For the next 10 years, with a short break to write another DKA File mystery, Gone, No Forwarding , Gores started earning a lot more than sketchy money for his teleplays, including scripts for Columbo , Magnum P.I. , Mike Hammer and Remington Steele . Gores says he was fascinated by the craft of writing for video venues and also did some screenplays, including a couple based on such novels of his as Interface and Hammett . But time and the Hollywood youth culture eventually took their toll. In the 1990s, when Hollywood decided Gores was too old for them, he returned to books. Like any con, the game takes some planning.
Gores also is clear about how plodding that process can be.
My first drafts are horrible. It an ego about the work, he explains, and an ego that keeps you working. I try to write the kind of books I want to read. But if he won't praise himself, others will. Being dogged means Gores muscles through the writing tasks that may not come easily to him.