jess pinkham

January 16, 2024: Lawrence Block not only replied to me, he graciously informed me that "while communication with James M. Cain would require the services of a medium, James Ellroy is still very much on the right side of the grass." There should be a word for Googling someone simply to figure out whether or not they're alive, and how difficult it can be to do. It's a particular mercy to graciously inform someone they've got an erroneous deceased rolodex. James Ellroy is one of the noir/thriller giants my dad so dearly loved. I had no idea he looked so much like Alan Arkin, and I'm thrilled to have sent him a letter thanking him for being a bridge. (Photo by Patrick Cavan Brown)