On the ConnellyWatch ™ front
First up, in keeping with the theme of his latest novel, THE CLOSERS, Connelly’s recent op-ed in the LA Times touches on why cold cases are just as important, if not more, as fresh ones.
On the interview front, there’s a brief Q&A conducted by the Winnipeg Sun in advance of his signing tonight at Whodunit in Winnipeg, and he recently chatted for the 3rd time with Craig McDonald about the book, his earlier crime reporting, and how much life Bosch has left in him:
McDonald: Harry ages through the series as
you noted, and he’s a bit older than you. As you age, how does it
affect your characterization of Bosch?
Connelly: I’m 48, so he’s not too far
ahead of me. Whatever is going on comes out. It’s probably most closely
associated with us both being fathers. Somebody who is a father at 25
obviously has a sense of the value of life, but I think that sense
increases as you get older. I think my feelings about having one child
and wanting to protect her, certainly some of that goes into Harry and
comes back to me.
McDonald: You’ve mentioned before perhaps
taking Bosch back in time � perhaps a novel focusing on one of his
early cases. Still something you might try?
Connelly: Yeah. To promote the book, on my
Web site there will be a short story that is about him being on the
open-unsolved unit. There’s a brief mention of it in The Closers. On
his second day on the job, he got a call to check on a woman who wasn’t
answering the phone and he and his partner found her dead. This was in
1972, his second day on the job. So in the short story, about half of
it takes place in 1972. It’s kind of like me experimenting with that.
It was fun to do. It’s Bosch in a uniform. Vietnam is a big part of his
mindset because he is just a year or so removed from it. I try to make
it very clear that this is a different Harry Bosch.
But perhaps most interesting of all is Connelly’s discussion of short stories and editing anthologies:
McDonald: You’ve edited a couple of short
story anthologies recently. What was that experience like? Was it
instructive to see drafts of other writers’ works?
Connelly: It’s not as involved as it may appear. Essentially, I’m like a guest editor. On one of them, the one with Otto Penzler (Best American Mystery Stories)
� he did the really heavy lifting, because he had something like 500
stories for the book and he knocked it down to either 50 or 80, and
from there, I knocked it down to the ones I thought were the best.
Twenty- two, or something. It’s kind of like an honorary thing and not
a whole lot of involvement.
Connelly: The Vegas one was kind of
strange, because I didn’t have to wade through all kinds of
submissions, and on that one, I’m kind of like a guest editor and
Martin Greenberg did the real editing. It’s not the type of thing where
I get back to a writer and say, “I think the story would work better if
the guy shoots this guy instead of that guy.” It’s not that kind of
editing. There were a few times where I was reading something and
thought something didn’t make sense or needed more explanation and I
would send an e-mail to Marty who would then contact the writer, so I
don’t know if the writer ever knew it came from me or not.
McDonald: Tell me a little bit about this
story � realizing you must remain anonymous and can’t go into great
detail � in the forthcoming collection The Secret Society of Demolition Writers.
Connelly: Yeah. They even made you sign a
contract that said you won’t reveal which story you wrote for five
years. I think it’s 10 or 12 writers. Basically, we’re supposed to
write a short story that was not in the vein of what we are known for.
It doesn’t say, “By Michael Connelly.” It lists the stories and it
lists the writers, and the reader can try to figure it out or guess
from there. That’s from the reading standpoint. From the writing
standpoint, it was kind of neat because I’m a crime writer: that’s fine
and that’s what I want to be. But I like reading in many other genres
and I got a chance to write in another one.
The truth is, I think not just me, but I think
everybody will be guessable. Whether I’m writing about cops or not, I
think I have a writing style that I think will be identifiable.
McDonald: Any other short stories coming up?
Connelly: There are some ideas. The way
these things work, is somebody gets an idea and shops it: “Are you in
if I can get a deal?” So there’s a few things I’m in on, but I haven’t
heard if they’ve been able to sell them to publishers. I do know The
Mystery Writers of America have a three-book anthology deal. The one
that comes out this year is edited by Harlan Coben, and the one that
comes out next year, I will edit. The theme will be called “With A
Badge,” so all the crime stories will be about cops.
THE SECRET SOCIETY OF DEMOLITION WRITERS sounds like a great concept…I hope the execution is as good as the premise. The book will be out in a few weeks and the launch party will take place at B&N Union Square on June 21.
(first link courtesy KVD)