Local writer Jay MacLarty at work on his next thriller in his home office in Summerlin. Photo by Gary Thompson. Click image for enlargement. Click image for enlargement.

There's an old saying that writers should write about what they know.

Local resident and writer Jay MacLarty disagrees.

"Write about what you can imagine," MacLarty said during a recent interview in his Summerlin home.

He followed his own advice and became a bestselling author of thrillers featuring Simon Leonidovich, a professional courier who always finds himself swimming in trouble.

"Bagman," his second published novel, received a Barry Award nomination for Best Thriller this year. The winner will be announced in September at the Bouchercon Convention in Chicago.

And the first novel in the series, "The Courier," was nominated for a Barry Award as the Best Paperback Original in 2004.

"Bagman," the only softcover on the list, is up against Australian phenom Matthew Reilly's "Scarecrow"; Barry Eisler's "Rain Storm"; Joseph Garber's "Whirlwind"; acclaimed spy novelist Daniel Silva's "A Death in Vienna"; and Joseph Finder's "Paranoia."

Aside from his books' literary merits, MacLarty, 61, points to his doggedness in getting published as a key to his success.

"I brought some things to writing when I started," he said. "I always finish what I start. You'd better, if you want to write a novel. I also brought a business background to sell it."

And with his background in computers, MacLarty launched a Web site to keep his readers up to date (www.jaymaclarty.com).

Born in Spirit Lake, Iowa, MacLarty spent his formative years in Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota.

A self-described workaholic, MacLarty became a businessman at age 21. His list of ventures is extremely eclectic -- by the time he was 30, MacLarty had owned restaurants, nightclubs and liquor stores, then founded an organizational business, a string of retail stores and even a computerized handicapping program for thoroughbred racing.

He found the restaurant business to be "brutal," but "not as bad as writing. Frankly, there's a lot of stress in writing. I work real hard to get the product out. I'm not a 'natural writer,' " he said.

But the need to write -- to express his ideas about the world -- asserted itself, and he began working on a lengthy ethnic saga about the black experience in America from 1917 to 1968.

"I always admired writers," MacLarty said. "In my mind they were always heroes. They push ideas into society. I wanted to create a social statement."

So, 15 years ago, MacLarty took time off from his software company and decided he was going to write the "Great American Novel."

"Without knowing anything about writing," MacLarty added. "I didn't have a clue."

A thousand manuscript pages later, MacLarty found publishers liked the book but didn't think they could sell it.

"Instead of squashing me, I set off to write a popular book," he said.

To get "The Courier" noticed, MacLarty entered a literary competition. Out of the 900 entries, MacLarty took first place.

He then sent 50 queries to agents asking them to take a look at his award-winning effort.

One expressed interest and sold the book to a Simon & Schuster.

"Ironically, I caught my dream but the offer was for a series," MacLarty said. "But you don't turn down a major publisher."

"I have never written a character with anyone specific in mind," MacLarty said when asked if he bears any resemblance to his hero. "Since then, the woman I'm dating said, 'You're Simon.' I wanted a character with insecurities who's not a super hero. A guy who rises to the occasion."

MacLarty's third book featuring Leonidovich, "Live Wire," will take readers from North Korea to Vegas to Washington D.C., with Simon battling an enemy who has set out to destroy the president of the United States. It's scheduled to be published early next year.

MacLarty is hopeful Hollywood will come calling to turn his series into a series of movies, but in the meantime, he keeps writing. And one day he hopes his first novel, the 1,000-page ethnic novel, will be on book shelves.

Though proud of his series, MacLarty said he "still wants to get back to (writing) books that maybe I have more of a passion for."