The Official
Elmore Leonard Website

Saturday, June 07, 2025

From the Book’s Introduction

Elmore Leonard was the guest of honor at Bouchercon 2000, the world’s mystery convention in Denver. During his speech, he mentioned that his researcher was in the audience, briefly putting me in the spotlight.

After the speech, women librarian types approached me in the lobby, expressing envy for my job. They asked questions like, “How did you get your job?” and “How do I get a job like yours?” Then, a woman rushed up and blurted out, “I’d kill to have your job,” to which I replied, “That means you’ll have to kill me!” Though unsettling, I understood her hyperbolic expression. It filled me with pride as I slowly backed away. That woman at Bouchercon inspired the title for this book.

How do you get a job like mine? Aside from serendipity? In my case, a plan to meet Elmore Leonard linked me to his work and world forever.

I’d Kill to Have Your Job: Getting the Goods for Elmore Leonard chronicles my three-decade journey through select vignettes from my research on Dutch’s novels, screenplays, and more. It’s not a traditional biography or tell-all; instead, I focus on what’s crucial and memorable, following Dutch’s advice from his Ten Rules of Writing: I “leave out the parts readers tend to skip.”

Dutch did a lot of research himself throughout his long writing career. But later, spending time in the library collecting data became a major distraction. He wanted information to materialize on his desk as if by magic so it didn’t interrupt his flow. When I arrived on the scene, I perform the abracadabra to make that happen. We fell into sync.

Field trips with Dutch were my most cherished memories from my time with him – whether visiting Civil War battlefields, women’s prisons, homicide squad rooms, or the canals of Venice, California. It thrilled me to be part of his creative process.

I’d Kill to Have Your Job offers insight into my working relationship and enduring friendship with Dutch. In any event, I hope you get a sense of the joy and good fortune I’ve experienced as Elmore Leonard’s researcher. It’s a job worth killing for, but as the song goes, only in fiction.