Michael Connelly, a best-selling and award-winning author of nearly 30 mystery novels, started his UF career as an engineering major.
But he graduated from UF’s College of Journalism and Communications. After three decades, he came back Monday night to share insight about the writing industry with students and interviewer Mike Foley, a UF journalism professor.
He was the first in the college’s Great Storytellers series, wrote the Department of Journalism’s chair, Ted Spiker, in an email.
The 59-year-old author said he was slated to work at his family’s building construction business, as his father had done before him.
But instead of investing his energy in classes, he would spend hours reading every issue of Rolling Stone in the UF library. He favored Hunter Thompson’s work for the magazine, in which the journalist published "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Connelly knew he was meant to be a storyteller.
Eventually, he changed his major to journalism. Years later, he said he became a crime reporter at the Los Angeles Times, where he garnered most of the inspiration and research for his novels.
"I was a reporter by day, a storyteller by night," he said.
Connelly said the dual nature of his work hurt his writing, and he ended up taking a three-month-long sabbatical to write a novel.
Foley and Connelly spoke extensively about his character Harry Bosch, off whom the Amazon Prime Instant Video television series "Bosch" is based.
UF advertising junior Chloe Craig attended the event and said she was inspired by his story of success and the advice he offered.
The 20-year-old said it was incredible to peek inside the mind of someone successful in a field related to the one she hopes to pursue.
"His perspective is one you don’t often get to hear or see," she said. "It was a humbling and motivating experience."
Kayla Ziadie, a journalism sophomore, said she enjoyed Connelly’s advice to follow your dreams and write every day, even if it’s only for 15 minutes.
"It’s really refreshing to know he can write 28 books and still be on a roll," the 19-year-old said. "It was inspiring to hear his insight into a career that hits so close to home because it’d be great to have the success that he’s had."
Contact Brooke Baitinger at bbaitinger@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @BaitingerBrooke
Mike Foley (left), a UF master lecturer in the College of Journalism and Communications, interviews best-selling writer and UF alum Michael Connelly in Gannett Auditorium on Sept. 21, 2015. Connelly spoke about storytelling and his career shift from reporter to novelist.
