Tag Archives: crime noir

Episode 107: Interview with author Mark Westmoreland for A Violent Gospel and A Mourning Song

November 9, 2022Author Interviewa mourning song, a violent gospel, crime noir, Georgia, mark westmoreland, shotgun honey, southern fiction, southern gothic, southern noirtopshelfatmerricklibrary

These two books by Mark Westmoreland? They are absolutely terrific. Both A Violent Gospel and A Mourning Song feature the Dooley brothers and if you can, start with A Violent Gospel. After the events of A Violent Gospel left Mack Dooley at the bottom of a whiskey bottle, he’s a haunted man and he’s back in A Mourning Song, forced to face his demons.

For this episode, Mark Westmoreland talks about the origins of the Dooley brothers, his approach to writing villains, the book he’s working on next, and so much more. Thank you so much Mark! Follow Mark Westmoreland on Twitter and Instagram: @ItsMarkYall

Mark Westmoreland recommends: A Fire in the Night by Christopher Swann; Hillbilly Hustle by Wesley Browne; Walking Through Needles by Heather Levy; It Dies With You by Scott Blackburn; The Past is Never by Tiffany Quay Tyson; Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Amazon Music | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More

Episode 101: Interview with Hayley Scrivenor author of Dirt Creek

August 1, 2022Author InterviewAustralia, Crime, crime noir, debut, debut author, Dirt Creek, Flatiron Books, Friday Reads, Hayley Scrivenor, Macmillan, small town life, Staff Picktopshelfatmerricklibrary

“I’m very interested in how we define ourselves to other people…” so says author Hayler Scrivenor about her amazing debut Dirt Creek. Dirt Creek is a suspenseful police procedural about a missing girl that takes place in a very small, rural, Australian town and it is riveting stuff!

For this episode we talk about the origin story of Dirt Creek, what Hayley is working on next, we even discuss Iced Vovos, TimTams, Twisties, and other Australian confections.

I was so fortunate to once again join forces with Cindy Burnett host of Thoughts From a Page podcast, to bring you this special episode and we just had a blast. Thank you Cindy, and thank you so much Hayley!

Hayley Scrivenor recommends: A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara; The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Amazon Music | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More

Episode 93: Interview with Peter Farris author of The Devil Himself

May 24, 2022Author InterviewArcade Crimewise, Crime, crime noir, Georgia, Peter Farris, southern noir, The Devil Himselftopshelfatmerricklibrary

“The Devil Himself thunders off the page with beautiful writing and a killer sense of place. It’s urgent, triumphant, and unflinching.” — William Boyle, author of Shoot the Moonlight Out and City of Margins

What a pleasure to sit down with the 2021 Le Prix Lire En Poche finalist, author Peter Farris. The Devil Himself is a gritty southern noir with themes of family, estrangement, and redemption; a riveting deep dive into the genre. First published in France with enormous critical acclaim and winning multiple literary awards, The Devil Himself will mark Peter Farris as a major crime writer in America as well.

We talk about the book, his other fantastic novel, Last Call for the Living, character development, French love for his books, rattlesnakes, and so much more. Thank you so much Peter!

Peter Farris recommends these authors: Pete Fromm; William Boyle; Sa ra Gran; and Eli Cranor.

Follow Peter Farris on Instagram at peter_farris and on Twitter @authorPJFarris

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Amazon Music | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More

Episode 87: Eli Cranor author of Don’t Know Tough

March 22, 2022Author InterviewArkansas, Author Interview, Book Discussion, book discussions, crime noir, debut, debut author, Don't Know Tough, Eli Cranor, Football, Friday Reads, noir, Peter Lovesey, Readers Advisory, Russellville, Soho Press, southern noir, Staff Picktopshelfatmerricklibrary

You may not know tough but author Eli Cranor sure does in his debut, DON’T KNOW TOUGH, a book that S.A. Cosby calls, “…a searing and stunningly poignant study in what makes us and what breaks us and ultimately what brings us to a place of peace. Eli Cranor is that rare writer who can make you gasp, cry and cheer often in the same paragraph.” There’s not a single a lie in that review.

Sarah Weinman, of the The New York Times Book Review and true-crime writer says, “Eli Cranor’s top-shelf debut, DON’T KNOW TOUGH, is Southern noir at its finest, a cauldron of terrible choices and even more terrible outcomes . . . There is a raw ferocity to Cranor’s prose, perfectly in keeping with the novel’s examination of curdling masculinity.” All I can say about DON’T KNOW TOUGH is, think Friday Night Lights with a much darker edge. Speaking of the edge? I was on the edge of my seat for this incredible debut. For this episode, we talk football, Arkansas, recording his own audiobook and more. Thank you Eli!

Eli Cranor recommends: Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland both by S.A.Cosby; Shoot the Moonlight Out and all of the novels by William Boyle; The Turnout and all of the novels by Megan Abbott; all the work by Ace Atkins; The Devil Himself by Peter Farris;