Interview With Michael Connelly
April 2002
http://www.michaelconnelly.com

1)Let’s start with Hieronymus. How would you describe Harry Bosch?

1 I would not describe him, or, I would describe him only sparingly. I have purposely not described him in detail in the books because I want readers to sort of build their own Harry Bosch. I think if you added up all the description over the eight books he has been in it probably only amounts to a couple pages. He has dark eyes and dark hair going gray. A mustache. He is of a wiring build, his muscles taught, his skin scarred in several places. He's got blurring tattoos. He's got a stare you don't want directed at you.

2) Even though you are writing non-series books, you keep coming back to Harry Bosch. Do you plan to keep the series going for a while?

2. As long as I can. But I have to be realistic about how long he can remain interesting. I would say five more books at the max.

3) In Void Moon the main character is a woman, Cassie Black. Did it take a different mind set to write a female lead?

3. Not really. I concentrated on her the way I do with all of my characters. Just tried to make her an interesting human. Tried to make her good at her job. I thought if I started with all of that it wouldn't matter what gender she was.

4) Everybody I know who reads your books has a favorite. Which book is your favorite? And why?

4. Probably The Last Coyote. It was the first book I wrote as a full time writer and so there is a nostalgic feel to it for that reason. Also, it probably delves the deepest into the Bosch character and I would take character over plot any time.

5) The McMillan Press editions of your books look great. How did you get hooked up with Dennis?

5. Speaking of character, Dennis is just a cool hep cat character who has always kind of been around the mystery scene. I met him somewhere in LA and liked what he had done with the Charles Willeford books, so we started working together.

6) How many years were you a reporter?

6. About 14, seven in Florida and seven in L.A.

7) What made you decide to sit down and write fiction?

7. I loved reading it and wanted to do it since I was a teenager. I didn't actually sit down and try to do it until I was almost 30 and thought that I had seen enough and experienced enough to give it a try.

8) Who are some of your influences?

8. I think Raymond Chandler is the biggest influence. Also, Joseph Wambaugh because he took the crime novel inside the police department and studied it as a flawed institution so well. Along the way, Ross MacDonald and Thomas Harris were and are very important to me.

9) Are you at all surprised by the success of your work in other countries?

9. I would say I am totally surprised but it only goes to confirm--I think--the believe that these stories turn on character. It is most important. So it doesn't matter if you write about Los Angeles or London or anyplace else. If there is an interesting character you can win over a reader no matter where they are.

10) I read that they are almost done with production on Blood Work. Are you involved in it in any way?

10. Yes, Blood Work has wrapped filming and is in post production. It is scheduled to come out in August. I had little involvement and really didn't try to have any. I read the script a month before shooting began and made a few comments on what I thought was a very good script. I think those notes were incorporated and that was it. I went to the set and watched for a couple days and that was it.

11) Have you given any thought to doing more TV work?

11. I have not seriously thought about going back into TV. My real job--writing books--is too much fun and interesting.

12) What kind of things do you do to relax?

12. I like to fish and golf but don't do either very much. What is good and bad about writing is that you can just about do it any time. So when I weigh my options--golf or writing, fishing or writing, I usually pick writing.

13) Has becoming a parent changed your approach to writing?

13. I think whatever happens in a writers life comes out in the work. Having a child changed me as a person for the better and I hope some aspects of that come out in what I do. I think I write about things that deep down scare me as a parent so there is one direct response.

14) You have a wonderful website. I especially like the photos of places that appear in the books. Do you find that it’s a good tool for reaching your fans?

14. A web site is an excellent tool because it is an extra form of communication. It is also a repository for things that don't get into books or are extra. So it is great to have.

15) What’s the best thing about being a writer?

15. Doing exactly what you want to do with the freedom to do it when and where you want. You really can't beat it. You can get a tremendous amount of fulfillment when you come across people who have been touched by the characters you have created or stories you have told.

16) It seems that with the sales your books have that you don’t need to do as much touring and such as when you started, but you still do it. Do you enjoy meeting your readers?

16. I always love the moments in a book store. It is getting to that book store--the planes and early wake ups--that is proving more and more difficult for me and so I think i will likely begin to slow down in this regard.

17) What were you like as a kid? Studious, rambunctious, athletic?

17. I was an outsider, which sound almost cool and romantic now. But at the time it wasn't so great.

18) What are some of your favorite movies?

18. Chinatown, Bullitt, The French Connection, I could go on and on. Most of them are crime stories.

19) When you write, do you have set hours for it, or do you do in bursts?

19. A little bit of both. I like to get up very early and write till whenever. As I get further into a book I write more and more. I'm sort of a binge writer.

20) City of Bones should be out in stores soon, can you talk about what’s next?

20. My next book is called Chasing the Dime and it is a stand alone thriller with an everyman character who gets caught up in things over his head. It will be out in October.

21) If you could talk to a young Michael Connelly, what advice would you give him?

21. Write every day. No matter what.

22) What’s the one thing always in your refrigerator?

22. A six pack--of Coke.