The Skinny on Connelly

Stacy Alesi, aka The Book Bitch, has posted an interesting blog item about her recent encounter with author Michael Connelly at a bookstore in Delray Beach, Florida. Two things stand out:

• The news that Connelly is planning to write another story featuring Mickey Haller, the protagonist from The Lincoln Lawyer (2005). “However,” Alesi notes, “when I asked if the two series--Harry Bosch & Mickey Haller--would at some point be merged into one, Connelly was quick to point out that Haller is not a series, and Bosch is the only series he writes. He did concede that since they are half brothers, at some point there will undoubtedly be a book where they come together.”

• And Alesi’s question to the author regarding a New York Times piece from October 16, in which books critic Janet Maslin stated, “And Mr. Connelly now does some of his writing in Mr. [Raymond] Chandler’s old apartment, a place he uses for inspiration. No living crime writer has a better right to be there.” The Book Bitch writes: “Connelly was quick to point out that it was a mistake--yes, in the NY Times. He does rent an apartment in Los Angeles but it isn’t Chandler’s apartment. However, there is a connection--the apartment is at the address of Chandler’s famous fictional character, Philip Marlowe. Connelly said he didn’t think that Chandler had ever stepped foot in it.”