Mosley pens last of Easy's exploits

Best known for his series of crime novels about the exploits of Ezekiel (Easy) Rawlins, a charismatic black detective who has also been a Los Angeles real estate salesman and a janitor, Walter Mosley, who is rarely seen without his trademark fedora, has written his 10th.

His first, "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1990), was made into a critically acclaimed film in 1995 starring Denzel Washington and produced by Jonathan Demme. "Every news person in America knows that Bill Clinton likes my Easy Rawlins books — yet the books didn't sell any better because of it — but I did get a sales boost following the movie of "Devil in a Blue Dress," said a laconic Walter Mosley during a phone interview from his New York home.

"When I started writing 'Blue Dress,' I had no idea it was a mystery — I thought it was a coming-of-age novel," said Mosley.

His 10th Easy Rawlins novel is "Blonde Faith," a rollicking good story that displays all of Rawlins' positive and negative qualities. But Mosley is tired of his character.

"I've written 3,000 pages on Easy Rawlins. What else can I say? There has to be an ending some time," said Mosley. So far he has received only "friendly complaints" from readers who hate to see Rawlins go.

Although Rawlins lives in the Watts section of Los Angeles during the race riots of the 1960s, and he frequently encounters racism, Mosley never intended to make a political statement about race.

"The truth is, it is impossible not to be political in writing," said Mosley. "What am I saying? Well, racism is just there in the sixties. I'm not adding anything. I'm trying to evoke a time. I just wrote what it was like for this guy to walk down the street."

Mosley also rejects any comparison between his character and himself. "I'm not Easy Rawlins. I'm not any of these characters, but something about how my mind works helps me come up with Easy," Mosley said.

Mosley did admit to having a lot of imagination. "But we all do — and we use it in different ways. Reading a novel requires a great imagination."

Although many critics have compared Mosley to Raymond Chandler, Mosley prefers Dashiell Hammet and Ross Macdonald to Chandler. In fact, he just re-read Hammet's "Red Harvest" because he enjoys him so much.

Like those writers, Mosley's sense of humor pops out often in his work. "When I became a writer," said Mosley, "I had to do public events, then I suddenly realized I'm very funny. People would laugh at my responses. Some of my answers were risque or even risky — but I would never have known it if people weren't laughing. I really don't know how it happens."