SOURCE: "It's No Crime To Talk Softly," in New York Times Biographical Service, February 15, 1996, pp. 298-300.

In the following essay, Prial surveys Leonard's life and career, and includes commentary by the author on his works and personal experiences.

Birmingham, Mich.

There's a tendency in this country to confuse appearance with reality. It's like that when you meet Elmore Leonard.

He writes these tough-guy books like Get Shorty, Riding the Rap, LaBrava and Stick. They are loaded with taut dialogue, violence and marvelous characters, inept low-lifes out to score big.

But Mr. Leonard himself? A pussycat. With his innocent-looking eyes and scraggly beard, he comes down somewhere between an El Greco saint and a saintly George Carlin. An Elmore Leonard character he's not. He doesn't lurk in Miami bars or prowl Detroit's meaner streets. He doesn't consort with confidence men, retired strippers or people who deal in controlled substances...