Interview with Dennis Lehane
by Jon Jordan
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JON: The first thing I’m curious about would have to be how many times you’ve been asked about Patrick and Angie. As flattering as it must be that people love those books, does it get a little monotonous answering whether or not there will be more?

DENNIS: I'd say I get asked at least once per every public appearance, but I don't find it monotonous. It's deeply flattering. People care about those characters. I'm completely humbled by that and grateful. I wish I had an answer for readers who want to know when/if they're coming back, but the only pact I ever made with myself in regards to that series was that I'd never write an installment just to make a mortgage payment. So, if Patrick and Angie come knocking on the door again, I'll welcome them back with open arms. But they haven't knocked in a while...

JON: Having had other books optioned, is it gratifying to finally see one in production?

DENNIS: What's gratifying is that the book is in such able hands. Brian Helgeland's script is astonishing. I sure couldn't have written it. And then you add Clint Eastwood as the director and cast Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins and Lawrence Fishburne, Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden--I mean, come on, whatever happens with the finished product, I'm already over the moon.

JON: With Mystic River you have really crossed over into the mainstream of fiction. Are your future books going to still have some elements of mystery or crime fiction?

DENNIS: I'm attracted to what I think of as "fiction of mortal event," that is, fiction in which bad stuff happens and the price is high. That led me to crime fiction. I write about violence; it's what I obsess over. So I can't ever imagine writing a book in which crime didn't happen.

JON: If I remember correctly, you’ve been involved in some movie projects not based on your books. In particular, Neighborhoods. Are these something that would be available somewhere?

DENNIS: One script is in development hell and the only other thing I was involved in was Neighborhoods, which, I promise you, will never see the light of day for a host of reasons. Sorry.

JON: When you sold A Drink Before The War, did you have any idea that the series would become so popular, and the books collector items? Were there any indications from early reviews?

DENNIS: The reviews were mostly kind, but there weren't many of them. There weren't many copies of that book printed so I wasn't surprised when it became a collector's item. Otherwise, though, I've never had a sense of whether something would be popular or not. I'm just not gifted that way. I hold to the rule that you write the best thing you can and hope people read it. That's all you can do; the rest is out of your hands.

JON: Are there any books that really moved you? A book or books that you can reread often?

DENNIS: Sure. Just last year I wept at a passage in The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. I find JM Coetzee pretty devastating, and I've reread most of Richard Price, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, F Scott Fitzgerald and Elmore Leonard. There's a book called Buffalo Soldiers by Robert O'Connor that I think is almost criminally under-appreciated.

JON: What kind of things do you do to relax?

DENNIS: Shoot pool, play tennis or softball. I'm a pretty boring guy.

JON: Where is your favorite city to visit, but one that you wouldn’t want to live in?

DENNIS: Probably New York. I love it there--the energy, the rush. But if you lived there, there'd be no escaping it, and I value my down time. Plus, it's a pretty limited city in terms of dog issues and I've got two dogs.

JON: What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked in an interview?

DENNIS: What's the room number of the hotel where you're staying?

JON: The ending of Gone Baby Gone created a bit of a stir. I know that I’ve heard people debate the ending and whether or not they thought it was in character for Patrick to do what he did. How did you decide on the ending you used?

DENNIS: The problems the book addresses--child abuse in many forms and how we as a society deal with that -- have not been solved in any meaningful way as far as I can tell. We don't seem to have the answers, so I thought it would be disingenuous to write a book in which everything is neatly tied up with ribbon at the end. That book is meant to piss people off. It's meant to end without any real sense of closure. As for people thinking it wasn't "in character" for Patrick to do what he did, I don't know what to say except that everyone has a right to his opinion.

JON: If you were able to go back and talk to a sixteen year old Dennis, what advice would you give him?

DENNIS: Comb your hair and stay away from cigarettes, dude.

JON: When my wife was reading Mystic River, there were times that she had tears in her eyes while reading. It’s strong stuff, as are parts of your earlier books. Do you ever get a little over come by it while writing? I would think that some of the things you write would just wear you out.

DENNIS: Well, that's the job, you know? If you don't plunge a fist through your chest every now and then to get to the emotional core of the scene, I'm not sure you're really writing. So I've had days where I've been wrecked by what I wrote and I might stumble around for a while, nerves exposed, etc. But it beats selling shoes, so I'm cool with it.

JON: Music pokes it’s head into your books now and again. What kind of music do you enjoy? Do you have different music for different activities?

DENNIS: I listen to pretty much anything except rap and jazz. Big fan of punk influenced stuff and the blues.

JON: Do you think The Big Dig will ever be done, or will Boston be plagued by construction till the end of time?

DENNIS: The latter. The more fucked up our city is to drive, the larger a sense of perverse pride we take in it. Right about now, we're positively beaming.

JON: Were you satisfied with the finale to X-Files, or do you think it was a let down?

DENNIS: Sucked beyond suckdom. They should have ended the show when it was great, probably two years before they did. I could say that, however, about most great TV shows--Homicide, Hill Street Blues, ER, even Seinfeld--they should have ended *at least* 2 years before they did. And the same goes for book series. And again, that's why I'm so determined not to write a Patrick and Angie book unless it comes 100% from the heart, because the law of diminishing returns is very much at work in cases like these.

JON: One of the things I really like about your writing is the use of humor. It kind of keeps things from getting too dark. And it feels very natural the way your characters use it. Is it tricky getting humor right in books that are for the most part pretty heavy?

DENNIS: I'm Irish. Humor kind of comes with the territory. It's a dark humor, though--being deadpan in the face of trauma. I use it when it fits; most times it just flows out. I find some of my early stuff a little too jokey, so I've scaled back a bit as time goes on.

JON: Some of the best films I’ve seen in the last few years are movies that you mentioned at various signing events. What are some of your all time favorites?

DENNIS: I've seen so many it's pretty hard to narrow down, but off the top of my head I'd say the first two Godfathers, Out of the Past, Night of the Hunter, Bull Durham, Mona Lisa, You Can Count on Me, Repo Man, Apocalypse Now, All About Eve, Goodfellas, Diner, Five Corners, Shadow of a Doubt, One False Move, Something Wild, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Wizard of Oz...

JON: What’s the best part of being a writer?

DENNIS: The hours.

JON: Are we going to love reading the next book?

DENNIS: Beats the hell out of me.

JON: What’s the one thing always in your refrigerator?

DENNIS: Mountain Dew.