Michael Connelly talks new Ballard and Bosch novel "The Waiting" and character that's his alter ego

Usually, you’ll find me interviewing Rock Stars. Let me tell you, Michael Connelly is a Rock Star. His new book “The Waiting” is his 39th novel. He has sold over eighty-five million copies of his books. His books have been turned into films and television shows like “Bosch,” “Bosch Legacy,” “The Lincoln Lawyer” and the coming series about his character Renee Ballard. But Michael is a lot more than all that would suggest. I was lucky enough to catch up with him via Zoom recently to discuss the release of “The Waiting” and more.

“The Waiting” is a Ballard and Bosch novel, two of Michael’s well-known characters. I had heard Michael say in the past that Harry Bosch was based on multiple detectives Michael knows, yet Renee Ballard was based on a single person. When asked how that made it different to write about them Michael told me that for Harry “I go back to a cadre of people to help me. And one of those people that helped me over the years was Mitzi Roberts, who is a homicide detective with the LAPD.” Michael explained how Mitzi was tasked with running the Cold Case Squad. With her vantage point of her job and being a woman in a male dominated world Michael felt she had stories. “So, I started talking to Mitzi specifically about building a character, a female character. And That’s Where Renee comes from. So, when I’m writing about Renee, I don’t send my questions or my texts to a lot of people. I send them to one, Mitzi Roberts.”

In speaking about Mitzi, Michael mentioned she had recently retired. That led us into talking about Michael’s choice to have his characters age in real time. I asked Michael if he regretted doing that. “I don’t regret a whole lot, because evolving a character in real time against society and a city that changes in real time has been a real blessing. I just can’t believe what I’ve been able, allowed to do.” “They’re crime stories, they’re mysteries, they’re all those things, those kind of entertainments, but at the same time they’re also a study of now a thirty plus year swath of change in an interesting city. So, I don’t regret that part.” But he did mention there may be a minor regret that in the very first Harry Bosch book, that he did not start him out a little bit younger. In 2024 Harry Bosch is seventy-four. Michael said that means “I’m enjoying exploring someone who still has his mission but is facing some health issues, mortality, all those type of things that people of that generation face, and it’s just another fascinating thing to write about.”

Some of Harry’s health issues are part of the details in “The Waiting.” The book is very real in its portrayal of today. The details are what adds so much to Michael’s characters. Michael is responsible for not only creating Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard but also Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer) and Jack McEvoy. There is a minor character that shows up in multiple books of his and is a part of “The Waiting” without making an appearance that I wanted to ask Michael about. That character is Scott Anderson. Michael seemed simultaneously surprised and amused that was the character I brought up. I asked Michael how much of Scott Anderson is himself. “I think a lot actually. I think it’s interesting, I was trying to guess who you were gonna bring up here.” “He is a bit of an alter ego, just as Jack McEvoy is.” That brought Michael to speaking about his years as a journalist. Scott Anderson is the name of a real reporter, just like the character. Early in their careers, Michael and Scott were roommates in South Florida, and they are still friends. “When I write about him, I don’t have to ask Mitzi Roberts, ‘What would you do here?’ ‘What would you say here?’ It just comes out of me, this is what I would do, this is what I would say. And yeah, he is a minor character but in this world I’ve built, the media is important, because the media is the last watchdog.”

After Michael mentioned Florida, it brought me to his time at University of Florida in Gainesville. “The Waiting” is not only the title of Michael’s latest book but it is also the name of a song by another former Gainesville resident, Tom Petty. In fact, the song even gets a mention in the book. I asked Michael if he ever crossed paths with Tom while he was at school. Michael shared that they never crossed paths in a direct way but that he did see Tom in his Mudcrutch days playing in bars. He also told me that an attorney friend of his that he partially based the character of Mickey Haller on, played in a high school band with members of The Heartbreakers.

But the title “The Waiting” is one of many titles Michael has given his books that can mean many things. “Obviously the big thing here is waiting for justice.” Michael went on to explain that detectives are acutely aware of the damage that happens when the cases are not solved, and the answers are not given. “In this book it’s everything from waiting for the next good wave, to waiting for justice.” The good wave remark relating to the character Renee Ballard who is a surfer. Then Michael commented that “The cover of the book, it shows someone either going out into the ocean or coming back from surfing, and that’s a good question to ponder with ‘The Waiting.’” I found it interesting that Michael said the title could mean many things and that the book cover could also be showing us more than one thing as well.

In “The Waiting” Renee Ballard has some sessions with a therapist. When I asked what inspired Michael to make that part of the book, he spoke about wanting to take a deeper dive into this character of Renee Ballard. Michael discussed how sometimes he will tell a story that is very plot oriented. He mentioned that the plotting in this book was very complex, but he also wanted it to be complex about Renee as well. He also shared that his daughter is studying for a master’s in psychology, and he has been reading her papers. One of her papers was about “Vicarious trauma,” which is something that shows up in the book. It is a condition that first responders deal with. Michael said that Renee deals with what happens to crime victims and what their families deal with as well and he wanted to see how she deals with it. He spoke about it manifesting in Renee through insomnia, and that is what has led her to a therapist.

I have heard Michael say before that when he starts a book, he has A and Z, the beginning and then end. I asked if he has ever had to change an ending as he got deeper into writing the book. He told me it does happen because his Z, is more of a “Blurry picture.” It is more of a direction and an idea of where it is going to end up. His estimate is that about 80% of the time it does go where he anticipated. Then he shared that when he wrote “Angels Flight,” he was so sure of the ending that he wrote the last chapter first. He compared it to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad meeting up in the middle of the country. Then he told me he missed the ending by just a little bit and had to adjust and rewrite that final chapter.

We took some time here to discuss Los Angeles as a character in Michael’s novels. I mentioned to Michael that I was living in Van Nuys around 1989, 1990, because I felt he might have been in the same area around then. My guess was pretty good because Michael told me he was living just a few miles away from where I was. So, we got into the city and how it changes yet also stays the same and how it is an important part of his books. Michael talked about “How lucky I am, I get to write about Los Angeles. This gigantic palette that I can draw colors from.” “The city changes quickly, but somehow neighborhoods are the same year after year.”

Michael’s fame started with his novels. For the last decade or so he has also been working in television. It made me wonder if that had affected his writing at all. He said it did “And it’s about spreading the story out.” Michael went into detail about before the shows the books were “Single minded.” Meaning you would be with Harry Bosch for the entire book and see the world through his eyes. But you cannot have your main character in every scene of a TV show. That is when he pointed out that both Harry and Maddie Bosch are part of “The Waiting” yet they are never on the same page together because he is spreading the story out.

In speaking of all these characters, I questioned Michael about judgements. I have heard many actors say they can never judge their character. Characters will judge other characters, to which I specifically mentioned Renee Ballard judging the character Colleen Hatteras in “The Waiting.” So, I was curious as the author, if he judges the characters. Michael said yes and likened himself to a puppeteer when it comes to the characters. He even went into some depth about Colleen’s personality and how it was by design to show some of Ballard’s personality.

I had recently heard Michael speak about creating a new male character. I asked him what, if anything could he tell us about that and is he already begun writing this character’s novel. Michael told us the character began in a short story as a lone detective out on Catalina Island. He immediately thought “This is worth more than a short story.” He expanded it into a novel that is now in the editing process. He said it is called “Nightshade” and even though it has not been set yet, he said “It’s gonna be a book next summer.” I of course asked Michael if he would come back and speak with me when that book is released, and he graciously said he would.

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