Sunday, February 12, 2012

Walter Mosley

Walter Mosley is the author of more than 34 critically acclaimed books, including the major bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins.

While he had indicated the end of the Easy Rawlins series, Mosley recently announced he’ll write two more Easy novels. The first for Doubleday is due in 2013 and picks up where the once terminal Blonde Faith left off.

From Mosley's Q & A with Chris Talbott:
Q. Last we heard, you were predicting the end for Easy. What changed?

A. I thought it could have been. I mean it didn’t have to be, but it might’ve been. I just didn’t know. Then I decided not that long ago, “Yeah, I’ll write a couple of more and see what it’s like.”

Q. Does a popular character like Easy weigh on a writer?

A. No, not at all. I think it would if I didn’t have any success with other books or if I felt that Easy was keeping me from writing other books. Now, it is true that publishers try to stop me from writing anything but mysteries, but whenever they do, I go to another publisher. And they know I’m going to do that, so they have to make some kind of room for me.

Q. Really?

A. We live in capitalism, and capitalism is defined by the production line, and the production line is defined by specificity. If you see yourself as an artist, which I do, then you can’t be limited by that. You can’t let somebody tell you, “Well, you can only draw this kind of picture or write that kind of book.”

Q. What do you get from these books that you don’t get from mysteries?

A. Different kinds of books do...[read on]
--Marshal Zeringue