In Talking Mysteries, Tony Hillerman discusses his craft, including his approach to plot, characterization, and setting, and the wrinkles and twists that make his brand of fiction unique. These and other insights into how he writes emerge in an extended interview with his long-time friend and fellow author Ernie Bulow. An autobiographical piece by Hillerman details his early years in Oklahoma, first encounters with Navajo culture, and his eventual life as journalist and author.

Navajo artist Ernest Franklin created twelve sketches of Hillerman characters for this book. Hillerman credits Franklin with "showing me what Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn look like." As an additional treat, a Jim Chee mini-mystery, "The Witch, Yazzie, and the Nine of Clubs," originally published in 1981 and long unavailable, is included.

Author: Tony Hillerman, Ernie Bulow
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Published: 03/31/2004
Pages: 137
Weight: 0.43lbs
Size: 8.46h x 5.30w x 0.41d
ISBN: 9780826335111


Review Citation(s):
PW Notes and Reprints 04/12/2004 pg. 43
Publishers Weekly 04/12/2004

About the Author
Bulow, Ernie: - Ernie Bulow, author of Navajo Taboos, lives in Gallup, New Mexico.Hillerman, Tony: - Tony Hillerman (1925-2008), an Edgar Award-winning novelist, was best known for the Jim Chee Mystery series, which earned him the Navajo people's appreciation as special friend to the Dineh. A former reporter and newspaper editor, Hillerman was a member of the journalism faculty at the University of New Mexico from 1965-1987. He served as chairman of the journalism department from 1966-1974.