Books About Las Vegas

Like most people, I always thought I had a novel or two in me. But I never got a chance until my mid-forties. By that time, I had spent more than two decades in the ad biz, writing every imaginable type of promotional material: TV and radio commercials, brochures, press releases, newsletters, you name it. It paid the bills but none of it was for me. Excellent training, though. It teaches you how to get to the point fast.

I tell people that writing novels about Las Vegas is how I handled my midlife crisis. Safer than a Harley and cheaper than a divorce. Beyond that, I wanted to write books that really capture what it’s like to live in this crazy town. Most books and movies about Las Vegas are written by “carpetbaggers,” folks who come here for a week or two and think they’ve got a handle on this place. Impossible.

There’s no other city in the world like ours. We try to pretend it’s normal, and in some ways it is. But then you’ve got the gambling. In the convenience stores and Laundromats and coffee shops. Not to mention a casino on every corner. This is a company town, no less than Detroit, or Hershey, Pennsylvania. Most of us have a love/hate relationship with it. In some ways, it’s like selling your soul to the devil. I try to put some of that in my books.

My characters are all loosely based on real-life people. This town is a wealth of material. For any writer, all you have to do is keep your eyes open and take notes.

Las Vegas Blog

Elmore Leonard's Top 10

Birthday gift card burning a hole in my pocket, I wandered into Barnes & Noble yesterday in search of  . . . who knows what. Half the appeal is having no idea what you’re interested in and waiting for something to jump off the shelves. As usual, I checked out the remainder and bargain displays first before moving on to my old standbys: Business, Self-Help and, of course, Writing.  There, the slimmest of volumes caught my eye: “Ten Rules of Writing” by Elmore Leonard.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a sucker for Top Ten lists.  And I’m...
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