I’ve never read a book by Harlan Coben, but I’m a sucker for stories about the writing life and the author of a piece about Coben in the new Atlantic is an old friend. The article (which may be behind a subscriber firewall) is very interesting, and not least because of an anecdote from Coben’s recent book tour. Coben is a buddy of Harry Reid:

As it turned out, the friendship [with Reid] still served Coben well in Las Vegas. When we arrived at our hotel, the Luxor, the check-in line looked as if it would take 45 minutes. Coben e-mailed Reid’s office, and it took about a minute for a secretary to call the hotel and arrange for a VIP check-in and a room upgrade.

Way to give ‘em hell, Harry!