February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
What is your latest book about?
My book is called “Blue Blood” and it is a memoir of my work in the NYPD. I walked a beat in a housing project in the South Bronx, then moved to Narcotics, and I got my detective shield in the 44th Precinct, which is by Yankee Stadium. I work there now. There’s also a good bit of family history — my father, uncle and great grandfather were in law enforcement in the city, going back to 1907 — NYPD and New York City history. The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
What is your writing routine? Are there ideal conditions?
I wish I had a writing routine. Detectives work an odd and awful schedule — two nights, two days, two off — so I fit writing in when I can. A few times a year, I disappear into the woods for a week or two, alone, and work like a madman. Cops in New York make lousy salaries but we get more time off than Frenchmen.
What advice to you have for aspiring writers?
Every writer should write every day. Aspiring writers should try to get something in print — anything, even if it’s letters to the editor for the local paper. It makes a great deal of difference when you have clips to show an editor before you send in a manuscript.
Name three books that are memorable in terms of your reading pleasure?
Among books I’ve read and reread lately that struck me are “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor, “A Month in the Country,” by J.C. Carr, and essays by Thomas Flanagan, who also wrote “Year of the French.”
What book are you currently reading?
“The Moviegoer” by Walker Percy.
Is there a book you wish you had written?
There are stories you would have loved to have written but not at the price of having lived them — all of O’Neill, especially “Long Day’s Journey into Night.”
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Name a book that you were pleasantly surprised by?
One of the most surprising books I’ve come across was “Legs” by William Kennedy, a novel about the gangster Legs Diamond. It had all the flash and energy of a Cagney movie, while being genuinely literary.
If you could meet one author, living or dead, who would it be?
James Joyce. It’s one thing to be with a genius, another to have a good time.
What book changed your life?
The NYPD Patrol Guide
What is your favorite spot in Ireland?
The Beara peninsula, for the long walks in the countryside — up Hungry Hill, along the Kenmare river — and evenings in the pubs.