Neal Rubin, longtime Detroit News and Free Press columnist, first met Dutch in the late 1990s. They became friends Neal would call Dutch for his column and sometimes Dutch called him for local details, like finding the right Detroit bar for a couple of hit men, or how a headline should read.
When Up in Honey’s Room was published, Neal found himself in it, typecasted as a Detroit News columnist in a Hawaiian shirt. Neal notes that Dutch often worked auction winners into his stories like Federal Judge Avern Cohn who turned up a sleazy lawyer in Mr. Paradise, much to His Honor’s mock chagrin.
Neal speaks fondly of Dutch with lasting appreciation for the writer he admired and the friend he made.
