Elmore Leonard: Rest in Peace

I just read the news and it felt like someone punched me in the gut.
I discovered Elmore Leonard accidentally when I was in my mid 30's. I picked up a tattered paperback in a used book store and something about the blurb on the back made me buy it. It didn't sound like anything I might normally enjoy, but the New York Times said that "Mr. Leonard is incapable of cheating the reader." That caught my attention. I figured "What the hell, it's only a buck and a half lost". And so it began.
I just looked at my bookshelf and I own over twenty Elmore Leonard novels. Over twenty! That's not even half of his career output. I know that I've read and lent out more copies than have ever been returned, but damn! By anyone's count that's a robust literary output.
It always pissed me off that Hollywood screwed up so many of his novels. All they had to do was film the book as the screenplay! His writing was purely cinematic, without an ounce of fat on the bones. The dialogue was black as tar, yet funny as hell. Every character was fully realized and yet so human that you could never guess where their arc might lead. These people were flawed to the core and yet Leonard made you embrace them all the same.
I am saddened by his passing, yet heartened by the knowledge that a team of writers, producers, directors and actors have finally gotten him completely right. Elmore Leonard was a producer on "Justified", but as a devoted fan of the show I trust its crew will continue to honor his memory by creating unparallelled tv that remains true to his vision. They've learned, embraced and adapted the master's style so wholeheartedly that I know his fingers will inspire the keystrokes even though he's moved on.
Elmore Leonard made writing seem effortless. His heroes had balls of steel. If their handguns didn't kill you, their one-liners surely would.

Elmore Leonard
1925-2013