David Ellis

(Author’s Note:  I wrote this article for the Huffington Post after the Illinois Appellate Court had ordered Rahm Emanuel off the Chicago mayoral ballot and before the Illinois Supreme Court had decided whether to take the case.  I’m happy to note that my prediction in this article came true.)

We can debate whether election laws should impose residency requirements on candidates, like the one-year requirement that applies to the Chicago mayoral race and Rahm Emanuel.  Some would say, who cares if a candidate just recently moved to the jurisdiction—let the voters factor that in when they cast their ballots.  Others claim that a tangible connection to the locale should be a critical prerequisite to the right to run for elected office in that jurisdiction.

Welcome to THE VERDICT.  I’ll give you my best take on anything from law to politics to crime, from writing tips to my review of a recent movie or novel.  One thing I don’t lack is opinions, and I won’t be shy about giving you mine.

But I want to hear from you, too.  So please give me your comments and together, we’ll conquer the world.   Or at least have some fun.

My new novel, Breach of Trust, is the story of a corrupt governor and his aides.  Because I was the House Prosecutor who tried and convicted Governor Rod Blagojevich in the Impeachment Trial before the Illinois Senate, most people assume that I am writing about my experiences during that ordeal.

The truth is that I was writing this novel well before Blagojevich was arrested on December 9, 2008.  Here’s what happened.

I have a long-running feud with realism in novels.  I struggle with where to draw the lines.  Like many other authors, I know how to cheat when I need to.  Gloss over a detail in a summary paragraph so you don’t have to reveal your ignorance.  I hate doing that, actually, but sure it happens sometimes.

When I think of the qualities that go into being a good novelist, organization is not one of them. I think of imagination and creativity and courage and insightfulness. I think of someone poring over a sentence, looking for that perfect word that captures the essence of the moment. I think of someone closing their eyes and letting the inspiration of Beethoven’s Fifth wash over them. I think of someone listening, observing, questioning, obsessing, dreaming.

I don’t think of someone creating an Excel spreadsheet.

But the longer I write books, the more I realize the importance of having my act together beforehand and as I go along.

Probably the most frequently asked question I get about Rod Blagojevich these days is: What will be his defense at trial? At the most recent talk I gave, someone noted that they’d been watching Rod on Celebrity Apprentice, listening to him repeatedly claim that he was innocent and that he would show as much at his trial. How, this person wanted to know, did he plan to accomplish that?

My answer: Keep watching that dumb show.

The other day, some friends and I were talking about movies—probably owing to the recent Oscars—and then to great performances. Heath Ledger came up and someone told me he fell into the school of “immersion” acting. The idea, as I understand it, is “becoming” your character all the time, staying in role 24/7, wearing the Joker make-up even when off the set.

(Note: Wearing Joker makeup 24/7 only counts as immersion acting if, in fact, you are playing the Joker in a movie; otherwise it’s considered creepy.)

Just a few things I want to get off my chest.

1. Dick Adler was always a great reviewer of thrillers for the Chicago Tribune and I just recently found him in the blogosphere. I highly recommend his blog. And it has nothing to do with the fact that he just said my novel, THE HIDDEN MAN, was the best thriller of 2009.

2. I was rocking my baby daughter to sleep this evening and watching a Seinfeld rerun. Although there are many, many memorable cameos in that series, I am now convinced that there is none better than Bookman, the Library Cop. For the life of me, I don’t know how he went through that entire rant with Jerry without bursting into laughter.

I didn’t mean for it to happen, first of all. None of it. I woke up thinking that I would spend my day organizing a closet and assembling Christmas presents and maybe catching one of the omnipresent college football games on television. I never thought this day, or my life, would take this turn. And I steadfastly maintain that it wasn’t my fault. Though I guess “fault” is one of those gray words with so many layers and meanings.