Why don’t men ever listen?

I am such a fan of Elmore Leonard. I’ve been reading his books for…ages. His dialogue is genius. I got Ava interested in his work when I made her start watching Justified. He created the character and was a producer, although he didn’t write the show.

I have an autographed first edition copy of Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing.

Even if you don’t think you know Elmore, you know his work. Get Shorty. 3:10 to Yuma. Out of Sight.

Several years ago I drove Mr. Leonard and his son around town for the Tucson Festival of Books. We wrote about it here. He was an absolute delight, even though he did critique my driving and Ava informed him he needed to stop smoking. He was 87 at the time, and an exceptionally intelligent man. I suspect he knew the risks of smoking, but still…