Interview with Robert B Parker
by Jon Jordan

Sept 29th, 2002
Robert B Parker has been writing books for thirty years. It’s hard to have a conversation about mysteries with out his name coming up. He has broken ground, and set standards. He has also influenced a whole new generation. And I’m thrilled he took some time to answer some of my questions. He’s a real gentleman, and I’m not just saying this. Go see him at a signing and find out for yourself!

Jon


JON:  I would say that your most famous work has to be the Spencer series. How would you describe Spenser.

RB:  I've spent thirty books describing Spenser, all I have to add to that is that he's a little taller than I am.

JON:  How has Spenser changed since you first started writing him?

RB:  Since I don't reread my books, I have no way to know. I would assume he has because I have. I am less of a wisely, less physical than I used to be. I understand myself and everything else better than I did when I began.

JON:  Do you plan to continue to write Spenser?

RB:  I plan to write a new Spenser every year and publish him every spring, until I fall over at the keyboard.

JON:  In recent years you’ve added two new series to your repertoire, the Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone. Is there a different approach to writing women characters?

RB:  The approach is the same. I need some help from Joan on some of the particularly female matters -- make up, sex, interior monologue. But the things which unite us are considerably more important than those which divide us.

JON:  What brought about the two new series?

RB:  Sunny was commissioned by Helen Hunt to be the basis for some films (which project is currently in limbo). Jesse because I wanted to try a character younger, less evolved, a cop, and tell it from the third person.

JON:  You also write books out of the different series. Are these books things that you just need to get out of your system, or subjects that interest you? Is the writing process any different with the stand alones?

RB:  I occasionally write a stand alone book because I want to, something which interests me, something that might make a fine novel, something that might stretch me a little as a writer. These books are usually done, between and around the franchise books and thus take longer. They tend to be more experimental. In these books I am willing to do research.

JON:  You’ve had quite a few books put done by Hollywood. Any sage advice for someone dealing with Hollywood for the first time?

RB:  Take the money and run. Don't try to save your story. You can't.

JON:  If “The Robert B Parker” movie was ever made, who would you want involved in the movie? And who would you cast in it?

RB:  Joan would have to produce the RBP movie. She and my sons would have to write and direct. No one else would have a clue. I would be played by Tom Cruise.

JON:  How important a role does Boston play in the Spencer books? Do you think they would work in a different setting?

RB:  Boston is just where I live. So I use it as location. If I lived in Milwaukee, I'd use it as location. The books would work the same.

JON:  Did you enjoy teaching?

RB:  I did not enjoy teaching.

JON:  Was it a bit daunting to write Raymond Chandler’s character Phillip Marlowe?

RB:  Finishing the Chandler book, and writing a sequel was a bit daunting, maybe more for me than others because I admired him so.

JON:  Of all the books you’ve written, which is your favorite book, and which is your favorite Spenser?

RB:  All Our Yesterdays is my favorite book ( I think it my best). I don't have a favorite Spenser. They are all part of a continuum.

JON:  Looking back, is there any thing in your life you would change if you could?

RB:  There are a number of things I'd change. But not if I had to change other things. This too is a continuum. In large outline, I've done everything I ever wanted to do, and have been particularly wise in my choice of wife and sons.

JON:  What do you think is the coolest part of being a writer?

RB:  Coolest part of being a writer is the autonomy. I stay home, write what I want to, send it in and they pay me.

JON:  You probably get asked a whole lot of questions by a whole lot of people. What question do you get asked the most?

RB:  Where do I get my ideas.

JON:  When you aren’t writing, what kind of things occupy your time?

RB:  I swim, lift weights, watch baseball and Law & Order, read some nonfiction, eat out with Joan, visit my sons, reason with Pearl III.

JON:  Does a lot of thought go into your book titles? And does the publisher give you input on them?

RB:  Sometimes the titles are easy, sometimes they aren't. My publisher helps choose them as needed (my editor chose WALKING SHADOW).

JON:  What was the happiest day of your life, so far at least?

RB:  When I married Joan, when my sons were born.

JON:  I understand that you are working on a book about Jackie Robinson. Can you tell a little bit what it’s about?

RB:  The Jackie Robinson book will be fiction. It imagines a white bodyguard employed to protect Robinson, and experience racial bigotry as if he were black.

JON:  Do you read mysteries? Do you have any favorite authors?

RB:  I don't read much fiction, though I greatly admire Elmore Leonard.

JON:  What is the one thing always in your refrigerator?

RB:  Orange Juice, fruit, whole wheat bread.