.


After his reading, RC opened the floor up for Q&A and the first question was "Does Joe Pike have a kid somewhere?" With a rather startled expression, RC looked around as though one might pop out from behind a book shelf somewhere. But his response was, "I guess you'll have to read every one of my books from now on to find out."


Another question was about future plans for Carol Starkey or John Chen. Would there be any books featuring either of these two characters. RC plays with notions for Carol Starkey, and with her now in Robbery/Homicide, he's opened the door for another feature with her, but if that happens it won't be for at least 4 to 5 books. He doesn't feel John Chen couldn't carry his own book, but he receives tons of emails saying "please let John Chen get a girlfriend."


And of course the inevitable question came out, "Will Lucy come back?" RC posed to the audience, "How many people want Lucy to come back?" He pointed out how the no's are so vehement whenever he asks that question. And then he said at an event in La Jolla someone popped up during Q&A and yelled, "Kill Lucy!" while another woman on the other side of the room jumped up and yelled "No!" A cat fight at the author event! The next, as many of you have probably heard, is another Joe Pike, and following that one is the next Elvis Cole, and Lucy will indeed appear in that book.


Another audience member asked how difficult this book was for him to write emotionally and he said it was great fun for him to write, but through some of the scenes he was "blubbering like a baby."

A woman in the audience wanted to know if RC has Joe's whole life already all mapped out and created; does he know everything there is to know about Joe? And his response is that he knows a lot, but part of the fun is making up the details along the way. The core elements he's known since the beginning, but as he delves deeper, he's making up fresh details. Along with the readers RC is learning more about the characters. Ultimately, though, he always want Joe to be enigmatic; too much Joe is not a good thing and he has to carefully walk a fine line.

Another member of the audience wanted to know if RC ever considered writing a younger Joe Pike, a novel out of sequence? And he's thought about it for both Joe and Elvis, but he doesn't have plans to do either now; as series progresses, maybe.

RC brought up that he wrote the scene of how Elvis and Joe met for THE LAST DETECTIVE, but once the plot was complete, the scene didn't fit, so it was cut (I feel its pain!). Scenes that have been cut are saved in a file for possible future use. And so something like their meeting could possibly evolve into a future plot line.

RC would love to write another Max Holman book, but there isn't one in the works at this time; he's playing with the idea of bringing Max into Elvis' world, though.

When asked what was the hardest book for him to write and what was the easiest, he replied that L.A. REQUIEM was possibly his most difficult book to write, primarily because it was so different from anything he'd ever written before. I many have mentioned this on here before because I heard him say this in an interview, but he feared L.A. REQUIEM would kill his career and be considered one of the worst books ever written. When he finished it, he told his agent if the editor didn't want to publish it, that was o.k., he just hoped they wouldn't want to end his contract. L.A. REQUIEM took RC about 14 months to write. Earlier books shorter, so in that sense those were easier; they weren't as complex as the later books. DEMOLITION ANGEL was fairly easy because once he met and started Carol, he fell in love with her and every day writing was a pleasure. DEMOLITION ANGEL was also a research-intensive book. But for him it was "like a drunk falling down stairs: once he slipped, he just rolled."

Someone who obviously never read even RC's book jacket asked if he lived in the area that he writes about. Of course, we know he's been an Angeleno for quite some time. But RC says he explores L.A. in the middle of the night because it's the only time traffic is o.k. Looks for settings during this time, always looking for new settings so he doesn't use the same ones over and over again.

This wrapped up the Q&A session, and RC took his place of honor at the signing table. He is truly one of the most generous writers when it comes to book signing. He makes an effort to talk to each person that comes up, and aside from the two book dealers at the very end, he didn't put stipulations on numbers. When he personalizes, he actually "personalizes." There isn't a set phrase to write for each book.


The highlight for me, however, was when I was standing in the vicinity of the signing table to get Christine's picture with RC. She wasn't up to the front of the line yet, but he looked up from what he was signing, looked at me and said, "I know YOU! L.A. Festival of the Book. Jen, right?" You could have knocked me over with a feather. My idol remembered ME, after meeting me once for less than five minutes. It was thrilling!


I brought RC buckeyes, and he graciously signed my books, my copy of his L.A. Times interview with Megan Abbott, as well as some special items that may make an appearance here on the blog before too long. Keep your eyes peeled.


And of course we had to get a shot of the socks!


It was a magical evening and I am still smiling from the event. Robert Crais is a great writer, he's a witty entertainer, and he's a genuinely great guy. I'm erecting his pedestal as we speak! ;)

For those who stuck it out and read this entire post, I thank you for letting me re-live this very special evening. It's one I will not ever forget. Hopefully the whole post is coherent as I'm starting to see double from looking at this screen for so long. Happy Reading!