Robert B. Parker

BIO

Robert B. Parker has long been acknowledged as the dean of American crime fiction. His novel featuring the wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private-eye Spenser have earned him a devoted following and reams of critical acclaim, typified by R.W.B. Lewis' comment, "We are witnessing one of the great series in the history of the American detective story" (The New York Times Book Review). Robert Parkers most recent bestsellers include his SPENSER novel, BACK STORY and DEATH IN PARADISE, his third JESSE STONE novel. His first western, GUNMANS RHAPSODY was published in 2001. His previous Spenser novel, HUGGER MUGGER, was a national bestseller in the Spring of 2000. He also had a national bestseller with PERISH TWICE, his second Sunny Randall novel.

Parker's other works include the classic POODLE SPRINGS, a novel completed from an unfinished manuscript begun by the late Raymond Chandler, and PERCHANCE TO DREAM, the sequel to Raymond Chandler's THE BIG SLEEP. Ironically, Parker wrote about Chandler in a chapter of his doctoral thesis about the evolution of the American Hero, beginning with the colonial period and ending with the twentieth century mystery writers. As fate would have it, Parker has now become one of the best of them: "Robert B. Parker has taken his place besides Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Ross MacDonald" (The Boston Globe).

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Parker attended Colby College in Maine, served with the Army in Korea, and then completed a Ph.D. in English at Boston University. He married his wife Joan in 1956; they raised two sons, David and Daniel. Together the Parkers founded the Pearl Productions, a Boston- Based independent film company named after their short-haired pointer, Pearl, who has also been featured in Parker's last few novels. He and Joan now live in the Boston area.

Parker began writing his Spenser novels in 1971 while teaching at Boston's Northeastern University. Little did he suspect then that his witty, literate prose and psychological insights would make him keeper-of-the-flame of America's rich tradition of detective fiction. Parker's fictional Spenser inspired the ABC-TV series Spenser: For Hire. More recently, his Spenser novels, SMALL VICES and THIN AIR were made into television films for the A&E network.

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INTERVIEW

April 4, 2000

Prolific Robert Parkeris back again, this time on the racetrack with his latest Spenser mystery HUGGER MUGGER. The book is named after an exceptional racetrack horse whose life is in danger --- the title is not to be mistaken for a new breed of affectionate muggers. Just the other day, TBR Senior Writer Joe Hartlaub --- and long time Parkerfanatic --- had a chance to speak with the author to find out the scoop on HUGGER, and Spenser's future. Find out what Parker's favorite creation is, why he chose to go on the track for HUGGER, why he won't reveal Spenser's real name, and much more in this interview.

TBR: Today is the publication date for HUGGER MUGGER, which by my count is the 30th Spenser novel. When you wrote THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT --- the first of your novels to feature Spenser --- did you have any idea that almost 30 years later you and Spenser would be major literary icons?

RP: I don't think you could say I was surprised. I really didn't know enough about publishing to know what to expect. I knew the book was good; and the publisher thought it was good. By the time I turned it in I had already started another one (GOD SAVE THE CHILD). I really didn't know what was going to happen but I felt good about the book and good about the character and knew that I could continue writing about Spenser

TBR: HUGGER MUGGER brings Spenser to a very un-Spenser-like environment. Has horse racing been a long-term passion of yours, or was this an area you had to research to become familiar with?

RP: Actually, I've had no passion at all for thoroughbred racing. Approximately 10 years ago my agent, who is part owner of a thoroughbred stable, had an idea for a book which would be about horse breeding and racing. She thought it would be ideal for Joan and me, since we knew nothing about horse racing and would bring a fresh perspective to the topic. The result of this was that Joan and I went around the racing circuit and wrote a book entitled A YEAR AT THE RACES which, unfortunately, was promoted very poorly and sank beneath the notice of the book buying public. There were a couple of benefits from the project, however. One was that by luck we were able to observe the development of an extremely talented yearling colt named Summer Squall, who within a year won several awards and ultimately was named Horse of the Year. The other, of course, was HUGGER MUGGER. Joan suggested to me one day, "Why don't you use all that research into thoroughbred racing in a book?" And I did!

TBR: Was there a specific model for the Three Fillies Stables in HUGGER MUGGER?

RP: No, not at all. HUGGER MUGGER, the horse in the book, was modeled after Summer Squall, but that's where any comparison between fiction and reality ends

TBR: One of my favorite passages in HUGGER MUGGER was that in which the reader saw, through Spenser's eyes, the city of San Francisco. He --- or rather, you --- captured the essence of the city in a brief sentence or two.

RP: Just doing what I'm supposed to do! That's why I get paid the big bucks!

TBR: Do you have any plans for a Spenser novel set entirely in San Francisco?

RP: No, I really have no plan as such. I really don't know what I am going to do in terms of what a book is going to be about until I actually start writing it! I don't know what the next Spenser book will be about since I haven't started it yet. I'm not ruling out having Spenser visit San Francisco for an extended period. I would have to spend some additional time there myself to know the city better, however.

TBR: Which of the novels that you have written is your personal favorite?

RP: ALL OUR YESTERDAYS was unquestionably the best work I have ever done. And the reading public stayed away in droves. The publisher thought it would be huge, I was proud of it, other writers enjoyed it; but it is a fact that what interests other writers does not always interest the reading public. One of the more interesting episodes concerning ALL OUR YESTERDAYS was that CBS picked up the option for the film rights to it. When the first draft of the script came in, one of the higher-ups in production said, "What are all of these Irish guys doing in here?" She, needless to say, was somewhat unfamiliar with the book.

TBR: Have you ever considered writing any short stories, whether involving Spenser or not?

RP: Only once. Playboy at one point solicited me for a short story. I told them that I did not do short stories, that short stories did not work for me, or for Spenser, but they persisted. They offered good pay, an autographed picture of Hefner, that type of thing. So I wrote a short story, featuring Spenser, titled "Surrogate." And Playboy rejected it! It eventually was published but that has been the only time I have really considered doing a short story.

TBR: Which of your novels would you most like to see adapted to film?

RP: ALL OUR YESTERDAYS. By the time a book gets to film, however, it's theirs, not mine. The exception to this is the A&E adaptations. I have artistic control over those and write the scripts. And there will be more of those. THIN AIR will be shown in September, and LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE will be on next year.

TBR: FAMILY HONOR, which is the first, and hopefully not the last, of the Sunny Randall novels, has been adapted for film. Did you have any input into the adaptation and, if so, to what extent?

RP: I have no input at all. They give me the money, I give them the book. Having input into the adaptation would be kind of like selling a house and coming back three years later and saying, "Paint it this color!"

TBR: Could you tell us a little about Pearl Productions, and what projects are current being worked on?

RP: Nothing of great consequence, really. We have sponsored some local theater, as well as a dramatic presentation and a concert presented by my sons in San Francisco and Boston, respectively.

TBR: What is your academic background?

RP: I received my B.A. From Colby College in Waterville, Maine. I earned my Master in English from Boston University in 1957. I began teaching in 1962 and also began studying for my Ph.D. in literature which I obtained from Boston University in 1971. One of the reasons that I was working for a Ph.D. was that I had been advised that a professor's position at a university would give me time to write! I had heard about the nine hour workweeks and, when I ultimately acquired the doctorate and obtained a professorship, I found that to be true. When I made the decision to resign from my teaching position Joan said, "Why resign? You only have to teach on Wednesdays!" and my response was "Yes! But it's EVERY Wednesday!"

TBR: Your doctoral thesis concerned the evolution of the American Hero commencing with the colonial period and ending with 20th Century mystery writers ---including, of course, Raymond Chandler. Who in your opinion, was the first American Hero?

RP: Natty Bumpo, in THE DEERSLAYER by James Fenimore Cooper.

TBR: And why?

RP: He was really the first one who made it all work. There have, of course, been many others since that time

TBR: In addition to the Spenser novels, you have written two novels featuring Philip Marlowe; two novels featuring Jesse Stone; and the recent FAMILY HONOR, involving Sunny Randall. Do you have plans in the future for novels involving any of these protagonists, or new creations, in addition to Spenser?

RP: There will be a new Sunny Randall book, PERISH TWICE, in November of this year. That will be followed by a new Spenser novel. I plan on alternating that way for a while, writing two books a year.

TBR: What are you working on now?

RP: PERISH TWICE. I am about a third of the way toward completion of it. I unfortunately got a bit behind recently. I went into the hospital in January of this year for a major, though routine, surgical procedure. There was a major complication during the surgery, unfortunately. If not for the fact that Boston has many brilliant medical specialists, I might not be here today. I was in intensive care for several days and, in fact, am still near the end of my recovery. My wife and sons were all there during the course of my hospitalization; if there was any benefit for me from the experience it was seeing that my sons were everything that I would want my adult children to be. They were very supportive of their mother, unintimidated by the doctors. I couldn't have asked for better.

TBR: Could you share your work habits with us?

RP: I normally get up around 8 AM. I eat breakfast, read the newspaper, and read and answer e-mail. I start writing between 10 and 11 AM and write five pages per day. I'll then eat a light lunch, take an hour nap, and work on a screenplay in the afternoon. I need long, uninterrupted periods to write --- I can't write in short bursts, although Joan can. I'll then go down to the gym and work out. I should note that another of the benefits of my recent surgery was that I lost 40 pounds! Now if I can just keep it off...one of my doctors told me that what really saved my life was my lifestyle --- I work out regularly, and do not smoke or drink.

TBR: You have on any number of occasions acknowledged the influence of Raymond Chandler upon your career. You are now at the point where you may well be even more of an influence upon the genre than Chandler, especially as applicable to writers trying to break into the genre. Do you have any advice for new writers?

RP: No, not really...well, actually, two things. First of all, find a way to produce. As I described earlier, having a Ph.D. and a professorship position gave me long uninterrupted hours to write! Secondly, when you have finished writing it, send it to someone who can publish it. Don't send it to me! And don't show it to your writers' group where everyone can tell you how good or bad it is. Send it to someone who can publish it. And if they won't publish it, send it to someone else who can publish it! And keep sending it! Of course, if no one will publish it, at that point you might want to think about doing something other than writing.

TBR: Besides Chandler, what other authors have influenced you?

RP: Actually, I've been influenced on two levels. The first level was the pulp magazines, which I read the way kids today watch television, read comics, or play video games. In addition to authors like Chandler and Hammett and Rex Stout, there were many wonderful writers that nobody has ever heard of. The second level consisted of authors such as Hemingway.

TBR: You have been quoted as saying that you will keep writing Spenser novels as long as people want them. Is there really any doubt that Spenser fans will keep reading, and rereading, your novels as long as you wish to keep writing them?

RP: That sounds like a good arrangement to me. I plan to keep writing until I die. Retirement has no attraction for me. Sitting around on the beach drives me crazy! I think what disturbed me most about my recent medical problems was that I was unable to be as productive as I would have liked. I am pretty much back up to speed, however; Joan says I must be getting better because my whine is louder and stronger.

TBR: Not to be morbid, but have you written the last Spenser novel, to be published after your death?

RP: Oh no! That's not fair to the reader at all. Spenser will live forever, at least as long as people want to remember him, and me. And I don't want to work hard on a book that is not going to be published in my lifetime. I want the money now! And, of course, I want to see the book published.

TBR: Last of all: will you ever reveal Spenser's first name?

RP: No, and for a very good reason --- I don't know what it is myself!

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PAST INTERVIEW

October 6, 2000

Robert B. Parkeris back with his most recent thriller --- PERISH TWICE --- and a brand new Bookreporter.com interview. Despite recent surgery, Parkeris still raring to go, in both his fiction and his life, according to interviewer and long time fan Joe Hartlaub. Join us as Parkertalks about his new and classic characters, his wife Joan and her helpful female perspective, his fictional master plan --- or lack thereof --- and much more.

TBR: We last spoke about six months ago; you were making a slow but steady recovery from some medical difficulties. As we're sitting here now in August 2000, what is your status healthwise?

RBP: I'm at a hundred percent. I lost fifty pounds. And while that was due to my surgery, I am back to lifting weights and have been able to keep from gaining back the weight that I lost. I am right now in the best shape of my life.

TBR: You had also mentioned that your regular writing regimen was three hours in the morning on one book, then three hours in the afternoon on the other. Are you back to that schedule as yet?

RBP: Oh yes. I write 5 pages on each; I am writing a new Spenser in the morning, and in the afternoon I am working on a couple of screenplays.

TBR: The names "Spenser" and "Parker" are synonymous in the minds of the reading public; small wonder, since you've been writing Spenser novels for an ever expanding readership for close to 30 years now. Accordingly there are some who consider it close to blasphemy that you would spend time and energy creating another character. On October 2, however, PERISH TWICE, the second Sunny Randall novel, will be published. What was the impetus for creating a new, recurring character whose novels would alternate with the Spenser novels?

RBP: Well, there are two recurring characters, actually, those being Jesse Stone (NIGHT PASSAGE, TROUBLE IN PARADISE) as well as Sunny Randall. I created these two, relatively new characters for different reasons. I started writing the Jesse Stone novels because I realized that at this point in my career it takes me three to four months to write a Spenser novel and as a result I have a lot of time on my hands. I decided to do a work in the third person narrative, which I had not done for a while, and which would feature a character who was a bit younger than Spenser and who was not quite so Spenser-like. As far as Sunny Randall is concerned, my motive, purely and simply was greed.

TBR: Greed works! It's a great motivator!

RBP: Yes! What happened was that Joan and I were in Los Angeles in 1997. I received a call from John Calley, the CEO of SONY Pictures, who wanted to know if I would be interested in listening to a proposal. It seemed that Helen Hunt wanted a female Spenser-type character to be used as a vehicle for her production company for one or more movies. Joan and I met with John, Helen, and Amy Pascal, who was President of Columbia Pictures at the time, in John's office on the old MGM lot in what used to be Louie Meyer's office. I won't pretend that Joan and I are so sophisticated that we were not impressed by being picked up in a limousine and transported to a movie lot which is full of history and sitting in on a meeting like that! Anyway, I entered into an agreement with Ms. Hunt's production company, and Sunny Randall was created soon thereafter. I wrote FAMILY HONOR and a film based on the book is in the planning stage, though I am not entirely sure what is happening with it at this point. My publisher, however, liked FAMILY HONOR and asked for more. The result of that is PERISH TWICE. What I will be doing is writing a new Spenser novel annually, to be published each spring. I will alternate in the fall between a Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone novel. This year it will be Sunny Randall in PERISH TWICE; I'll publish a new Jesse Stone novel in fall 2001.
  
TBR: PERISH TWICE is an extremely impressive work for a number of reasons. You have, in an amazingly short space of time --- two novels, however that measures out --- managed to create a character who stands quite well on her own. While the character has some similarities to Spenser --- a private investigator, based in Boston --- I never had the feeling that I was reading a Spenser novel. I felt like I was reading a Parkernovel about a female detective, without hearing any echo of Spenser in the background. Did you have much difficulty in submerging Spenser during the course of writing PERISH TWICE?

RBP: Oh yes! I certainly did. I am extremely fortunate, however, to have married the girl of my dreams. Joan was a great help. She read through PERISH TWICE and FAMILY HONOR and would tell me such things as "A woman wouldn't say it like that," or "A woman wouldn't dress that way at that type of function," things that I knew absolutely nothing about and still know nothing about! I think at this stage in my life I have learned that there are any number of things that men will never know, and can never hope to know, about women.

TBR: It has already been well-established that you write books about men quite well. What is established with PERISH TWICE is that you write about women quite well, also. While Sunny finds herself involved in a murder investigation, she also is, with some admitted reluctance, helping her difficult sister with her domestic problems and providing a shoulder to cry on for her longtime friend, while maintaining a relationship in development with her ex-husband. Some of these elements are, I think, more likely to be found in what is called with some accuracy a "chick book;" yet, I never got a sense of that in PERISH TWICE. As each scenario occurred, it wasn't emphasized as anything other than an aspect of the life of a private investigator who happens to be a woman. How did you manage to strike such a balance with Sunny Randall in PERISH TWICE?

RBP: I can't really answer that, but I'll give it a shot. I've had a lifetime of answering questions I couldn't really answer. But here it is: I have known an interesting, sexy, independent woman for some 50 years and have had many opportunities to observe her in many different situations. And one of the many things I have learned during the course of our relationship is that ultimately the things that separate women from men are less significant than the things that we have in common with each other. So what I have done in PERISH TWICE and FAMILY HONOR is to keep in mind that Sunny Randall is not Spenser, and is not a man, but is a woman, and proceed from there. I have also learned at this stage to relax. The writing comes a lot easier --- and this is advice that I would give to a beginning writer --- when you're relaxed. Relax, and don't get yourself too tense.  

TBR: The ending to PERISH TWICE was quite unique and interesting. I really don't want to give any of it away --- at all, so let me ask this: besides Ritchie, Sunny's ex-husband, Spike and Julie, Sunny's friends, and Elizabeth, her sister, will we be seeing any of the characters from PERISH TWICE in the future?

RBP: I don't know! I have no master plan. I mean, I probably will; I have brought back other characters before in the Spenser books, and some of the characters from the Spenser novels pop up in PERISH TWICE. So it could happen. It's actually harder in some ways to plan ahead that way, especially for a beginning writer. But I don't really plan it far ahead at all. I have reached the point where I know that as long as I sit down to write, the ideas will come. What they will be, I don't know.  

TBR: Which, of course, keeps the readers guessing, too.

RBP: Absolutely.  

TBR: On another topic, you have a pretty ambitious book tour starting on October 3 in which you cover both of the coasts and make a good stab at covering all areas in between. Did you have any input in setting this up?  

RBP: No; I could have had all of the input I wanted, but I really didn't want to be responsible for setting the whole thing up. And I can always say yes or no. But it's part of the process of selling books, going from city to city and signing books and meeting the readers, so I still do it. One thing I do insist upon now is travel days between cities. Back in the old days, when I was first beginning all of this I was in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle --- on the same day. I later contacted the people who set up the tour and advised them that Minneapolis and Seattle were not the twin cities!  

TBR: Are there any plans for a film version of PERISH TWICE?

RBP: There is no option on it as yet. There would be some legal difficulties, I imagine, if someone wanted to make a film of it without Helen Hunt. But nothing has happened with it as yet. THIN AIR, the Spenser novel, has been adapted for film and was on the A & E Network on September 12, and will no doubt be rerun. THIN AIR, the movie, by the way, features almost the entire Parkerfamily. Joan plays a doctor in the movie; my son Dan, an actor by profession, plays a priest; and I can be seen for a few moments as a cop asleep in a police station. The script indicated that there was a "fat cop" asleep in the police station; I changed that to "handsome cop!"  

TBR: Do you have plans for any novels or nonfiction in the future which deal with characters other than Spenser or Sunny Randall?

RBP: I do, but whether I will get along with those projects before I die, who knows? I have so many contractual obligations that I honestly don't know if I could squeeze in any additional work.

TBR: Would these be fiction or nonfiction?

RBP: Fiction. I would like to do a novel involving Wyatt Earp. I have another idea for a novel about Jackie Robinson. I have written a short story involving Jackie Robinson which will be published this year in a sports mystery anthology. But I don't know if or when I'll be able to develop any of them.

TBR: One last question: what books have you read in the past six months that you would recommend to your readers?

RBP: Besides PERISH TWICE?! I don't read fiction, other than the new Elmore Leonard novels. Right now, I'm reading REMBRANDT'S EYES, by Simon Schama. I recently read Jonathan Lear's book, OPEN MINDED, as well as THE GREAT DISRUPTION by Francis Fukuyama.

TBR: All right! As always, it has been a pleasure. Thank you! And the best of health to you in the future.

RBP: Thank you!

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ARTICLE - 1998

Anyone who reads Robert Parker's SPENSER series know that while the plot twists involving Spenser, Susan, and Hawk may vary with the books, there are some near certainties: Crime, witty dialogue, romantic encounters, and wonderful food prepared by Spenser's own hands.

During a recent interview with Robert Parker, I asked him if he'd ever considered doing a Spenser cookbook. He said it had been in the works a couple of times but had never gelled and it was still a possibility he was considering.

The anticipation got my mouth watering and since then I've been daydreaming about what delectables such a cookbook might contain:

Boneless chicken breasts cooked "with wine and butter and cream, and mushrooms." Served with a salad and a "dressing made with lime juice and mint, olive oil, honey, and wine vinegar." –THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT

German sausages with green apples slices dipped in flour and fried in the sausage fat. Served with "coarse rye bread and wild strawberry jam."  – THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT

Spaghetti tossed with steamed broccoli and spiced pistachio oil made from a well-blended mixture of "two garlic cloves...parsley...basil... kosher salt...oil...and a handful of shelled pistachios." – LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE

Hot pumpkin soup served with "cold asparagus with green herb mayonnaise" on a bed of red lettuce, as a side to pheasant with raspberry vinegar sauce and "saffron pilaf with white and wild rice and pignolias," and sour cherry cobbler with Vermont cheddar cheese as dessert. –CEREMONY

Yellow eye baked beans served with cornbread and "Iron Horse Champagne." –CHANCE

Spenser's famous corn cakes made with "equal parts cornmeal and corn flour," eggs, milk, baking powder, cooked on an oiled griddle and served with warm maple syrup. –CEREMONY

Pork tenderloin brushedwith honey and rosemary and roasted. Served with corn flour biscuits and a "salad of white beans and peppers...doused with some olive oil and cilantro." –DOUBLE DEUCE

Buffalo tenderloin "marinated in red wine and garlic." Served with "fiddle head ferns, corn pudding, and red potatoes cooked with bay leaf," but only after an appetizer of salmon roe "with toast and some creme fraiche." –PAPER DOLL

Avocado and mango slices served on endive leaves with a "dressing of first-press olive oil and lemon juice and honey." – PLAYMATES

Duck breast "sliced on the diagonal and served rare, onion marmalade, brown rice, broccoli tossed with a spoonful of sesame tahini." –STARDUST

Grilled lemon and rosemary chicken served with "brown rice with pignolias, assorted fresh vegetables lightly steamed and dressed with Spenser's famous honey-mustard splash, blue corn bread..." –CRIMSON JOY

Stir-fried bell peppers and mushrooms with "a little olive oil and a dash of raspberry vinegar" served over spinach fettucine and topped with walnut meats. –THE WIDENING GYRE

Steak grilled with Cajun spices, cut into squares, mixed with mushrooms, sweet peppers, celery, scallions, and corn combined "with a little sugar and chopped cilantro." Served over romaine lettuce. –SUDDEN MISCHIEF

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