Carol and I spent a little over three and a half hours having lunch with Barb and Al Collins, Bob Randisi and Marthayn Pelegrimas, and Barbara and John Lutz. The Collins' and Bob and Marthayn are old friends; we'd never met the Lutzes before. Very nice, bright, funny people, which meant they fit right in with all the storytelling and laughs that both the Collins' and Bob amd Marthayn always supply in these quarterly get-togethers.
As I told John I was glad to meet the writer I'd lifted so much from. I've virtually memorized a half dozen of his short stories over the years and taken away some vital lessons about working with the form. His novels, too, all the way back to his first one which we were lucky enough to reprint at Five Star. His current novels with Kensington are NY Times bestsellers.
There was the usual shop talk. Al's new collaboration with Mickey Spillane (an unfinished Spillane manuscript) is sensational, The Big Bang being its name. And there'll be another Quarry, one of my all-time favorite series. Bob talked about movie interest in his Rat Pack series about Vegas in the time of Sinatra; he wants to make the next book about the friendship between Wm Faulkner and A. E. Bezzerides. Severn House is doing the next two. These are among the finest books Bob has ever done.
Great time and looking forward to the next one three months from now.
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3 comments:
I'm four chapters into THE BIG BANG and it's terrific to have Mike Hammer back and in his prime. Top notch all the way.
I'm 2/3s through BIG BANG and have loved every page. Classic Hammer every step of the way.
And Wm Faulkner and A. E. Bezzerides! I'd have like to have overheard those conversations.
Sounds like a great lunch! Thanks for telling us about it!
I had the opportunity to buy John Lutz a drink at the bar at Bouchercon last year. He's a warm, friendly guy.
When I told him that the one writer I hoped to meet some day was Ed Gorman, he explained there were few opportunities for the public to meet Ed Gorman. Ed, I hope you make it out to a fan convention sometime!
John Lutz's chapter "Short and Shamus" in Writing the Private Eye Novel is great. Nightlines is my fave book of his.
RJR is a fabulous guy, too. Better people than myself can speak to his impressive accomplishments. I'll forever be grateful for his kindness to me through the PWA.
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