Current Affairs

Left Coast Crime 5

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This post started as an email to the DorothyL list and, mid-way through, I realized I was really writing a blog entry.  So I sent what I had to the list and came back here to finish it up.

The El Paso LCC was a terrific convention… well organized and lots of fun. Like the Doubletree in Monterey last year, The Camino Real was a pleasant, open, and bright venue with a floor-plan that encouraged people to hang out and chat. There were many large and small gatherings, day and night,
throughout the lobby, bar, and convention floor. The pleasant, warm atmosphere of the hotel, and the convention itself, was especially appreciated considering how unappealing the city itself was. 
(El Paso is a hell hole)

All the authors I spoke to enjoyed the convention as much as I did. It was unlike any LCC I’ve been to before… perhaps because the authors appeared to  outnumber the fans, aspiring writers, and booksellers. As a result, the LCC had  the feel of a "professional" gathering…with authors having the opportunity to spend more time with one another than usual at these events. That’s not to say
fans were excluded… far from it. I think the fans there got to spend more time with individual authors than ever before. But I think author/attendee ratio gave the conference an entirely different vibe than past ones. It felt very collegial, very casual, without the sense that anybody was really there to
"sell" themselves and their work. It felt to me more like a very long party than
the promotional and networking opportunity, which is how too many authors treat these events.

I was struck, as I have been many times in the past, by how friendly, supportive, and open the mystery writing community is… particularly the authors, who could easily be snobbish, egotistical, and intimidating. Coming from TV, where there is so much ego, competitiveness, and back-stabbing among writers, the overwhelming kindness and congeniality of the authors is truly  refreshing and, at the risk of sounding maudlin, heartwarming.  Bestselling authors are as open and approachable as the first-time authors proudly clutching the ARCs of their  soon-to-be-published paperbacks. 

This convention, more than any other I’ve been too, gave me the chance to spend time with authors and fans alike. Even the panels I attended seemed to have a more casual, easy-going, light-hearted quality about them.

I credit the organizers for a lot of this… but also the authors, who came not to sell books, but to enjoy the company of  their friends… and to make new ones.

Left Coast Crime 4

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I just got back to L.A. tonight… I’m sure you’ll be seeing a bunch of new posts after I unpack, read my mail, and catch up on the trades. In the mean time, here are some photos from the Left Coast Crime  conference… with more photos to come.  You can click on the pictures for a larger images. Joelleevictor

Up first are Joel Goldman, myself, and Victor Gischler at the big, mass signing on Friday night…just a few hours before Joel and Victor hit the dance floor. The next photo is me with Chicago Sun Times critic (and frequent commentor here)  Montgomerylee_1David Montgomery, who  left with a suitcase full of ARCs.  Criderleejpg That’s the multi-talented Bill Crider with his arm around me… and hey, look, Morrellleethere’s me with author David Morrell, co-president of the International Thriller Writers,  plotting world domination.Img_0568 Finally, here’s a big group photo of  the mob of us going to dinner on Wednesday night…I’m the guy you don’t see taking the picture. The folks are Nan Lyle, Mrs. Bob Levinson, Mr. Bob Levinson, Harley Jane Kozak,  Joel Goldman, Twist Phelan,  Dr. Doug Lyle and Dan Hale.

Left Coast Crime 3

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The Left Coast Crime convention wrapped up today and it was one of the best I’ve ever attended… despite how unappealing the host city was (how can anyone live in El Paso? They must spend all their waking hours imagining the day they can leave).

For me, the highlight of the convention was all the authors I met for the first time (or those I only knew slightly before)  and had the opportunity to get to know over drinks in the bar, long dinners, or across a poker table… like Reed Coleman, David Morrell, Barry Eisler, Carl Brookins, Jim Born, David Ellis, Suzanne Frankel, Charlaine Harris, Joan Hess, Kirk Russell, John Billheimer, Jim Fusilli, Harry Hunsicker  and J.A. Konrath (who moderated perhaps the most unusual, and entertaining, panel I’ve ever been on. You’ll just have to buy the tape to find out for yourself). In fact, I met so many people, and had such a wonderful time talking to them, it’s hard to keep track of them all.

Every night I had dinner with a different group of authors (usually at the pricey, but delicious, Cafe Central across the street from the hotel) and learned so much about the craft of writing, the state of the publishing industry, and the intricacies of promotion…we talked about other things, of course, but those conversations about what we do were invaluable to me.

I also got lured into the nightly poker game with Parnell Hall, Bill Fitzhugh, SJ Rozan, Gary Phillips and others… and although I’m certain I embarrassed myself with my inexperience (I haven’t played in 20 years), I had great fun and appreciated their patience with me. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning doing anything besides writing…

And I don’t think I will ever forget watching Victor Gischler’s smooth moves on the disco floor, where he taught El Pasoans the true meaning of boogie with Gary Phillips, Reed Coleman, Suzanne Frankel and Meg Chittenden, among others…

Perhaps when I’ve had some time to reflect on the weekend I’ll have something more to say than all this name-dropping and gushing…

Left Coast Crime 2

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It’s mid-day Friday at Left Coast Crime… and it’s shaping up to be another lively day at the conference. There was a interesting, and very funny, panel on mystery reviewing moderated by Steve Brewer and featuring David Montgomery and Carl Brookins. I had to leave mid-way through to do a panel of my own — Why Would Anyone Want to Read a TV Show? — and had a lot of fun telling stories about TV. I sat in on Lewis Perdue’s talk about what happens when events in your novels come true… and caught up again with David Montgomery and Nathan Walpow to talk about the reviewing biz and small press publishing. Then it was off to the book room, where I tried to avoid buying by chatting with Victor Gishler and Denise Hamilton about balancing family and writing committments. I just finished a nice, long lunch with Bill Crider, Charlaine Harris,  Bob Levinson and Walter Satterthwait, talking about ghost writing, panels we’ll never forget, and other stories from the writing life.

It’s already been a pretty full day… and it’s only 1:15. I’m on a panel coming up on funny things that have happened at book signings… sadly, I have LOTS of stories I can tell…

Left Coast Crime

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Howdy from El Paso, the ugliest city I have ever been too…which is all the more reason to stay in the Camino Real hotel and hang out with all the authors who are here (who seem to outnumber the fans). Not much to report… I haven’t been to a single panel yet, but I’ve spent a lot of time catching up and talking shop with my friends.

I had a terrific dinner at Cafe Central on Wednesday night with authors Joel Goldman, Twist Phelan, Harley Jane Kozak, Doug Lyle, Bob Levinson, Reed Coleman, Dan Hale, Kirk Russell and a number of others… sharing funny anecotes and horror stories.

I started my day Thursday tooling around El Paso with Joel… and discovering there wasn’t much to see. We were back at the hotel by noon, just in time for the opening of the book room, where I spent too much money buying vintage paperbacks by Vin Packer, Dan J. Marlowe, and Bart Spicer. I caught up with my friends (Bill Crider, Victor Gishler, Barry Eisler, Zoe Sharp, Meg Chittenden, and David Montgomery) and made some new ones, like Walter Satterthwait and Carl Brookins. 

Walter and I had a thoroughly enjoyable lunch under the Tiffany glass dome in the Camino Royale bar, discussing writing, our experiences at St. Martins,  and some forgotten authors from the 50s and 60s.  Later, Carl and I sat for quite a while in the bar, talking about publishing, the TV business, and the late, great Harry Whittington.

After the early evening reception at the El Paso Museum of Art, it was off to a BBQ joint in New Mexico (about 11 miles away) with SJ Rozan, Denise Hamilton, Jim Born, Doug, Joel, Kirk, and Reed where the lively discussion included the pluses-and-minuses of outlining, the insecurities we share about writing, and the best way to integrate "clues" into our narrative. 

I always leave these dinners so energized… the sense of community among mystery writers is really unique and truly helpful. It’s such a relief to know that all the obstacles and set-backs I experience are shared by other writers, too!

Tomorrow morning I have two panels…one on writing tie-ins, another on funny experiences at book-signings. It should be fun.

Big Deals For TV Scribes

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Lots of good news for TV writer/producers today…

Former LAW & ORDER producer Barry Schindel has signed a multi-year pact with Paramount that includes taking over as the showrunner on NUMBERS.

THE SHIELD creator/producer Shawn Ryan has signed a three-year deal with Fox that will net him "the high seven figures."

Production is about to begin on "Locked and Loaded," the feature starring 50 Cent that was written by my buddy Terence Winter and directed by Jim Sheridan.  Terry wrote some of the best-loved, and most honored, episodes of THE SOPRANOS…proving that having THE NEW ADVENTURES OF FLIPPER on your resume isn’t necessarily a career-killer… which is a big relief for yours-truly.

And Ben Affleck is in talks to play actor George Reeves in "Truth Justice and the American Way," a movie written as a spec by my buddy Paul Bernbaum (who once owned the original Superman suit and displayed it in a glass case in his living room).  Adrien Brody and Diane Lane also star. Paul and I worked together on LIKELY SUSPECTS and MARTIAL LAW… proving that having those two shows in your past won’t stop you from enjoying success in feature films… which is also a big relief to yours truly.

The Artful Writer

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Thanks to John August, I discovered Craig Mazin’s The Artful Writer, one of the most interesting and fearless blogs around about the business of screenwriting…or, more accurately, the issues being discussed among the various factions of the Writers Guild of America. While I don’t always agree with the views expressed on the site, I am enjoying the lively debates… and learning some things along the way.

In recent days, they’ve tackled the influence of rarely-employed members on Guild policy,  the pros and cons of listing all contributing writers in movie credits, and the conflict between WGAw and WGAe.

If you’re a member of the WGA, or curious about the issues facing professional screenwriters, I urge you to check out the site.

A Writer’s Life

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This weekend was a good example of what life is like for a professional writer:

  • I wrote an article about writing DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE WAKING NIGHTMARE for MJ Rose’s excellent Backstory blog.
  • I traveled to San Francisco to speak at a writers conference.
  • I  proofed the copyedited manuscript for my fifth DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel, which has to arrive in NY no later than Feb. 23.
  • I proofed the galleys for my novel THE MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE, which have to arrive on my editor’s desk no later than Feb. 23.
  • I revised the manuscript for my sixth DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel, which is due March 1, but that I need to finish by Feb 22, so I can stick it in the FedEx packet with the copyedited manuscript for DM #5… because I am leaving on Wednesday to attend & speak at Left Coast Crime in El Paso.
  • I drove back to L.A. from S.F…and thought about the plot for my seventh DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel.  I made  some notes when I stopped for lunch.
  • I posted some articles on my blog.
  • I wrote some notes for a network pitch meeting that’s set for Tuesday.

And this was a light weekend… I didn’t have to write a script or write a chapter in a book.

The Morons of the World Have a New King

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While I was up in the Bay Area, I clipped this story from the San Francisco Chronicle:

Jonathan Fish, a 20-year-old San Francisco resident, was cruising across the upper deck
of the Bay Bridge at 10:40 a.m., smoking a cigarette. When he got near the
Harrison Street off-ramp, he rolled down the window of his white 2004 Ford
Expedition SUV and tossed out the butt, authorities said.

Instead of bounding along the pavement, however, the still-lit cigarette
blew back in and set the interior of Fish’s $30,000 SUV ablaze.  Black smoke filled the vehicle. Fish pulled over to the far left-hand
lane about 100 feet from the Harrison Street exit and leaped from the
Expedition  —  leaving the SUV in neutral instead of park.  The flaming Expedition rolled driverless into a guardrail by the exit,
where it crashed to a stop and burned to the frame.

California Highway Patrol officers and fire crews arrived and closed the
off-ramp until 11:45 a.m., tying up traffic all the way back to the toll plaza.
Fish had his hair singed but was otherwise unharmed.

The guy is being charged with littering… and criminal stupidity.