James Lee Burke is one of our greatest living writers. I did my first interview with him in 1997 and he has been returning to the program on a regular basis ever since. The author is not showing much interest in slowing down. Usually when I ask him what he's working on he'll give me a generalized description of his current work in progress. Not this time. When I asked him what will be coming out next he told me he has already finished writing three more books! He has a story collection due out later this year and he has two more novels already written. One of them will be called Clete and it will be narrated by Clete Purcell. If you have read Burke's remarkable Dave Robicheaux series then you know that Clete is Dave's long time ally and sidekick. Burke has described Clete as "a junkyard falling down a staircase." I am so excited about that book. Then he has another novel coming out that was inspired by his own mother.
In this latest interview Jim talked about a "Flags on the Bayou." This is another highly anticipated story that I never dreamed he would write. 22 years ago I interviewed him on WYSO for his novel White Doves at Morning. That story was set in Louisiana during the Civil War and it has always been one of my favorites. This new book is a sequel set in Louisiana in 1863 and it is a humdinger!
The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, Wright Memorial Public Library, and Tipp City Public.
