The Big Book of Hap and Leonard Read online

  “Death by Chili” is the lightest of the Hap and Leonard pieces. Something to cleanse your palate. It’s a kind of locked-room mystery, and it’s Leonard’s story, for the most part.

  This book also includes an interview I did with the guys, and, better yet, an intro by Michael Koryta and a memoir of Hap and Leonard and me by Bill Crider, who was there at the beginning. To have fine writers like Michael and Bill write about Hap and Leonard, and about me, is humbling indeed. I’m honored to have them here.

  On top of all that are two new Hap and Leonard stories, one about their high school years and the other, more a vignette, about one of their favorite hangouts.

  I am also grateful to have Rick Klaw, my editor on this book, as a friend. I have known him for many years now. He was nothing but an energetic kid with a lot of plans when I met him. Now he’s an energetic adult who has fulfilled many of those plans and is in the process of fulfilling others. Fortunately, I have been a part of those plans, and I owe him a lot for helping put this book together.

  For Hap and Leonard fans who might have missed these stories when they first came out, I hope this will be a small treat. For those who have yet to discover Hap and Leonard, perhaps these short visits will encourage you to come on over and visit them in their truer habitat, the novel.

  I would also like to thank Sundance TV; my friend and director, Jim Mickle; and my good buddy, actor/screenwriter Nick Damici, for all their hard work on developing these characters into a series. A special thanks has to go to Lowell Northrop, my friend and co-collaborator, for organizing and presenting this series to Jim and Nick, and for all his hard work and relentless pursuit of a series about Hap and Leonard. He knows the characters better than I do—I think they talk to him more than to me.

  I should also mention, with great pride and respect, James Purefoy and Michael K. Williams, two fine actors and equally fine fellows who have brought Hap and Leonard to life on the small screen. Thanks, guys. It has been a treat.

  And thanks to my pal Bill Sage, as well as the always game Jeff Pope, the wonderfully intense Neil Sandilands, the remarkable Christina Hendricks, and Jimmi Simpson and the sweetly tough-as-nails Pollyanna McIntosh. She’s what we in Texas call “a pistol.” You need her to climb through a window, she’ll do it. Wrestle a bear, she’s ready. Kick someone’s ass, where the hell are they?

  Thanks to all the crew and actors and everyone involved in the television show for braving mosquitoes; all manner of huge, crawling bugs, including fire ants; alligators; snakes; tornadoes; windstorms; rainstorms; and blistering heat to make this series a reality.

  Special thanks to my niece and assistant, the smart and lovely Pamela Lansdale, aka Pamela Dunklin. She kept me focused, provided granola bars when I looked as if I might be losing blood sugar, and made certain things went smoothly. And, of course, thanks to my lovely wife, Karen, for letting me go on a two-month long adventure into TV land. And to my children, Keith and Kasey, thanks for supporting your old man with kind words and humor.

  Finally, thanks to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area, and all the nice people there for letting us pretend it was East Texas. Why not? They look just alike, although I think your crawfish are better.

  So here are the stories.

  Read and enjoy.

  About the Author

  Joe R. Lansdale is the author of more than forty novels and four hundred shorter works, including stories, essays, introductions, and articles. He has written screenplays and teleplays, including for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series. He wrote the script for the animated film The Son of Batman. His works have been translated into numerous languages, and several novels and short stories of his have been filmed, among them Bubba Ho-Tep; Cold in July; Incident On and Off a Mountain Road, for Showtime’s Masters of Horror; and Christmas with the Dead, which he produced with a screenplay by his son, Keith.

  Lansdale is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, among them the Edgar Award and ten Bram Stoker Awards, one of which is for Lifetime Achievement. He has received the Grandmaster of Horror Award; the British Fantasy Award; the Inkpot Award for Lifetime Achievement; the Herodotus Award for historical/crime fiction; the Golden Lion Award for his contribution to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs; the Grinzane Prize; and others.

  Lansdale is also a member of the Texas Literary Hall of Fame and the Texas Institute of Letters, and he is Writer in Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University. He is the founder of Shen Chuan Martial Science and has been recognized by the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame as well as the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

  Joe Lansdale lives with his wife, Karen, in Nacogdoches, Texas.