Motor City Blue

Loren D. Estleman

Since the appearance of his first novel in 1976, Loren D. Estleman has written more than 65 books and hundreds of short stories and articles. Among those books: Writing the Popular Novel, from Writer's Digest Books; the second in a new series featuring Estleman's Los Angeles film detective, Valentino (Alone, featuring Greta Garbo, December 2009); American Detective (the nineteenth Amos Walker novel, April 2007); The Adventures of Johnny Vermillion (a rollicking comic western, May 2006); the Spur award-winning The Undertaker's Wife (2005); and a novel about hanging judge Isaac Parker, The Branch and the Scaffold (April 2009). Forthcoming are: The Book of Murdock (eighth in the Page Murdock series; January 2010), and The Left-Handed Dollar (20th in the Amos Walker series). There are several short stories in the hopper, and proposals for future novels in both the mystery and historical western genres. He recently finished writing a historical crime novel, which is his largest project to date, and is currently working on another Valentino novel.

All of this on a manual typewriter, no less.

Estleman has received fan letters from such notables as John D. MacDonald, The Amazing Kreskin, Mel Torm?, and Steve Forbes. He has acquired a loyal cult readership across the United States and in Europe, and his work has appeared in 23 languages.

An authority on both criminal history and the American West, Estleman has been called the most critically acclaimed author of his generation. He has been nominated for the National Book Award, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.

He has received seventeen national writing awards: four Shamuses from the Private Eye Writers of America, five Spurs from the Western Writers of America, two American Mystery Awards from Mystery Scene Magazine, two Outstanding Mystery Writer of the Year awards from Popular Fiction Monthly, two Stirrup Awards for outstanding articles in the Western Writers of America magazine, The Roundup, and three Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 1987, the Michigan Foundation of the Arts presented him with its award for literature. In 1997, the Michigan Library Association named him the recipient of the Michigan Author's Award. In 2007, Nicotine Kiss was named a Notable Book by the Library of Michigan.

In 1993, Estleman was Guest of Honor at the Southwest Mystery Convention in Austin, Texas. He was Honored Guest at Eyecon '99 (Private Eye Writers of America Convention), held in St. Louis in July of that year. In June 2001, he was Guest of Honor (the first American chosen) at the Bloody Words Convention in Toronto, Canada.

He has been a judge for many literary honors, including the prestigious Hopwood Award given by the University of Michigan. He has written book reviews for many newspapers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, and in 1988 he covered the filming of Lonesome Dove for TV Guide.