Michael Connelly

in Conversation with Bill Petrocelli

Recorded June 7th, 2020

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Michael Connelly in conversation with Bill Petrocelli
Sunday, June 7, 2020

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Michael Connelly’s new release, Fair Warning, returns readers to the world of Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, as he tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar–until now.

Michael is the bestselling author of over thirty novels and one work of nonfiction. With over seventy-four million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today.

A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Michael has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent #1 New York Times bestsellers include Dark Sacred Night, The Late Show, Two Kinds Of Truth, The Late Show, The Wrong Side Of Goodbye, The Crossing, The Burning Room, The Gods of Guilt, The Black Box, and The Drop.

Michael is the executive producer of Bosch, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver and streaming on Amazon Prime. He is also the executive producer of the documentary films, Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story and Tales Of the American. He spends his time in California and Florida.

Bill Petrocelli is co-owner of Book Passage and author of the novels The Circle of Thirteen and Through the Bookstore Window. He is also the author of the soon-to-be-published Electoral Bait & Switch: How the Electoral College Hurts American Voters.

When you surf, the ultimate goal is to get into a pipeline where the water circles around you and that’s all there is.

In writing, it’s the same thing.

You want to get into this pipeline where the story is circling around you and that’s all there is. That is writing nirvana to me.”

– Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly’s new release, Fair Warning, returns readers to the world of Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, as he tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar–until now.

Michael was born in Philadelphia, PA on July 21, 1956. He moved to Florida with his family when he was 12 years old. Michael decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.

After graduating in 1980, Michael worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat.  In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Michael into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.

Michael is the bestselling author of thirty-four novels and one work of non-fiction. With over seventy-four million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of his 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent #1 New York Times bestsellers include Dark Sacred Night, Two Kinds Of TruthThe Late Show, The Wrong Side Of GoodbyeThe CrossingThe Burning RoomThe Gods of Guilt, and The Black Box. Michael’s crime fiction career was honored with the Diamond Dagger from the CWA in 2018.

Michael is the executive producer of Bosch, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. Bosch streams on Amazon Prime Video. He is the creator and host of the podcast Murder Book. He is also the executive producer of the documentary films, Sound Of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story and Tales of the AmericanHe spends his time in California and Florida.

Visit the Book Passage website to have any of Michael’s books delivered right to your door.

You’re sure to enjoy these Book Passage favorites:

Fair Warning

Fair Warning

The Night Fire

Night Fire

The Black Echo

The Black Echo

Get ready to join Michael in conversation, Sunday June 7th.

In the meantime, we invite you to take a moment now to help shape this upcoming conversation.

Check out the list of questions submitted by other registered attendees, and then vote to support any that match your interests.

Feel free to add your own question. Then spread the word to make sure others have the chance to help move your question to the top of the shared list.

  • 6

    votes

    Who are some of your favorite authors, whether fiction or non-fiction, and have they influenced your writing?

  • 5

    votes

    Anyway to extend more seasons of Bosch?

  • 4

    votes

    What is the reaction to the people you know in law enforcement to the George Floyd killing and the protest?

  • 3

    votes

    You have the Bosch series which is sadly ending after one more season and the Haller series that was sidelined because of the Covid-19. Have you ever thought of doing a movie or series based on McEvoy?

  • 3

    votes

    What is the role of police procedurals in the current race-policing crisis? Does police procedural writing in novels & TV create a culture where we accept police misdeeds for the “right”outcomes?

  • 2

    votes

    What is Rachael’s core personal issue

  • 2

    votes

    What recommendations would you offer aspiring authors? Your suggestions on books to read, online resources, daily routines would be so helpful.

  • 2

    votes

    How did you come about learning all the police lingo in your books?

  • 2

    votes

    Did you model Bosch, Haller, and McEvoy from real life people you met during your beat reporter days?

  • 2

    votes

    Its a comment: WE LOVE BOSCH!!

  • 1

    votes

    What’s been your experience as a writer working on the Bosch series? Did Amazon approach you about doing the series, or did you pitch them? How involved are you at this point?

  • 1

    votes

    I note that Jack has an issue with the pronunciation of his name. Why?

  • 1

    votes

    In the future will you be doing any novels where Maddie is the primary character? The father-daughter relationship between Bosch and Maddie is extremely realistic-how have you been able to create such a realistic vibe?

  • 1

    votes

    Have you ever considered writing a children’s book?

  • 0

    votes

    I first found Bosch from the audiobooks with Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin, whose voices are so perfect, as is his acting, though I’d never heard of him before. Not being much of a TV or movie watcher, Titus and Bosch have me hooked! It is a perfect marriage. Will you be writing more with Ballard? The two of them make ausch a stunning pair of detectives! More, please, more! 🙂

  • 0

    votes

    Your podcast was excellent. Is there another in the works?

  • 0

    votes

    can you talk about the music in Bosch?

  • 0

    votes

    Since your characters age in real time and Harry Bosch is getting older and having health concerns have you given any thought about possibly doing some novels where he reminisces about old cases such as the “Dollmaker”?

  • 0

    votes

    I just finished Bloodwork. It was brilliant. Once you established the premise (heart transplant/find the donor’s killer), what is your next step? Do you map out the full mystery framework in advance? Or do you approach it organically, letting the story unfold with your imagination? And is that process the same or different with every novel?

  • 0

    votes

    Hyeronimous Bosch? Why ? What is the story behind your naming your main character after this particular artist?

  • 0

    votes

    I’m crazy about Mickey Haller! Are you planning any more novels featuring the Lincoln lawyer? By the way, my friends and I consider you, Jacqueline Winspear and Elly Griffiths the Shakespeares of mystery novelists!

  • 0

    votes

    Hello from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. I am thrilled to be on line to listen to you!!!

  • 0

    votes

    What can you say about the editing process, or about cutting a manuscript by half?

  • 0

    votes

    How do I hear your conversation with Michael?

  • 0

    votes

    Do you both realize your image is not centered in the frame? Would you like to really be ‘seen’? Not a criticism…more of a request. The off-the-page look is distracting me. Thanks!

  • 0

    votes

    Los Angeles is a major character in its own right in all of your novel. What is your relationship with LA and how do decide which aspect you will reveal in each new book?

  • 0

    votes

    The actor, Titus Welliver has a number of tattoos.Does the Bosch character in the novels have tattoos?

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