Lawrence Block

PAST INTERVIEW

November 2, 2001

After a three-year hiatus, Matthew Scudder, everyone's favorite aging/unliscensed private-eye/ex-cop/alcoholic, is back in HOPE TO DIE. Join Bookreporter.com's Rob Cline as he chats with Lawrence Block about his lengthy career, the movies and what's next for Scudder.

TBR: HOPE TO DIE is the 15th Scudder book. Did you anticipate writing a lengthy series when you penned the first novel, THE SINS OF THE FATHER? Have you been tempted to bring the series to a close at any point along the way?

LB: When I started out, I knew I was going to write three books, and had the sense I'd be writing about Scudder for a while --- but not for 25 years and 15 books! On his 100th birthday, jazz pianist Eubie Blake said if he'd known he was going to last so long he'd have taken better care of himself. I know  what he meant. . .

I've never wanted the series to end, but thought it might be over after EIGHT  MILLION WAYS TO DIE, the fifth book. That's the one where Scudder stops drinking, and I thought he might be through altogether. But I was wrong.

TBR: In a lengthy series like the Scudder series, how do you decide how much backstory to include in each subsequent novel?

LB: It's a balancing act. I don't want to bore long-time readers or leave new ones wondering.  Like the fellow who took a sawing at John Edwards, I try to strike a happy medium.

TBR: In HOPE TO DIE, the reader is privy to the villain's thoughts and actions much sooner than Scudder is. Even so, you manage to keep the reader guessing about what's really going on until quite late in the book. Was that balancing act between revealing and concealing difficult to manage? Why did you decide to write part of the book from a perspective other than Scudder's?

LB: The nature of the story was such that a dual perspective seemed essential.  And no, it wasn't hard to make it work, once I decided to do it.

TBR: The events in the Scudder series happen in something akin to "real time" --- each book finds Scudder older and he is in some ways a very different man from the one introduced in the early books of the series. Is that passage of time, and the subsequent changes in Scudder's life and character, what keeps the series interesting for you from a writer's perspective?

LB: It was essential for me if I was going to take the books seriously, given their level of realism. And I'm sure I'd have quit writing about Scudder a long time ago if he'd stayed the same person throughout.

TBR: What's next for Scudder?

LB: Well, see, that's what I like about Scudder --- I never have any idea what he's going to do next.

TBR: You are the author of several different series as well as a number of stand-alone novels. Do you try to get back to each series in a certain amount of time or do you write a new series novel whenever inspiration strikes?

LB: After this many years and this many books, I'm sometimes amazed I can keep on doing it. So, when there's something I really want to write, I write it. I think it would be dangerous to do otherwise.

TBR: You've expressed disappointment about the movie versions of your novels, including the Scudder mystery EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE. However, word is you have several movie projects in the works. What can you tell us about those?

LB: I've written a screenplay for KELLER, based on the book HIT MAN, and Jeff Bridges will star with Martin Bell directing. And A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES is in development at Jersey Films/Universal Pictures.

TBR: Much of your work --- including the Scudder books and the humorous Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries --- is set in New York City. How do you think the terrorist attacks will affect the way you write about the city? Do you anticipate dealing with the attacks in a Scudder book or other novel?

LB: It's far too soon to know, or even to think about it.

TBR: What's your next project?

LB: I'm not sure.  I've started a multiple-viewpoint stand-alone thriller, but that may be shelved in favor of something else. I just haven't decided.

TBR: You keep fans up-to-date with a newsletter about your writing, travels and other projects. How can readers get on your mailing list?

LB: Sign up via my website, www.lawrenceblock.com --- or just send me an email at LB@lawrenceblock.com. Keep me posted on e-dress changes and you'll get it forever.

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PAST INTERVIEW

December 22, 2000

HIT LIST is the latest gem to come from author Lawrence Block. Bookreporter.com Writer Ann Bruns unravels this mystery man in her interview, delving into his recurring characters, his new book, the concept of the "murderer's thumb," and much more. Hear about Block's next thriller, as well as his own foray into self publishing with his unabridged audiobook titled, TELLING LIES FOR FUN & PROFIT which will be available through his website sometime in January.

TBR: The history of John Keller began with a short story, then another, and finally culminated in a collection of short stories/episodes entitled HIT MAN. Fans clamored for more, and now your character Keller has returned in a complete novel, HIT LIST. Do you envision Keller in an extended book-length series, or does his profession put some limitations on keeping the storylines fresh?

LB: That's hard to answer, in that I never know what I'm going to do next. My sense of things is that there's probably a third book to be written, if only because the title HIT PARADE seems inevitable, doesn't it? But it won't be for a while. My next book will be a Matthew Scudder novel, HOPE TO DIE, in the fall of 2001, and I expect the one to follow that a year later will feature Bernie Rhodenbarr.

TBR: Keller, for those that haven't been introduced yet, is the professional hit man; yet his character is hardly a "Sammy the Bull" image. He's a stamp collector, a dog lover, a romantic, and has a certain code of ethics about the business he's in. Is the dichotomy in Keller's personality what makes him so appealing to readers?

LB: Beats me. What I do find consistently is that readers like Keller in spite of themselves, and some of them even feel faintly guilty about it. Mat Coward in The Independent (UK) credits me with "ripping your moral compass right out of your chest, smashing it to pieces on your forehead, and then leaving you to glue it back together." I can't claim I knew that's what I was doing, but I rather like the notion.

TBR: HIT LIST makes a real study of the contradictions in Keller. On the one hand, he's described as a professional with a real aptitude for his work. On the other hand he's often disturbed when victims become more than a name and a face, even struggles with remorse on occasion and has been known to cancel a contract altogether. Doesn't this emotional turmoil undermine his credibility as a cold-blooded killer?

LB: Well, I haven't met a whole lot of Keller's colleagues, but I've known a few people who've done some bad things, and I've found them to be more complicated than you might guess.

TBR: Having the "hit man" on a "hit list" was an intriguing storyline. Surprisingly, Keller seems more disturbed by the prospects of this killer lousing up his assignments than possibly terminating his life. Is this ego talking? Or does he just accept what would seem to be the inevitable fate for anyone in his profession?

LB: You'd have to ask him. I don't like to explain my characters beyond what gets said in the books.

TBR: Dot, a marvelous character from HIT MAN, plays an even larger role in HIT LIST as both Keller's friend and employer. In fact, the repartee between these two comprises a good portion of the book. Will Dot, or some blend of Dot and Carolyn from the Burglar series ever become the focus of a book?

LB: I doubt it.

TBR: Given some of the revelations about Dot in HIT LIST, isn't Keller foolish to trust her to such an extent?

LB: Well, it's worked out okay for him so far, hasn't it?

TBR: In both HIT MAN and HIT LIST, Keller spends a good deal of time between assignments accessing his present life yet we know little about his early years or how he became a hit man. Will you ever create a full blown history for John Keller?

LB: We may find out bits and pieces as they're called for.

TBR: Keller's introduction to the theories of astrology, palmistry and the like was hysterical. Is there really such a concept as "murderer's thumb?"

LB: Absolutely. I knew a woman with a murderer's thumb, a perfectly sweet and gentle lady. Don't know why it's called that, but it is.

TBR: It's apparent you have a fondness for unconventional characters: Bernie the gentleman burglar; Evan Tanner, the spy who came out of the cold; the very dark Matt Scudder; Chip Harrison, with a summa cum laude in libido; and now John Keller. Are there any interesting stories behind the origination of these characters?

LB: A few, but they'd take too long to tell.

TBR: Keller is going to be the subject of a new movie, and there are options on A WALK AMONG TOMBSTONES and BURGLARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS as well. Even though you've praised the Keller screenplay, you've been critical of past book-to-movie projects for missing the essence of your original storylines. If you were approached to write the screenplays, would you want to?

LB: So far I've always said no. But, really, who knows?

TBR: With your exhausting schedule, when do you find the time to write? Do you set aside blocks of time where you just isolate yourself and hammer away on a project until it's completed?

LB: I frequently write in seclusion at a writers' colony, and indeed am just back from a little over a month at one, where I wrote HOPE TO DIE.

TBR: HIT LIST is a trademark Lawrence Block novel, containing humor in both the dialogue and narrative. Have you ever written a somber storyline? Is satire a writing style or a form of catharsis?

LB: I don't know about somber, but it seems to me that some of the Scudder novels are about as dark as it gets.

TBR: Among the 50 or so books to your credit is your collection of articles on writing entitled TELLING LIES FOR FUN AND PROFIT. If you could choose one important piece of advice from that book for beginning writers, what would it be?

LB: Write what you want. To thine own self be true.

TBR: Aside from a new Scudder novel due out in 2001, some anthologies, and various reprintings that readers can find out about on your website (www.lawrenceblock.com) are there any new enterprises percolating?

LB: I've just completed something very new for me --- I've self-published an unabridged audiobook of TELLING LIES FOR FUN & PROFIT. I'll have copies for sale on my website sometime in January.

TBR: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

LB: Don't do this unless you absolutely have to.

TBR: Thank you for taking the time during this busy season to answer some questions!

LB: You're welcome, Ann. My pleasure!

For more information, visit my website at: http://www.lawrenceblock.com

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