Close Encounters with....
Your Favorite Authors

I Met Michael Connelly

By Tim Miller

(Don't miss Tim's new Readers Room column, Cold Case Investigations!)

Many of us have our favorite authors. I have several, but at the top of my list is Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch series, as well as Blood Work, which was recently made into a movie starring Clint Eastwood.

On Michael Connelly's website, (www.michaelconnelly.com) he has a message board where readers can post questions and he responds personally. I've posted a few questions on there and got some really nice answers from him. While browsing his site back in October, 2002, I saw that he was going to be appearing at Borders in Indianapolis, IN, a three-hour drive from my house.

I immediately put in for a vacation day from work and began making plans to attend his signing. One of the things I did was post to his message board that I would be attending. His response was, "See you there! That means at least one person will show up!" At least he has a sense of humor. The next thing I did was emailed his website manager asking if I could take a photo with him, and if he'd accept a copy of my second novel Out of Nowhere. She said, "yes" to both and that Michael was up for about anything with his fans.

On the day of the signing, my wife and I drove to Indy. I should say I drove and she nagged me about my driving. It was pouring rain, so it made the long drive that much more pleasant. We arrived an hour early, and I was in awe of the store. It was a much nicer than the Borders close to my home. It was two stories tall and had a classier feel to it. Michael was going to be in the Café part of the store.

All around the café were shelves and tables stacked almost to the ceiling with his books. I found a copy of his latest, Chasing the Dime and went to a table. I took that time to sign my own book to him. I didn't want to hold up the line anymore than I had to. I wrote, "To Michael, the true master of crime fiction," followed by my name.

Over the next twenty minutes or so, people came trickling in, and before I knew it, there must have been fifty or sixty people packed into the café. Finally, the store manager escorted Michael Connelly in. He looked just the same in person as he did on his book covers, only he smiled more. I assumed that since he's a mystery author, on his jacket photos they want him to look mysterious.

He stood in front of us and began speaking about his books. He mainly talked about Chasing the Dime and how he came up with that idea. After some background on the book, he spent close to a half hour taking questions. There were a lot of good questions and he gave really thoughtful answers. It was obvious that he listened closely to what people were asking and took the time to give complete answers.

I asked him if he would ever have Harry Bosch assigned to Internal Affairs (if you read the books this question makes sense). A lot of people laughed, but his eyes actually lit up and he said that he'd seriously considered doing that at one point. He agreed it would be a good twist to make Harry work for the part of the LAPD that he despised. But he said another author has done a series based on Internal Affairs cops, and he also alluded to some things that happen in City of Bones that would prevent Harry from going down such a path. Needless to say, my wife was impressed that he and I had thought the same thing. You know what they say about great minds.

After the questions, he told everyone he was ready to sign their books. He took his place behind the table and everyone lined up. Since I was planning on getting a picture, I made my way to the back of the line. There were people standing there who had two or three duffel bags filled with several copies of each book. He signed every single book people put in front of him.

By the time I made it to him, he seemed almost relieved that I only had one book. I'd considered buying a couple, but decided that I would treasure a single signed book more than five or six of them. Besides, the poor guy was holding his shoulder with his off hand as he wrote. I did notice he was left-handed like me--just an interesting observation.

I told him I was the one from the message board who said I'd be at his signing. He laughed and said he remembered my post. I gave him the copy of my book, and much to my surprise he looked inside and asked me if I signed it for him. He thanked me profusely for the book and said how much he appreciated it.

After signing the book, he stood and put his arm around me for the picture. To be honest, I was so nervous I could barely talk. Before we got there, I knew of about a hundred things I wanted to ask him, but could barely talk when I was standing in front of him. My wife told me later I looked mortified. So we took a picture, and I started to walk away, and he suggested we do one more in case it didn't come out. So we took one more and I thanked him again, and he thanked me for coming.

Back at our table I read the inscription he wrote. It said, "Tim, It's good to meet someone from the message board in person. I wish you the best of luck with your writing. Best always, Michael Connelly."

That copy of Chasing the Dime is now sitting on my bookshelf. I don't plan on reading that particular copy. When I'm ready for it, I'll go to the library. In the meantime, I have his photo, a personalized book and a great memory to last a lifetime. As a reader, it was a thrill to meet my favorite author. As an author, it was encouraging to meet someone in person who currently is where I want to be.


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