By CHRIS TALBOTT, Associated Press Writer Tue Aug 19, 6:05 PM ET
Elvis Cole is Robert Crais‘ best friend.
Crais brought the L.A. private investigator back last month in “Chasing Darkness,” the 11th installment in one of crime fiction‘s best series. And like fans of the series, Crais can’t get enough of the droll detective.
“Elvis Cole is the lens through which I see the world around me,” Crais said in an interview from his home in the Santa Monica Hills of Los Angeles. “He is with me constantly and I do miss him when he’s not around.”
Crais, a former TV writer on such iconic series as “Hill Street Blues,” “Cagney & Lacey” and “Miami Vice,” has rarely strayed from the series in the 20 years since Cole’s debut in “The Monkey’s Raincoat.”
While he did write three stand-alone books, including “Hostage,” which was turned into a Bruce Willis action movie, Crais has settled into a rhythm that should delight fans of Cole and his lovably prickly partner, Joe Pike.
“Chasing Darkness” comes after the release of last year’s “The Watchman,” a book that focused on Pike with Cole in a supporting role. And a new Pike novel is slated for next summer.
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AP: Do you ever grow weary of writing Elvis Cole novels?
Robert Crais: I’ve allowed them, Elvis and Joe, to change and have allowed the way I tell the stories to change. So as long as the characters and the storytelling remain open for me, I’m not bored by it at all. As I change, Elvis changes. As the world changes around me, new stimulus and whatnot, I continue to have fun with it.
AP: Though your three stand-alone books have been sold or optioned for movies, you’ve repeatedly turned down offers to develop the Cole series for television or movies. Why is that?
RC: I’ve turned them all down. I stopped counting at 50 offers. … It’s kind of complicated. I’m very protective of those characters. As they used to say on “Saturday Night Live,” “Elvis Cole has been vetty, vetty good to me.” As much as I love television and movies, books are special. My concern is if I allow a film to be made of those guys, that somehow those will have an adverse impact on the collaboration I have with my readers, that somehow Elvis and Joe will be changed in their eyes. I don’t know if that’s real or not, but so far I’ve been saying no to all the offers coming my way. …
I guess it’s possible that a film can serve a novel that way, but it’s so rare to encounter movies that actually embody the work. I figure the odds are very much against that, so I’m leery.
AP: Have you been tempted to return to TV writing?
RC: I might live in Los Angeles still but my business is writing novels. I’m not part of the Hollywood rat race any more. I’m not trying to hustle deals. I don’t write screenplays on assignment. I’m not interested in taking meetings with producers. I just have a flat blanket no to all that stuff. It really is kind of easy to ignore that. My view of it now is simply a civilian’s view.
AP: Would you mind sharing what you’re working on now?
RC: The next book is going to be another Joe Pike book. Last year’s book was “The Watchman” where I flipped Elvis and Joe’s roles and I let Joe take center stage and had Elvis become a supporting character. I really enjoyed writing that. That book also had the extra added advantage of being enormously successful
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