Grosse Pointe Farms

Acclaimed writer will share stories about his works on film at War Memorial

By K. Michelle Moran
C & G Staff Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Dermot Cleary, courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers Detroit native Elmore Leonard, who now lives in Oakland County, will be discussing his works that have made it to the screen during a Feb. 29 program at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms. Photo by Dermot Cleary, courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers Detroit native Elmore Leonard, who now lives in Oakland County, will be discussing his works that have made it to the screen during a Feb. 29 program at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms.

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Elmore Leonard answers his own phone.

This doesn’t sound that remarkable until you consider the fact that this is the same man who was dubbed “America’s greatest crime writer” by Newsweek and “a dean of American crime fiction” in a New York Post article by Larry Getlen, and that he’s the author of more than 40 novels, many of them best-sellers. And, at 86, the Bloomfield Township resident — who has five children, 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren — is still going strong and writing every day. Last year, his 44th book, “Djibouti” — a glimpse into the dangerous milieu of terrorists and Somali pirates from the perspective of a documentary filmmaker — was published. More recently, his 45th novel, “Raylan,” has found its way to bookstores and a multitude of bookshelves; the latest Leonard work to feature U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, it was inspired by and has provided material for the FX series “Justified.”

Leonard will discuss his books that have made it to the screen — including “Get Shorty,” “Out of Sight,” “3:10 to Yuma” and “Jackie Brown” — during a program at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29 at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. Co-sponsored by the Grosse Pointe Public Library and Wayne County Community College District, the program is free and open to the public, but advance reservations are requested, as seating is limited. Diana Howbert, a reference librarian in the audio visual department for the Grosse Pointe Public Library, said at press time that many people had already signed up for the presentation, and library officials are looking forward to it.

Metro Detroit has been featured prominently in many of Leonard’s books. Although he was born in New Orleans, Leonard’s family moved to Detroit when he was 9; his father was a General Motors executive. After a brief stint in the Navy, he attended the University of Detroit, where he studied English and philosophy. He landed a job writing copy for an advertising firm, but his true interests lie elsewhere, and Leonard pursued fiction on the side, penning and selling Westerns in his spare time. He was eventually successful enough as an author that he was able to leave advertising behind to focus on writing, and his career really began to take off once Hollywood came calling and he began writing screenplays for his books.

Not all of his works are set locally. “Djibouti” was inspired by news reports about Somali pirates and their ransom demands, the author said. He’s never been to Somalia.

“I’ve always liked the name, the word (Djibouti),” he said by phone from his home, and you can hear the grin in his voice. “That’s the main reason that I used it.”

Raylan Givens is the character Leonard thinks is most like himself, and he’s thoroughly enjoying the opportunity “Justified” has given him to do more writing featuring Givens. The author described him as serious, but easygoing when it comes to certain rules and regulations.

“He’s just my kind of character, (one) that I can write anytime,” Leonard said.

In a review of “Raylan,” Publisher’s Weekly called it “fast-paced, darkly humorous” and full of Leonard’s “trademark witty dialogue and adeptness at developing quirky, memorable characters.”

But Leonard said he doesn’t hang out in coffee shops or other public places to eavesdrop for his dialogue.

“You don’t have to,” he said. “It surprises me when my dialogue is mentioned, because I think everyone has voices in their head. Everyone can remember voices. … If they’re good enough lines, you don’t need to write them down — you’ll remember them.”

For Leonard, dialogue is an organic part of any story.

“I use dialogue to move the story all the time,” he said. “It makes it much better. You know who the people are by the way they talk. … It’s easier for me (to write dialogue) than write about the way people are talking.”

He doesn’t work from an outline. Instead, Leonard said he spends the first third of a new book gathering characters together and getting them talking. The second third is when he focuses on subplots. When he gets into the final third of the book, “I’ll start thinking about the ending,” he said. Even he has been surprised by the way some of his books have concluded, he admitted.

He has an impressive website filled with information, but Leonard — who doesn’t update the site himself — doesn’t have a computer. His researcher, Gregg Sutter — who has been working for Leonard for 32 years — handles the site, along with any online information gathering.

“I’ve never touched (a computer),” said the author, who writes his books out in longhand. “When I started to write 60 years ago, I started to type on a little portable (typewriter) and all I was doing was crossing out lines.”

Writing longhand, said Leonard, enables him to be closer to the material. And when he sees people around him glued to their cellphones or laptops, the email-free Leonard said he feels “very lucky” not to be one of them.

His next book will likely be set in Palm Springs and be out in another year or so.

“As I get older, it takes longer to write the book and think of something new to say,” Leonard explained.

He said he hopes readers walk away from his books feeling they were engrossed in a good story populated by interesting characters.

While he may not be churning out new titles quite as fast as he once did, Leonard is still prolific and has no interest in retiring. Writing, he said, “gives me more pleasure than anything (else) I do.”

After the Feb. 29 program, Leonard will sign copies of his work, with the independent bookstore Book Beat of Oak Park handling sales.

The War Memorial is located at 32 Lake Shore. To register for a seat, click on the online calendar at www.gp.lib.mi.us or call (313) 343-2074, ext. 222. For more about Elmore Leonard and his work, visit his official website at www.elmoreleonard.com.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer K. Michelle Moran at kmoran@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1047.