Michael’s Tribute to Daniel Woodrell

Michael’s Tribute to Daniel Woodrell

I feel as if lately I’m honing a craft never desired: the tribute piece. In July, I wrote a farewell to my best friend – that may seem an odd term to apply to an 88-year-old man, but it’s the right one. His name was Bob Hammel, and he was a sportswriter by trade and a...
Michael’s reflections on his beloved mentor Bob Hammel

Michael’s reflections on his beloved mentor Bob Hammel

I’m at 30,000 feet when I get the update, relayed via text message and Wi-Fi, technological wonders that Bob Hammel could not have imagined when he filed stories from Munich, Maui, or Madison Square Garden: He is ready to go. I am not surprised. Hammel has been ready,...

The Name-change Game

“A conversation about earthquakes made me decide it’s time to tell the truth.” That’s both the opening sentence of my novel LOST MAN’S LANE and this ground-stop inspired confession. A frequent question when one adds a pen name after writing 14 novels is: why? In my...

ON Maine Storytelling

Beauty and brutality share the same waters and ridges; the place is always active, and the idyllic moment may be swiftly replaced with a punishing one. The past weighs heavily on the present, chilled breaths on the neck as you drive by tilting tombstones in forgotten...

On Beginning a Career in a Morgue

I’m now 18 books into a career that began in a morgue – really – and has taken me to the Maine islands where my latest, AN HONEST MAN, is set. After that many books, it’s interesting to look back for commonalities. The obvious answer is that they all fall under the...
Tribute to MWA Grand Master Michael Connelly

Tribute to MWA Grand Master Michael Connelly

On April 27, 2023, Michael joined Alafair Burke to present the Grand Master Award to Michael Connelly at the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Awards ceremony. Their tribute is below, as is the video of the presentation. Enjoy! Everybody Counts or Nobody Counts We have...