I always carry a book with me for any downtime I run into. One of my favorite authors, and one of the best in the business, is Elmore Leonard. The man knew how to write dialog. I simple conversation between a cop and a criminal could last 20 pages, and the give and take dialog was always to the point.. Advice that Mr. Leonard once gave to young writers: “Try to leave out the parts that people skip.”
Mr. Leonard passed away last week, and the world will miss him. Movies and television shows based on his books and characters have entertained millions of people. Among them are “ The Big Bounce”, “Jackie Brown”, “Get Shorty”, “Out of Sight”, “3:10 to Yuma” and the television show “Justified”, maybe the best written show on the air right now.
Every time that one of his books came out, I was at the bookstore the first day, knowing that I was in for a couple of days of thrills reading it.
His writing will be missed by many.