It was there that, with faculty support, he began writing mysteries.

And I was a finalist for the Sundance Screenwriting Lab.”ĭilts decided to pursue a master’s in fine arts in creative writing at his alma mater. “I was a semifinalist for the Academy Awards’ Nicholl Fellowship. “I got to enjoy writing more and more, and I wrote some screenplays,” Dilts said. A colleague suggested he start writing plays to create roles for himself, which he did. I played Lenny in ‘Of Mice and Men’ several times,” Dilts said with a chuckle. “I was getting frustrated because I was typecast.

“I wanted to twist it a little bit because, at least in my experience, it’s not as cookie-cutter and black-and-white as you see in most media representations.”ĭilts’ said his career as a novelist and as a professor at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) has been “a series of lucky breaks.” He originally intended to be an actor, having earned a bachelor’s in fine arts in acting from CSULB in the early 1990s. kind of the subcultures of personality that often wind up in police departments,” he said. “I knew I could write convincingly about cops – not just about the investigative details but about. Dilts’ father was a police officer, and he grew up around cops. In an interview at Enrique’s Mexican Restaurant – one of Beckett’s favorite places to eat – Dilts said he also draws inspiration for the novels from his own life. His mystery novels about a detective named Danny Beckett are all set in the international city, a place he said makes for an indelible backdrop. They are: Tyler Dilts, novelist Latonya Kitchen, actor Ron Leiter, metal sculptor Julian Sanz, dancer Katie Stubblefield, painter and Donovan Vim Crony, filmmaker and illustrator.įor novelist Tyler Dilts, Long Beach isn’t just his home – it’s also an inspiration. The artists profiled here represent many different backgrounds and fields within the arts. Many come from other parts of the state and nation, but all have chosen to forge their careers in Long Beach, a city they say has a diverse and growing arts community. In recognition of Long Beach Arts Month, the Business Journal is profiling six local artists – a cross section of the wide array of artistic talent found in the Long Beach area.

A King of Infinite Space by Tyler Dilts