A New Segment

Seeing as how this blog is all about books, interviews with writers, movies about writers and the like, I figured I'd try out a new segment on here to give me more things to talk about and to get opinions on the subject.

Whenever I would read a book, I would get a crystal clear vision of how the book would look if it were a movie inside my head. But, as with most cases, the movie compared with the book just doesn't rack up. Whether it was a flaw in the director's plan or the screenwriters I guess we'll never know. But there is one thing we can be sure of: Is the original concept still there?

It takes a lot of guts to think anyone could capture the tone of a novel and translate it to the big screen. But it takes even bigger guts for an author to give them the go ahead to do so. If some big Hollywood types showed up to your house and asked if they could make a movie about your book...would you do it?

Micheal Connelly said that once you take the money, you're allowing them to do anything to your idea, even if the idea is not even a shadow of it's former self. But, publicity is still publicity, isn't it?

When asked what he thought about Hollywood ruining his novel Jumper, Steven Gould pointed to his bookshelf and remarked, "Take a look. They're not ruined. They're still up on the shelves."

We'll find out one way or another while we take a dip into the comparison of book and movie.

The new segment is called: The Adaptation Station.

I have five books lined up right now that I'm in the middle of reading but I am also open to requests.

Any takers???

Some Light Reading

In these dire economic times, there are many truths that 8 years ago seemed impossible: People are buying less stuff, Walmart seems to be getting bigger and everything, including books, even by today's standards, are grossly overpriced. But there are loopholes to readers like you and me who have felt the pinch as well.

Just today, I was dropping off a whole box full of my books (stuff I've read as a kid mixed with some current stuff) to my nearest Goodwill Store. It felt good donating them.

While I was in there I figured on combing through the lost treasures to see what I could find. They had seven large bookshelves filled with donated books. I started tilting my head to the side, the way I usually do, reading the titles in my head. There were a lot of old books. Books I never knew existed. The lost pages.

Among them I found The Brethren (Hardcover) by John Grisham, which I was planning to read. It's about three judges who run a mail scam for money from prison. I also found The Poet (Paperback) by Michael Connelly. Another book I planned to read (and whose author I have met. Oh yeah. Feel jealous!) when time permitted. This book also stars Jack McEvoy, from The Scarecrow, who tracks a serial killer who leaves little quotes from the works of Edgar Allen Poe.

I check inside the book. Let's see. An Intro from Stephen King, he likes the book. Let's see the first few lines.

"Death is my beat. I make my living from it. I forge my professional relationship on it. I treat it with the passion and precision of an undertaker — somber and sympathetic about it when I'm with the bereaved, a skilled craftsman with it when I'm alone."

Oh yeah, I'm picking this one up.

There was one more lost treasure; a Hardcover book from an author named Paul Gallico. The book was called Too Many Ghosts.

I looked at the two books in my hand, then eyed the book on the shelf, appreciatively.

Well, you can never have too many ghosts, I thought to myself. Smiling, I brought the three books up to the cashier.


Now, here's where the light reading bit comes in. If I were to go to a bookstore and pay for these exact books the receipt would look a bit like this:


The Brethren (HC) $30.00
The Poet (PB) $14.95
Too Many Ghosts (HC) $ 2.99

You won't find Too Many Ghosts in stores. It's out of print but I was able to find it listed on amazon for that price above.

All totaled, I would've spent $46.99

And that's without the tax.

Even with amazon, you may find that the books have their price knocked off by 4 or 5 bucks if you want them new. But with the shipping, oh, big surprise, it's 4 or 5 bucks.

With the same books I purchased today, in pretty good condition, mind you, I got a fair deal I would say.

All totaled, I spent $1.58

Now that is what I call 'Light Reading'.

A crowded Connelly, packed with Pelecanos

The title for this post may seem like something out of an Italian recipe book, but I assure you, the readers, that this was the biggest turnout I've seen at a book signing event.

I arrived at the Borders on State St once again. It was noon and there were already people filling up the chairs and a post or two for a signing line. A woman was walking around, crouched low, with multicolored post-it's asking if anyone wanted their signature personalized. I just wanted to Roberto Scarlato. Many people had Hardcovers, which only reminded me of how cheap I must've looked.

While rearranging my books, days earlier, I found a copy of Michael Connelly's The Closers, figured I could get it signed and save myself some money. Then, when entering the store today, I went on a search to find one George Pelacanos book. I read the backs of Hard Revolution and Hell to Pay but instead got a paperback copy of The Night Gardner, which I'm told is really good. I was thumbing through it while we were all waiting for them to arrive.

By 12:15, the crowd had grown over fifty. Some stood, some sat on the floor right in front of the table.

In they came at 12:24, both serious and professional.

They both sat behind the table, water at the ready, mikes lined up, ready to go. Michael was promoting his newest book The Scarecrow on the left while George was showing his book The Way Home on the right.

"Thanks for coming," Michael said into the mike.

A round of applause.

This was exciting. So exciting, my palms were sweating as I found I was firmly holding onto my paperbacks for dear life. This was big.

These are my heroes of the written word, I thought to myself.

I was giddy but at the same time I managed to contain it.

"Hi, I'm Michael Connelly," George says, getting a laugh from everyone including Michael.

George starts right in, "I just want to give you a bit of background for my new book. It is focused on a man who has a dark secret that he's hiding . . ."

"Louder!" I hear from behind me. "We can't hear you, but we want to!"

He checks the mike, it's on. "Sorry, I just am naturally soft-spoken. But, what I did for this novel was I did quite a bit of research in prisons and juvenile halls. And they are not what you see in the movies, these are very confined and they don't even have a window. The main character, in a way, is trying to find his way home. And I think that's what we all look for; a connection to finding our way home."

Then Michael says, "Hi. My name is Michael Connelly, I was a reporter for The Los Angeles Times and I have seen a downward spiral with newspapers. For ten years, I saw the changes and the social revolution it was taking and I decided early on to write. My latest book, The Scarecrow, is what I would call a Thriller. There's no mystery or any of that, you see the killer on page one. And it revolves around the character of Jack McEvoy, a crime reporter who is on the last two weeks of his job because they have to let him go. As he is following a lead, he becomes entangled in this web by this killer who is very knowledgeable in computer systems and Jack begins to question whether he's chasing the killer or whether the killer is chasing him. Usually, what we like to do is take questions first, makes everything go a lot smoother and we don't have to rehearse anything. So George, if you're ready, we'll start taking questions now."

For eight seconds, the room is booming with silence.

No takers? I thought. Okay, I have a hand. I'll break the ice. Might as well be the first one to get my feet wet.

I raised my hand.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering, between the both of you, how much research time do you put in writing your novels?"

George nods to Michael that he'll take the question first. "About research, what I'll do is I'll do a lot of frontward research four months before I write one word. That way I'll have a lot to back the story up with. With this novel, a lot of the research came from being a father and raising kids."

Michael says, "Yeah . . . research. I hate it. (laughter)That's where George and I differ. I like to write before anything. All I have at first is a story and I don't want to constantly be checking things or stop the flow, I constantly have to keep it moving. I can't tear myself away from the screen. Then, after everything, I'll literally fire e-mails to professionals and friends and researchers I know with questions about laws and stuff like that. Even with my e-mails, I don't like to write long e-mails all that much. I'm direct and to the point, then I'll go back and fill in what is needed."

I was impressed.

Michael goes on to say that, because of the Newspapers changing, some filing for bankruptcy, he would have to revise his draft of The Scarecrow with the changes seeing as how some companies were falling away. He laments that he hopes that the newspaper will not see it's end and that we not be forced to get our news from the net. "I like the newspapers. I hold it, I open it, I read it. I like it. Nothing will beat the big block bold headlines on the front page.That's never gonna change."

He even goes as far as putting a quote in the book of a character saying something that one of his real life friends told him while the newspapers were in jeopardy. "When the world has no more Newspapers, Corruption will rise," or something to that effect.

Several people asked questions after that. This was the first time my brain felt like an Acer computer (over the hill and ready to crash) with all the information I had to take in. In a way, I felt like a reporter. I mean, why not, right? Next time I'll bring a tape recorder.

In regards to George Pelcanos, his name may seem familiar to you because not only is he a novelist . . . but also the writer of the gripping show The Wire, now in it's 5th season.

One bystander asked what Michael Connelly thought of the movie Blood Work (saw it twice) based on his novel. "Yeah. The thing is, I know it was changed a lot from the original story but it's also a different medium. I already had my shot with the story, the filmmakers have a different way of telling it. In the end, I accepted the money. Because once you accept the money, you bought yourself into it. You agree with them. So I don't think it was bad. I accepted it. If you don't like what they do with your story, you shouldn't accept the money. Also, Clint Eastwood actually helped promote the book. While the movie was out, they made a print run where it had a picture of Clint Eastwood's steely-eyed glare. (laughter) It spent six weeks on the bestseller list and I ended up having a new swarm of readers. So I'm thankful for Blood Work."

In reference to what their favorite part of writing is, (beginning, middle or end) Michael exclaims that he loves the end of writing a novel. "It's like crawling up and roof and then rolling back down. You begin to see all the little hints and minute details come together and complete the story."

When both asked what their breaks are like:

George~ "I like to take six months off after writing a novel. It just wipes you out."
Michael~ "I take all my breaks in between."

When asked what a book tour was like:

Michael~ "Writers are usually very private people. You spend the first month of the year, promoting your book, as a public person. Then you sit back the rest of the year. To give you an idea, we were at the airport at 8am, waiting on the tarmac because of the fog here in Chicago. When you finally get to the bookstore, it's like coming to an oasis in the desert. You've done it, you're finally there. But then you wake up early and do it all over again. When I brought my ticket up to the counter, it was obvious that we had a lot of places to go, but the woman wouldn't print out my ticket. Supposedly all my trips were one way and many of them so that sent up some red flags in security. (laughter) But it's a lot to do in that one month."

When asked if Michael Connelly was working on another novel:

Michael ~ "Just finished writing Thursday."

I can only assume that the one he's referring to is Nine Dragons, a Harry Bosch novel since he writes one book a year.

After having written all these books, does writing get harder?

George~ "No, You never forget how to write a book. You just wait for the right timing as a writer to go ahead with something."

Michael~ "If you have a character you enjoy writing, it will never get hard. I love writing Harry Bosch Novels. I don't think I'll stop with him."

But Michael confesses that Harry Bosch was an amalgamation of different inspirations. It is in The Scarecrow, that he states, he can relate the most to because Jack McEvoy is very much like him. It is a very close autobiographical character that he has created of himself. "I was doing what this guy did. Back then I was a reporter by day and a writer by night."

When asked what they're favorite books are:

Michael~ "I'd say The Last Coyote. That was the first book that I wrote as a full time writer. It was just great writing it. It felt great after spending all that time with it. As a writer, you work alone. It feels great to know that your published book is out there when it was really just you writing it in a walk-in closet."

George~ "The Hard Revolution. I was waiting to write that one at just the right time and it was great really creating how the character became the way he is, what shaped him, essentially."

Coincidentally, The Hard Revolution was the first book I had a look at in the store. And the main character shares the first name as my main character in my first book! But in Hard Revolution, revolving around the Martin Luther King killing, the main character's full name is Derek Strange. Now isn't that . . . strange?

In the end, they thanked us for coming. There was a signing line which wrapped around a whole section of books. They signed, we posed for pics and I was out of there. While entering the parking structure I was transfixed by the beauty of good old Chicago, like I was seeing it with a fresh pair of eyes. It really is an inspirational city, as many authors have claimed. I drove away with the window down blasting leonard skynard's Free Bird and Lovin' Spoonful's Summer in the city.

Why can't every day be this crowded and packed with awe in Chicago?





"Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake." ~E.L. Doctorow

A Bunch of Maloney

Today marks the second author event I've ever been to. It took me about 35 minutes to get to the borders where the event was being held and another 10 to park my car in the self-park garage which was thankfully on the same block as the Borders. I have never been to this Borders on good ole State St. But, I'll be damned if it wasn't a sight to see. The place was huge. Three floors full of books!

12:00 pm.

The event was on the third floor. I had a half an hour to go before the man of the hour came in. There was already someone sitting in the row in front. I sat in the third row in the back. I usually like to stay as quiet as possible. Have to take in a lot of information and I don't like being that much of a chatter box. But It did seem like the man in front of me (carrying with him a laptop, iphone, and digital camera) was doing enough talking altogether. He made small chit-chat with the Borders employee who had to survey and prepare the scene. Then it became a longer discussion to where he said he was a big fan of Michael Malone ever since his writing days on the popular soap opera One Life to Live. Not a big fan of it, but this guy sure was. He spent the whole half hour just talking about characters and episodes he loved from when he would watch it with his mother back in the good old days.

Then he looked over at me. I was crossing my arms, staying silent, letting my eyes wander. We talked a little bit about film and stuff. He was from this new film academy called flashpoint. It opened up about a year ago and is competing with Columbia. He talked about how he was trying to convince his buddy to come with him to see Michael but I guess that guy was busy. It became apparent to me that this man, whose name I do not know, came to appreciate Mr. Malone for his writing on the soap opera rather than his career as a novelist. I came for the novelist part.

12:30 rolled around and he came strolling in, chipper and friendly. I began shifting in my chair. I was happy to see a writer but felt guilty that I hadn't read anything of his. I only did some light research online yesterday. The guy has written 14 books. I should have at least browsed through one of them. But I knew enough to come to this event where he would be talking about his latest book The Four Corners of the Sky.

After taking off his jacket he stepped in front of the table they had prepared for him. There was a mike but he didn't use it. He was more personal, came up close to his audience. There were, if I remember correctly, seven people including me.

"Y'know, I've been doing this tour for a while and I just can't get over the fact that they keep calling this book a war story. Well, it's not a war story. It's a bit of a romance story with a female heroine. " Malone confesses that he loves writing female characters. "They are rich with emotion. They are all about emotion. Ripe with it, you could say. Men are more closed off. You wouldn't read something like Mr. Bovary. Heck, Moby dick had no female characters at all. Well, I take that back. There was probably one. Probably at the beginning of the novel, she was the one waving the ship goodbye."

After just ten minutes of listening to this man, I respected him. He was a cool guy and he loved to tell us stories. Of course it was a little bit annoying how the man at the front row couldn't stop saying how much he honored the man's presence because of his writing on the show. But hey, who was I to spoil his moment?

But Mr. Malone pushed right on.

"The great thing about writing soap operas is death has no dominion. Characters die all the time but they can always be brought back. I remember one case in where I was talking to the top person for the show's continuity issues. I remember saying to him, 'I wanna write this funeral scene for John but I'm wondering if I should have Mary visit his funeral.' The man said he would look into it, came back and said, 'Oh sure, you can put it in. John has visited Mary's funeral plenty of times. He also went to seven of his own funerals.' You see, you can't kill them off. They can even pop up as angels in the show."

I know I probably butchered the names of the show characters but, forgive me, I can't remember them. And, like I said, not a big fan of the show.

He talked about how novels, in a way, are like soap operas because they are character driven and how you fall in love with the characters and want to see what happens to them next. By the same token, he listed The Wire and a few other shows that are today's soap operas.

"Man, everybody's so nice in chicago. What's the deal?"

"It stopped raining," I said.

"Man, I guess all the grouchiness is saved for the winter, huh? What a city. But, then again, I guess it is cheerful here. Got a new president, threw out a governor. Good times."

Now came the Q and A portion. Before One-life-I-live guy could shoot any questions about the show, miles away from anything associated with a printed book, I shot my hand up.

"Yes?"

"When did you write this book?" I asked.

"I wrote this book 10 years ago . . ."

Whoa, I thought. Ten years ago!

" . . . I was writing it along with several other books at the same time. I guess you can call me a nine to fiver, but not in the way that you think. I write at nine pm up until five in the morning. Because it's quiet, and I can think. And I can have my characters tell me what to write."

Michael Malone has always been interested in writing and the art of listening. The art of truly listening and not pretending to listen. He had to. As a young man, his mother was deaf so she would come to him and ask him, "Listen for me, please?" He admits that he would get insomnia at times but he would fill pages of stories, all ready for his mother.

Somewhere in the discussion, Mr. Malone talked about how he incorporated a book into the show. It became a printed book and was published with the writing credit going to Marcie Walsh, one of the actors on the show whose character was a novelist, and Michael Malone. Aha! said my brain. You have read something by him! The book was called The Killing Club, the second book up top. Well, I listened to the audiobook really, but I loved it's suspense. He said that he wrote the entire book, the actress had no part in writing it. I guess it was just more publicity for the show.

Afterwards, I came up to the table, trying to talk a little bit more.

I took some pictures and I was going to be on my way, but something was just nagging me to death. I never bought a book or got an autograph from the last author event. I didn't want to be a heel again, so I said, "I have to tell you, I really liked the Killing Club. Since I enjoyed your writing so much before, I'll tell you what, you pick the next book I read."

He looked happy, there were a few books that the employees brought up for him, his previous works. But mainly the table had about 20 or so copies of Four Corners of the Sky.

"Let's see . . . I would say . . . yes . . . Uncivil Seasons,"

Borders employee, "We don't have that one here."

Three floors full of books and you don't have it? I thought, What gives?

"Well . . . in that case. Handling Sin, definitely."

"Yes," said the woman accompanying him, who represented the publisher. "He should start that one."

"Now, I have to tell you. It's not like Killing Club," Malone says with a raised marker, giving me fair warning before he signs it.

"I don't mind, " I say. "I read the back before coming up here. I am really interested in reading it."

He signs. I show him the picture I took to get his approval of it, just in case he wants us to do it over again. "That's fine. So what do you do, Roberto?"

Deja vu.

"I'm trying to be a writer."

He beams. "Good, good. stick with it. I'm glad."

I say my goodbyes and exit, leaving him to the opera man who would give his left nut to have Michael come to his school to do a lecture.

I buy the book. At the entrance I make sure that I have everything. I look to my right and he's right there discussing something with his publisher. I don't want to have an awkward run in and another goodbye so I go the opposite way.

I'm in the Self-park garage, putting in my ticket to pay.

All of a sudden I hear, "Hello, Roberto!"

I turn and there's Micheal Malone, carrying his stuff, with his publisher. I do a double take. "Hey, mike. Y'know, I think you're following me."

He laughs. "Don't worry, we're not. I assure you."

After he pays we're both waiting for the elevator. I'm on 5. He's on 10. I push the button.

He talks a little bit more, then the doors open. He gives me one last good luck. I say, "Goodbye. Enjoy Chicago."



I guess everything connects one way or another. I was walking to my car, shaking my head at how funny the whole experience was. Thought I hadn't read him, when I really had. Thought it wasn't going to be as good as the last one, but it was fun. I thought that the whole thing would be over in ten minutes and that I would walk away only with a story to tell. What I got was not only photos, stories and an autographed copy of his choice of book, but a bunch of Maloney, you could say.

Next time: Michael Connely joined by George Pelecanos.

Same Time. Same Borders.

"Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once in that mirror which waits always before or behind." ~Catherine Drinker Bowen, Atlantic, December 1957