Talking Mysteries : A Conversation with Tony Hillerman

Tony Hillerman discusses his craft, including his approach to plot, characterisation, 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.

Tony Hillerman, an Edgar Award-winning novelist, is author of the Jim Chee mystery series, which has earned him the Navajo people's appreciation as "special friend to the Dineh." He lives in New Mexico Ernie Bulow, author or co-author of numerous books, lives in Gallup, New Mexico