It's tempting to say that Elmore
Leonard needs no introduction, but for the people who don't know he's called "Dutch,"
or don't know he's been writing for more than 60 years, or who haven't
discovered him yet--you are in for a rare treat!--we can say a few things about
"The Dickens of Detroit," "The Top Gun of Crime Writing," "The
Old Master."
Leonard was born in New Orleans on October 11, 1925, so is celebrating his 85th birthday this year. In the 1950s, he wrote western novels and short stories, and finished his first crime novel, The Big Bounce, in 1969. In 1984, La Brava was voted the best novel by the Mystery Writers of America. In 1995, Get Shorty was made into a hit movie, which further spread the word about Leonard. He's won 14 major literary awards; and his work has been made into 21 feature films, seven television movies and three TV series, including the current hit FX's Justified (starring Timothy Olyphant). He's been on the New York Times bestseller list 17 times, and with William Morrow's publication of Djibouti on October 12, 2010, that number will turn to 18 in a nanosecond.
Leonard discusses his career and his new novel in a video, and more can be found on his website and at HarperCollins's Djibouti page. You can also browse a few pages here.
We managed to get the busy author to take a few minutes from his birthday celebrations and book publicity to answer a few questions about his reading history and about writing.
On your nightstand now:
The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter.
Favorite book when you were a child:
The My Book House series, six volumes from nursery rhymes to Beowulf.
Your top five mystery/thriller authors:
Ed McBain, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, John D. MacDonald, and Michael Connelly.
Your top non-thriller authors:
Annie Proulx, Richard Price, Cormac McCarthy, Ron Hansen, Richard Bissell, Pete Dexter and Jim Harrison.
Newcomers who write in the spirit of Elmore Leonard:
Writers who copy my style generally lack my attitude.
Book you've faked reading:
The Fall of the Roman Empire.
Book you've bought for the cover:
None.
What you look for in a good book:
A spare style and the way people talk, leaving out the parts readers tend to skip.
Book that changed your life:
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. It got me reading and inspired me to write a play in the fifth grade.
Favorite line from a book:
The opening line of The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George Higgins: "Jackie Brown at twenty-six, with no expression on his face, said he could get some guns."
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
I'll pick up Hemingway's 49 Stories at any given time and read every one of them. I copied Papa's style until I realized he didn't have a sense of humor. Richard Bissell showed me to do low-key, realistic humor in dialogue.
Have you been to Djibouti?
No.
So how did you do your research?
My assistant got me everything I needed about Djibouti: stories, histories, photographs.
Many of your books have been made into films featuring a variety of stars. Who are some actors who you feel fully embody the characters you've created?
Obviously, George Clooney in Out of Sight and John Travolta in Get Shorty; Robert Forster in Jackie Brown.
Who would you cast in a feature film of Djibouti?
Samuel L. Jackson or Morgan Freeman as Xavier and Naomi Watts as Dara. That's as far as I've gotten.
You've penned more than 40 books in your career. Which mean the most to you today?
The one I'm writing now.
How does it feel to be, at 85, considered one of the hottest writers in contemporary literature? How do you stay hip? How do you pick up current language?
I've been writing the same way for almost 65 years, and I just try to stay current with what's going on. I listen, keep my eyes and ears open.
What's been the most gratifying aspect of being a writer?
Having the freedom to tell my stories my way, without anybody telling me how to write.
Some novelists slow down as they get older. Where does your energy and your inspiration to keep writing come from?
Same place it always came from. Writing is its own reward.
Photo by Dermot Cleary