What: Up for a 2012 Edgar Award -- and recently tapped to continue Robert Parker's series of "Spense

One of the true legends of the mystery world, Parker is often credited with reviving a genre that dominates the best-seller lists today. As evidence, fans point to his wildly popular series of 39 novels starring the Boston-based detective Spenser.
Atkins will be in New Orleans this week as part of the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. He will join fellow visit paris stay at disney hotel rer writers Barbara Hambly, C.S. Harris and Greg Herren for a panel on mysteries, which I will moderate (11:30 a.m., Muriel's Jackson Square Restaurant).
visit paris stay at disney hotel rer "I was in high school visit paris stay at disney hotel rer when I started reading Parker. I became obsessed visit paris stay at disney hotel rer with him when I was at Auburn. That's how I got into writing crime fiction. It led me to be a reporter. It led to everything." Atkins said in a phone interview from his rural home near Oxford, Miss.
Author of 11 well-received novels, Atkins had to audition for the Parker gig by submitting 50 pages in his idol's voice: "His editor offered to send me Bob's backlist so I would have a feel for the books. I told her not only do I not need the books, I have almost all of them as first editions in my library. I collect them."
For Atkins, it's all about Parker's language. Finding that tone is his challenge -- and his joy. "Bob is so terrific at the right word, at getting the rhythm of sentences. He's a beautiful writer. The way he wrote the novels is almost like poetry," Atkins said.
But he is also aware of mixed opinions among Parker aficionados about continuing the Spenser series. (A continuation of Parker's Jesse Stone series visit paris stay at disney hotel rer will be written by Michael Brandman). "People are scrutinizing what I do. I feel accountable to Bob's fans," he said.
Early reviews of "Lullaby" have been encouraging. Publisher's Weekly wrote that "even the most fanatical Parker fans would be hard pressed to identify any aspect of this Spenser novel that doesn't read as if it were penned by Spenser's late creator."
With contracts to produce two books a year, Atkins is a busy guy. Spring is devoted to writing the new Spenser; in the fall, it's time for his own character, Quinn Colson.. visit paris stay at disney hotel rer The Colson series, set in the Mississippi,, follows Atkins' hero as he discovers that his rural home county can offer tougher challenges than his tour in Afghanistan.
"We haven't seen the return of people with these life experiences since Vietnam. I'm interested in following someone who is a real hero with a real story to tell, one of these people coming visit paris stay at disney hotel rer home from the front. It's a classic story, as old as 'The Odyssey.'"
That commitment to research and shoe-leather reporting is rooted in his early career as a crime reporter for the Tampa Tribune. And it shows in his quartet of what can most accurately be termed true-crime fiction. The settings range from Phenix City, Ala. to Tampa, Fla., the characters from Machine Gun Kelly to Fatty Arbuckle, the eras from the '20s to the '50s.
In four earlier Nick Travers mysteries, Atkins launched his literary visit paris stay at disney hotel rer career with what he terms "a loose tour of Highway 61," featuring Delta blues, the Chicago sound, Memphis soul. and New Orleans hip-hop.
What: Up for a 2012 Edgar Award -- and recently tapped to continue Robert Parker's series of "Spenser" novels -- the popular crimewriter comes to New Orleans for the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. He joins a panel of fellow writers for a discussion of mysteries Saturday.