I got to see Elmore Leonard several times in bookstores in Washington, DC. One time, I barely made it there before the event finished because I had rushed from Baltimore. I told this to Leonard and he said I should have been there at his event in Baltimore earlier that day (which I didn’t know about). It was not well attended. I told him Baltimore’s slogan was “The city that reads”. He told me it must be a new slogan. The next time I saw him at a bookstore, I gave him a “The City that reads” bookmark.
At one point, when Baltimore was #1 in teen pregnancy, some folks said our slogan should be “The city that breeds”.
Leonard wrote so many excellent books. If you haven’t read them, I would start with Tishomingo Blues or Freaky Deaky. He is best known for crime novels which are written with a rambling, unpredictable plot and a great sense of humor. A three volume set of 12 crime novels is available from the Library of America.
They added a volume of his westerns in 2018.
There are several excellent films based on Leonard books:
Jackie Brown (based on Rum Punch – major changes from the book)
updates 10/11/21
Sad! 