February 27, 2005

Everyone knows that writers love books, but mystery writer John Dunning loves them more than most. He’s a famed rare book collector who also deals in rare books — as does his fictional detective, Cliff Janeway, the hero of his latest novel, "The Sign of the Book."

"Everything I write comes out of my own life, but I’m not Janeway," Dunning says, responding to assertions that his detective is simply Dunning in disguise. "In my own life, I don’t take on the Mafia. I’ve got better sense. But all the bookstore stuff, such as forged autographed first editions, comes from my own experiences in the trade."

While in the Valley, Dunning will display samples from his large collection of real — and forged — autographed first editions. "It’ll be fun to show folks how easily these things can be faked, but also how they can eventually get to the point where they can tell the difference," he says.

In a way, it’s a minor miracle that Dunning is an expert on books at all, and probably a major miracle that he became a best-selling novelist. All his life he has suffered from attention-deficit disorder, which led him to drop out of school in the 10th grade. His condition was diagnosed only eight years ago, when his teenage daughter received her diagnosis.

"When the doctor told us that it was a genetically loaded disorder, everyone in the room turned and looked at me. That’s when I knew."

Dunning says his condition, which is characterized by racing thoughts that jump from subject to subject, is severe enough that even today he has trouble paying attention to anyone or anything long enough to take in information. "I can go to someone’s house, be introduced, then be taken to the back yard to see their prize-winning roses. But by the time I get back in the house, I’ve forgotten why the heck I’m there or who I’m talking to."

Medication can help those suffering from ADD, but it’s off-limits to Dunning because he has high blood pressure. But he manages to muddle through — however slowly.

"It takes me about an hour to write a single paragraph, and then it’s usually a terrible paragraph," he says.

"If you could see the first drafts of my books, they would scare you to death because they look like they were written by the village idiot. But when I start on the rewrites something happens. Still, because of the ADD, it takes me at least twice as long to write a book as it does anybody else."

John Dunning discusses rare books and signs "The Sign of the Book" 7 p.m. Friday at The Poisoned Pen, 4014 N. Goldwater Blvd., Scottsdale, (480) 947-2974; and 2 p.m. Saturday at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S. McClintock Drive, Tempe, (480) 730-0205.