The 43-year-old novelist is an affable guy. With his tall frame, protruding middle-aged belly and dark curly hair, he even resembles an over-grown teddy bear. He responds to most questions with a smile and a ready quip. And why not? Things are have gone smoothly for Mosley the last few years.

Mosley's best-selling Easy Rawlins books have catapulted him into the first rank of mystery writers. His latest novel, "R.L.'s Dream," the story of a dying bluesman who once played with the legendary Robert Johnson, was released this past August to widespread critical and popular acclaim, though it took him away from the mystery genre. To top it all off, he's been embraced by Hollywood -- the screen version of "Devil in a Blue Dress," starring Denzel Washington, was released this fall and a slew of film projects are on deck.

Only two things seem to get Walter Mosley mad. First, he doesn't like being relegated to the mystery genre. At a recent talk Mosley gave in midtown Manhattan, the novelist repeatedly admonished one interlocutor to stop referring to him as a "mystery writer," going so far as to list his individual forays outside the genre for the assembled audience.

"I do more than write Easy Rawlins novels," he says, "and if that's all I wrote, I just wouldn't be happy with it."

The other thing that incenses Walter Mosley is racism in the publishing business. "The publishing industry is excluding people of color," he pronounces. "The door is closed,and it should be open."