Welcome to Chapter 51!
My guest for this episode is crime novelist, Lou Berney. Lou is the author of several novels, including November Road and The Long and Faraway Gone, which is on the Okie Bookcast list of 50 Essential Oklahoma Reads.  His latest novel - Dark Ride - was released earlier this fall. Lou has lived most of his life in Oklahoma City where, in addition to his writing, he teaches in the MFA program at Oklahoma City University. Lou’s work has won Edgar, Hammett, Steel Dagger, Barry, Macavity, Lefty, and Anthony awards, and he has been a finalist twice for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. 

In our conversation Lou and I talk about his books, why he prefers to write ordinary people as his heroes, and setting books in Oklahoma City. We also talk about a shared memory that he describes as the secret handshake of Oklahoma City residents from a particular time period.

Connect with Lou: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Our review comes from Vanessa Lillie - Vanessa is the bestselling author of the thrillers Little Voices, For the Best and coauthor of the Young Rich Widows series. Her forthcoming novel, Blood Sisters, launches a new suspense series and releases on October 31. Vanessa will be touring around Oklahoma in early November in support of her book release. You can find details about her appearances on her instagram - @vanessalillie

Vannessa reviews Man Made Monsters by another great Oklahoma author - Andrea L. Rogers.

Connect with Vanessa: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Mentioned on the show:

Elmore Leonard
Happy Hollisters books - Jerry West
Happiness Falls - Angie Kim
Walking Through Needles - Heather Levy
Mysteries and Manners - Flannery O' Conner
Man Made Monsters - Andrea L. Rogers

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Music by JuliusH