Ed McBain Never Did that Before
Lunch and dinner with Bruce DeSilva and the conversation still wasn’t over.
Bruce DeSilva was working as a reporter at the Hartford Courant—the nation’s oldest continuously published newspaper—when the Los Angeles Times purchased it with the goal of competing with the Boston Globe. With the Times’ blessing, DeSilva became a roaming reporter and wrote for the Sunday magazine (back when there were such things at daily newspapers) and began interviewing famous crime writers.
“I always liked crime fiction. I’d probably read 2,000 crime novels,” DeSilva says. “I had a love of the genre.”
He scheduled an interview with Evan Hunter, better known as Ed McBain, one of the godfathers of crime fiction. Hunter had a small office built in his backyard. They met at 9 a.m. for a scheduled half-hour interview. Around noon, Hunter’s wife came out to check on them.
“Will our guest be staying for lunch?”
Six hours later, she returned, “Will he be staying for dinner?”
DeSilva didn’t leave until 9 p.m.––a twelve-hour interview. He had read all of Hunter’s books and “there was so much to talk about.”
Not long after, Hunter wrote DeSilva commenting on a short story DeSilva had published in the Hartford Courant Sunday magazine about a newspaper reporter investigating a government scandal. Hunter suggested DeSilva turn it into a novel. Encouraged that one of America’s most popular crime novelists would be interested in his writing, DeSilva immediately began getting up early each morning to write for an hour and write again late at night.
Years later he recounted his story to Otto Penzler, owner of The Mysterious Book Shop, the nation’s largest crime fiction store. DeSilva read Hunter’s note to Penzler over lunch.
Dear Bruce,
MALICE is a nice little story. In fact, it could serve as the outline for a novel. Have you considered this?
Best,
Evan
Penzler dropped his fork on his plate. “Really?”
“Yes.”
Penzler, who lunched frequently with Hunter, was skeptical. He’d never heard his friend compliment anyone on their writing.
“Evan Hunter sent you that note?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then, you’ve got to finish it,” Penzler said.
“If he hadn’t sent me that note, I never would have thought to write a novel,” DeSilva says. Six months after dinner with Penzler, he finished his draft of Rogue Island and sent it to Penzler. Two weeks later Penzler responded. “Who’s your agent?”
“I don’t have one,” DeSilva emailed him.
“Well, let me take care of that for you.” Penzler introduced him to Susanna Einstein who became his agent.
Like most debut novels, sales were mediocre, but in DeSilva’s case, recognition was not. Rogue Island won an Edgar Award for best debut novel from the Mystery Writers of America and a Macavity Award from Mystery Readers International.
“By the time the Edgars were announced I felt a part of that very supportive community. Not all writing communities are like that. I’ve read stories of the science fiction writers being at each other’s throats, and the romance writers hating each other,” DeSilva says.
Michael Connelly handed him the Edgar. “As someone who is used to being around famous people, I felt starstruck at that moment.”
After his Edgar win, Rogue Island sold out, but his publisher failed to immediately go back to press. By the time it finally did, the awards bump was long over. “My agent is still angry with the publisher.”
I’m novelist Rick Pullen, former investigative reporter, magazine editor, and author of the best selling thriller Naked Ambition, its sequel Naked Truth, and a stand-alone thriller The Apprentice. I’m also a magazine columnist and feature writer.
Thanks for reading Idol Talk! Subscribe for free or support my work with a paid subscription. — Rick Pullen