Hi, I wanted to say thank you for considering my stories for
the month. It's a pretty cool honor. I also want to thank Jon
for the deconstruction in 5 parts. I don't think I've ever
seen such a long analysis of my stuff. It's humbling and
enlightening, very useful to see every now and then how these
stories are viewed. Its a very strange position to be in.
From my angle I know what went into the books, what sort of
thinking and plans I had. I also have the big picture of
where I am going -- in general. And its rare and cool to have
this sort of feedback from the other side of the wall, so to
speak. In terms of my career I would say I have been very
lucky. The popularity of some of the early books has given me
a lot of freedom to do what I want. Its allowed me some
experimentation but for the most part it has allowed me to
keep my head down and write without worry. That to me is the
most valuable thing I have going. In one part of this ongoing
essay it is suggested that Harry Bosch is my bullet and I
believe that is true. If I'm going to say anything as a
writer or leave anything behind I think it will be through
Harry Bosch. This is probably why I try to weave all the
books toward Bosch. Either immediately or eventually I
connect the stories to Bosch. The whole thing is a Bosch
painting to me. But in the success of a series there lies
many traps. I think some of the comments on this discussion
show this. Any deviation from the comfort of the series can
be viewed cynically. A book like Chasing the Dime is seen as
cashing in on my name. Whereas to me it was an experimental
effort to stretch the bounds of what I had done in the past.
It was also an fictional exploration of something that had
happened to me and therefore was very close. It was not a
glibly plotted commercial venture. In fact, I knew it would
sell less than a Bosch book but I wrote it anyway because it
was burning to be told. So this is what I mean about being on
one side of the wall and being able to put my ear to it and
hear what is said on the other side. It's fun and disarming
at the same time. There were a few comments here that were
very positive about A Darkness More Than Night. i really
appreciate these because this is one of my favorite books but
it got the poorest reviews when it was published. Perhaps now
that it sits in the middle of the series it fits better. I
don't know. But thanks for the positive comments. I am not
sure what my role is here but I will hang around till the end
of the month and will try to comment or answer questions if
there are any posed to me. Once again thanks for putting me
in the middle of discussions about so many of my heroes --
from Cain and Chandler to Willeford to Estleman and on.
--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, BaxDeal@... wrote:
>
> Connelly has written 3 more Harry Bosch novels since
restoring the character
> to the LAPD. now a member of the elite Open/Unsolved
Unit, the detective
> pursues his mission of speaking for the dead, for
making "everyone count, or no
> one counts" with the renewed zeal of the
rested
>
> if Bosch's philosophy of love "you only get one
bullet" is true of authors,
> Harry Bosch is most certainly Michael Connelly's
bullet. THE CLOSERS and ECHO
> PARK are representative of the Bosch tradition, as
good as any written in the
> author's early period. notable for the fact that
while thematically similar
> to the series as a whole, each turn never feels as
if Connelly is simply
> retracing his steps
>
> the most recent work, THE OVERLOOK is different in
that it seems to unfold in
> real time. the urgent story involving terrorism and
Homeland Security
> continues Connelly's practice of utilizing
characters introduced in other works,
> reuniting Bosch with FBI agent Rachel Walling from
The Poet, who he became
> involved with in The Narrows. The Overlook also
differs from the earlier Bosch
> novels in that it was created as a serial for The
New York Times Sunday
> Magazine. the author then added new material to the
story in expanding it to novel
> form
>
> even though reading The Overlook is akin to watching
an episode of "24", it
> is still at its essence, a Harry Bosch mystery. two
books earlier however,
> between publication of The Closers and Echo Park,
Connelly broke new ground,
> stepping into the realm of the legal thriller with
THE LINCOLN LAWYER
>
> written in the first person from the point of view
of mercenary defense
> attorney Mickey Haller, the title refers to the
character's use of his rotating
> fleet of vehicles as his mobile office as he motors
to the various courthouses
> scattered across Los Angeles county. Haller's motto:
"don't do the crime if
> you can't pay for my time"
>
> the story is populated with characters with colorful
nicknames, as is the
> author's propensity. a biker client named Casey is
known in his greasy circle
> as Hard Case. Haller's first ex-wife Maggie
McPherson, a prosecuting
> attorney, is called Maggie McFierce over on Haller's
side of the bench, and guilts him
> into spending more time with their 5 year old
daughter. Haller also employs
> his second ex-wife Lorna Taylor as his case manager,
has a former client
> chauffering him around to work off his legal bills
and lives life at a mobile,
> plugged-in, 21st century pace
>
> Connelly brings his well-honed plotting skills and
emotional depth along for
> the ride, and writes about the subtle gamesman and
powerplays of the
> criminal defense system with the veracity of an
actual practitioner. in the morally
> compromised Mickey Haller, he has created a
character every bit as vivid and
> compelling as the haunted Harry Bosch
>
> after 13 installments spaced across 16 years.
neither Bosch nor Connelly have
> demonstrated any signs of slowing down. the
character however, ages in real
> time. and in The Black Ice, Harry Bosch's year of
birth is pegged as 1950,
> making Harry Bosch either 57 or 58 years old today,
so mission or no, time is
> running out on the character. in an interview back
in 1999, the author
> expressed the hope that he had another half dozen
Bosch novels in him. in the
> Georgie Lewis interview in 2002, he expressed a
similar sentiment
>
> that was five books ago. could the end possibly be
in sight? six years
> younger than Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly exhibits
no signs of slowing down
>
> his next book, THE BRASS VERDICT, due in October,
teams Harry Bosch with
> Mickey Haller. in addition to the case, the two men
have something in common
>
> Mickey's mother was the second wife of the late
celebrity attorney, J.
> Michael Haller
>
> in his second novel, The Black Ice, Connelly
revealed that Bosch's prostitute
> mother Marjorie Lowe was J. Michael's client and
lover
>
> John Lau
>
>
>
>
>
> **************
> It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL
Money &
> Finance.
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>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
removed]
>
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