Carjacking On The Rise In Philadelphia: My Philadelphia Weekly 'Crime Beat' Column Interview With Major Crimes Captain John J. Ryan

As I read that carjacking is again on the rise, I offer my Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column from 2021. 

You can read the column above and below (and click on the images to enlarge).

Craig Johnson On His Popular Character Walt Longmire

Robert Lang offers a Q&A with author Craig Johnson at the Cowboy Lifestyle Network.

Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for fiction, the Nouvel Observateur Prix du Roman Noir, and the Prix SNCF du Polar. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 26.

Robert: I have read all the novels, novellas, and short stories. My family looks forward to receiving an email from you on Christmas for your annual Christmas story. I have watched the Longmire series more times than I can count, I have been at many of your speaking events, and I just attended Longmire Days for the first time. In short, I am a BIG fan. But, who is Walt Longmire?

Craig: In essence, he stands in opposition against injustice, a vertical figure in a horizontal landscape. I’ve often referred to the beauty and vastness of the American West as pulling at the corners of your eyes, and I think Walt is a part of that. When I first started writing crime fiction, everything in the genre was noir–gritty, urban, alcoholic, divorced detectives, just not the folks I knew in law enforcement. I thought, what if you wrote about the sheriff of the least populated county in the least populated state in the country, a contemporary man who harkens back to Roy Rogers and Gene Autrey—not perfect, but a guy who tries. 

You can read the rest of the interview via the below link:

Q & A with Craig Johnson, Author of the Longmire Series (cowboylifestylenetwork.com)

You can also read my Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column on Craig Johnson below:

  

 Note: Click on the above to enlarge. 

Speaking With Actor, Writer And Producer Leo Rossi

I interviewed actor, writer and producer Leo Rossi today for my upcoming Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column. 

I asked Leo Rossi about his popular podcast with legendary undercover FBI Special Agent Joe Pistone, Deep Undercover - The Real Donnie Brasco, which can be heard at  Deep Cover: The Real Donnie Brasco | Podcast on Spotify    

I also asked him about his growing up in Philly and about his long and varied career in TV and the movies. He appeared in the mini-series In Cold Blood, and in films such as Relentless, The Accused, Gotti, 10th and Wolf and Analyze This. 

Below is a photo of Leo Rossi with Robert De Niro and Pat Cooper from Analyze This. 

The second photo from Analyze This shows Leo Rossi on the right, with Joe Viterelli on the left and Billy Crystal in the center.

The third photo from 10th & Wolf shows Leo Rossi between James Marsden and Brian Dennehy:

You can read about his career via the below link:

Leo Rossi - IMDb

Leo Rossi, like me, is a person that the Italians call a chiacchierone, a chatterbox, so my interview with him should make a good column. 

I'll post the column here when it comes out in about two weeks.