Novelist Walter Mosley sued by ex-wife

Walter Mosley, author of “Devil in a Blue Dress,” is being sued by his ex-wife for money she says he agreed to pay out of income from several of his books.

Joy Kellman says in court papers that Mosley owes her at least $500,000, plus interest, from earnings on 11 books as provided by their divorce agreement. Some of the books were published after their divorce.

The two were married from Sept. 5, 1987, to June 19, 2001, and had no children.

Mosley, whose “Devil in a Blue Dress” was made into a movie starring Denzel Washington in 1995, wrote a crime series featuring private detective Easy Rawlins and his sidekick, Mouse. These and a few other Mosley books are the subject of Kellman’s lawsuit.

Mosley’s attorney, Kenneth Burrows, said he had no comment on the lawsuit.

Kellman’s court papers, filed last week in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court, say Mosley failed to pay her a 25% share of income from new editions and movie and TV versions of the books and from new formats such as audiobooks.

Mosley also did not provide tax returns, royalty statements and other documentation about his income from 2001 through 2004, as required in the divorce agreement, until 2006, Kellman’s court papers say, and much of the required information is missing.

Kellman’s lawyer, Karen Shatzkin, declined to comment.