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After Hours: Conversations With Lawrence Block
Whether you are a fan of Matt Scudder or Bernie Rhodenbarr, whether you know Lawrence Block as the best living writer about New York or the most versatile of crime novelists, this is the book you have been waiting for. Block talks to mystery connoisseur Ernie Bulow about his apprenticeship writing for pulp magazines and working at a leading literary agency, about his love of New York and his fondness for travel. He gives brief, tantalizing glimpses into his literary and personal ups and downs. His wit and his insights into life and literature will captivate not just Block's many fans but anyone interested in the literary life. Included in this book are Block's first published short story, four previously uncollected essays, and a Block bibliography.
165 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1995
About the author
Lawrence Block
745 books3,036 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 5, 2008
This is essentially a book-length interview with Lawrence Block. In the introduction the author writes about how difficult Block was to interview because of his inability to get Block to really "open up," and that he realized that he hadn't prepared as well as he should have before the interviews. All of this really shows in the final product. There are some very interesting tidbits in the book, but it is definitely for the hardcore Block fan, and doesn't make for a very "fun" read. In fact, at times I really felt sorry for the interviewer, who just wasn't able to get much depth out of his subject. Block is an amazing writer, but he keeps things far too close to the vest to really make this an entertaining read. It DOES include some unpublished and rare non-fiction, for those who simply must own everything Block has ever done.
March 28, 2016
Fine for what it is, but if you've read many interviews with Block or read his blog, you're not going to get much out of this, especially as it is more than 20 years old and much of the information is dated.
April 15, 2018
This out of print hardcover is a slim, curious entry in the Lawrence Block bibliography. It is a transcription of several interviews he gave to Ernie Bulow over a period of a week. They covered a variety of topics, including:
- His early novels written under pseudonyms (Block refused to confirm any specific pen names, which is ironic since he now not only openly acknowledges them but has self-published more than 40 of those books for kindle in recent years)
- The state of the publishing industry (hint: it was much different before e-books and on-line publishing platforms)
- His hobbies (travel, running marathons, stamp and coin collecting)
- His writing habits and rituals
In 1994 authors had fewer opportunities to interact with fans. Occasional book signings and conventions, perhaps, but no social media, no blogs. I imagine a book like this helped readers gain insights into an author they really liked.
Today, however, this just seems like an odd vanity project. There were few anecdotes about the publishing industry that I had not already read in Crime of Our Lives and Afterthoughts. Much of this information was also a repeated from his 4-volume collection of Writer’s Digest columns.
Block is not a great interviewee. He side-stepped questions about his personal life and did not want to open up about his history of alcoholism other than to quip "If it hadn't gotten bad, I would not have stopped drinking." He also as a matter of policy did not discuss other living authors, either negatively or positively.
In addition to the interview, the book includes his first professional short story and three short nonfiction essays.
Here were some of the better quotes from the book:
On alcoholism and writing:
“Some of the same elements that incline a person toward writing also may make them a set-up for alcoholism. However, I don’t think the booze ever helps the work.”
On New York:
“In other cities, you know, you’re a writer and you’re in your car all the time and you’re not being fed by the city. Here, I am. On every walk there’s something. Every time I go out to buy a paper there’s people around. There’s life happening. It is very easy for me to constantly be soaking up things, some of which ultimately wind up between book covers.”
On talent:
“You never hear anybody say, ‘I would love to be a writer but I don’t have the talent.’ Yet that’s really what people don’t have and what it’s very difficult to do anything without. Now they don’t have these illusions about being a major-league ballplayer. They don’t say, ‘I would have been a major-league ballplayer but I didn’t have the time.’ They know the reason was because they couldn’t hit a curve ball.”
- His early novels written under pseudonyms (Block refused to confirm any specific pen names, which is ironic since he now not only openly acknowledges them but has self-published more than 40 of those books for kindle in recent years)
- The state of the publishing industry (hint: it was much different before e-books and on-line publishing platforms)
- His hobbies (travel, running marathons, stamp and coin collecting)
- His writing habits and rituals
In 1994 authors had fewer opportunities to interact with fans. Occasional book signings and conventions, perhaps, but no social media, no blogs. I imagine a book like this helped readers gain insights into an author they really liked.
Today, however, this just seems like an odd vanity project. There were few anecdotes about the publishing industry that I had not already read in Crime of Our Lives and Afterthoughts. Much of this information was also a repeated from his 4-volume collection of Writer’s Digest columns.
Block is not a great interviewee. He side-stepped questions about his personal life and did not want to open up about his history of alcoholism other than to quip "If it hadn't gotten bad, I would not have stopped drinking." He also as a matter of policy did not discuss other living authors, either negatively or positively.
In addition to the interview, the book includes his first professional short story and three short nonfiction essays.
Here were some of the better quotes from the book:
On alcoholism and writing:
“Some of the same elements that incline a person toward writing also may make them a set-up for alcoholism. However, I don’t think the booze ever helps the work.”
On New York:
“In other cities, you know, you’re a writer and you’re in your car all the time and you’re not being fed by the city. Here, I am. On every walk there’s something. Every time I go out to buy a paper there’s people around. There’s life happening. It is very easy for me to constantly be soaking up things, some of which ultimately wind up between book covers.”
On talent:
“You never hear anybody say, ‘I would love to be a writer but I don’t have the talent.’ Yet that’s really what people don’t have and what it’s very difficult to do anything without. Now they don’t have these illusions about being a major-league ballplayer. They don’t say, ‘I would have been a major-league ballplayer but I didn’t have the time.’ They know the reason was because they couldn’t hit a curve ball.”
January 12, 2023
Enjoyable enough, but not very deep or particularly insightful interview. At the end are a few little stories or essays that basically pad out the book. I noticed other reviews complained about the information being available elsewhere, but I'm new to Block's work so I enjoyed it.
February 13, 2009
I was so thrilled to find out about this book--I'd never heard of it before--because Lawrence Block is one of my favorite authors. I couldn't find it in any library so I bought it on Amazon.com. I'm glad I didn't pay more for it ($8 including shipping) because it turned out to be only mildly interesting. There just isn't enough here. The interview doesn't even make up the entire book; there are three short essays by Block in the back, but they're rather boring. The interviewer even confesses in the introduction that he probably could have been better prepared, although I felt like he did a good job. Maybe I just expected too much. We tend to do that when it comes to authors: we want something more, something indefinable, that they just don't have to give. We have to be grateful for what we do get which is why I said this book was okay. It wasn't a total loss by any means and I'm glad that I own it. But what I really wish is that I hadn't thrown out my old issues of Writer's Digest with Lawrence Block's columns in them. Those were real pearls of wisdom as well as examples of excellent writing.
October 21, 2012
Pleasing conversations and essays from a friendly, familiar voice.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews