Reading Robert B. Parker Now ...

I don't know why I've never read any Robert B. Parker before now.

Stupid.

And, truth be told, I owe it all to Tom Selleck, because those Jesse Stone movies he's been producing and starring in -- they're specials on CBS -- made me wonder about the novels. Then, I was in line at the store and someone had stuffed one of the Jesse Stone paperbacks (Stranger in Paradise) in between the beef jerky and the King Size Snickers bars and of course, I took it as a sign.

And, sure enough it was. I love and adore Robert B. Parker.

Fast read, clean read. A true master here -- especially enjoying his dialogue. Wow. So well done, and he appears to be a member of the "use 'said' or don't use anything at all school."

Dialogue. Wow.

You know -- he said, she said. Not he cried, she exclaimed, he snarled. Dean Koontz, another one with this as a writing rule ....

I'm going through the Sunny Randall series now. From the debut forward, in publication order. And, I'm also doing this with the Jesse Stone series.

Spencer? I'm waiting on him -- that's a big buncha books, plus I dunno. I feel less connected somehow to Spencer, although I do remember the TV series from years ago, and I do remember liking the characters there. Hawk. Cool.

And, fine. I have to be honest. One of the reasons that I'm really enjoying Parker's work has nothing to do with plots or settings or character development or series construction or mysteries or thrillers or anything like that.

I love Rosie the bull terrier.

I just really like Rosie, the miniature bull terrier that splits her time between Sunny Randall and her ex-husband. Rosie is just endearing and fabulous, and well ... dog lovers are a special kind of folk, and it's nice to know that Robert B. Parker is one of us. (And, sure, I'm waiting for Jesse Stone to get his dog ... he better get one, the TV Jesse has that great golden in every story that I've seen.)

Wish Rosie had a blog, though. I mean, Martha Stewart's pugs (Francesca and Sharky) just got one, and heck. Dean Koontz's dog Trixie Koontz, has a blog AND is still writing books from the other side of Rainbow Bridge.