From the City of Angels to Scotland Yard
A look at two celebrated crime fiction authors and their inspiring words
In my post “Why I Spent NaNoWrimo Reading and Sharing Rather than Writing,” I mentioned how much I enjoyed posting inspirational quotes for writers on Twitter throughout November 2020. I’ve always loved delving into literary history related not only to where writers come from but what compels them to write and the stories behind their stories. Below I revisit two of the quotes I shared and learn more about their incredibly compelling sources. (Please note this post includes affiliate links, and I may earn a little money if you click on a link and make a purchase. Thanks!)
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
Genre: Crime Fiction
“Stories keep their deep connection to the human heart word by word, sentence by sentence.” ~Walter Mosley
The above quote was from the eloquent acceptance speech Walter Mosley gave when he was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2020. For crime fiction fans and other authors who write crime fiction, the occasion was a highlight in book publishing history — and Mosley was their ideal representative as a writer who has helped elevate the popular genre to an art form.
A California native, Mosley was the only child of a Jewish mom and a Black dad who were unable to find anyone who would issue them a marriage license in 1951 despite their marriage being legal in their state. Later in life he’d often explore racial issues in his work, whether he was writing plays, nonfiction, crime fiction, or works in other genres such as science fiction.
Since his thirties, Mosley has written every day. His first novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, was published in 1990 when he was 38. Since then he’s published over 50 books (in 30 years!) as well as plays and works for film and television.
Set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in the late 1940s, Devil in a Blue Dress introduces Ezekiel “Easy”…
