Your new book Resurrection Walk is about attempting to overturn a miscarriage of justice. What was the spark for the plot and what was the appeal?
I have a few defence lawyers and prosecutors who are my go-to people for ideas and one of them mentioned a habeas case and I was immediately intrigued because when you are trying to prove a convicted and imprisoned person is actually innocent it kind of throws the main tenet of the justice system – innocent until proven guilty – right out the window. In this situation you are guilty until proven innocent. I thought that kind of challenge for Mickey Haller would be fun to explore and a challenge for me as well.
You executive produced Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story, a 2014 documentary about a brilliant jazz saxophonist who turned to crime to feed his heroin habit. Tell me about this story and your love of jazz
My love for the music of Frank Morgan came about in my research into music for Harry Bosch. I was drawn by Morgan’s story of a promising musician sidetracked by drugs and crime, leading to 27 years between his first and second album. I got a chance to meet him and we did a joint event at a college in Boston and the plan was to start visiting schools with me talking about writing and him talking about music as a means of salvation. But Frank got sick and couldn’t do it. When he passed away I saw the documentary as a way of fulfilling that plan to use his life to help others avoid the path he went down.
You were also involved in making Tales of the American about an iconic LA hotel. What drew you to it?
I love telling stories about LA’s little known history. That was a film being made by two friends of mine, so I jumped in. But my contributions were mostly financial on that project.
Many of your works have been adapted for the screen, starring Matthew McConaughey, Clint Eastwood, Titus Welliver and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. What do you think they brought to the roles? Do you have a favourite?
I think the commonality among these four is their dedication to character. It is interesting to have one character that was inhabited by two of these actors. Different takes, but both great performances. I could not pick a favourite but I think the long-running Bosch show gives me 10 years working with Titus and we are very close because of that connection. But to have all four of these iconic actors play roles that I created with words is an experience beyond words.
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You host the podcast Murder Book, a return to your journalistic roots, and have spoken of a growing threat to the integrity of journalism and law enforcement. Tell me more
We are in a period where the business model of print journalism has collapsed at the same time trust in the media has severely eroded. I was standing on the sidelines watching this and felt that the only way I might contribute is to step away from fiction and tell some true stories. I had access to detectives who help me with my books. I thought, why not tell some of their stories and their cases.
You’ve been on strike with the Writers Guild of America. What’s your view of late capitalism and its effect on the arts generally?
It’s a tough question because I have a foot in both camps. I’m a writer and producer, so I can see the pressures on both sides. But at heart I am a writer and the writer is the only one in the entertainment food chain that must make something out of nothing. Every other job in the chain starts with a story, a script, and so I fall into line in wanting more for the original creators of story. The problem is, especially in Hollywood, the writer is indispensable but has never been treated that way.
You divide your time between California and Florida. How would you compare and contrast?
There are probably more comparables than contrasts. Great beauty, water and weather. The big contrast these days is the politics. They are like night and day. I feel depressed by what’s happening in Florida from book bans to conservative politics. I never feel that in California.
How close are you to your Irish roots?
I feel it in my bones. All four of my grandparents were of straight Irish descent – their names were Connelly, McEvoy, McGrath and Scahan. You can’t beat that. I celebrate it.
Crime has become the most popular genre. Why do you think that is?
Too many reasons to list here but I think a main connection is that the stories are about reducing chaos to order.
Which projects are you working on?
I’m about to start writing a Renee Ballard book and in the meantime I’m working on a couple of TV shows and a documentary on the life and mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe.
Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage?
I’ve been to Davy Byrnes pub in Dublin. Does that count?
What is the best writing advice you have heard?
Make every character on every page want something – Kurt Vonnegut.
Who do you admire the most?
My daughter.
You are supreme ruler for a day. Which law do you pass or abolish?
I would pass strict gun laws.
Which current book, film and podcast would you recommend?
An Honest Man by Michael Koryta, Killers of the Flower Moon, Murder Book.
Which public event affected you most?
9/11.
The most remarkable place you have visited?
The Cliffs of Moher.
Your most treasured possession?
My creative mind.
What is the most beautiful book that you own?
A special edition of my first novel, The Black Echo.
Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Eugene O’Neill, Raymond Chandler, Sue Grafton.
The best and worst things about where you live?
The weather and the weather.
What is your favourite quotation?
The best cop stories are not about how cops work on cases but how cases work on cops – Joseph Wambaugh.
Who is your favourite fictional character?
Philip Marlowe.
