‘Guide Me Home’ novelist Attica Locke recalls a life-changing moment – Orange County Register

Attica Locke’s new novel, Guide Me Home, is the final installment in her acclaimed Highway 59 detective novel trilogy featuring Darren Mathews, a Black Ranger from Texas. In addition to discussing her television work, Locke spoke with Michael Schaub about the book and ending the series. Here, she takes the questions and answers from the pages of the books.

Q: Is there a book or books that you always recommend to other readers?

“We’re All Completely Outside Ourselves” by Karen Joy Fowler it is one of my favorite books of all time. I also recommend frequently “13 Ways to Look at the Novel” by Jane Smiley to people who are interested in writing.

Q: What are you reading now?

I am the last person on Earth to read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I am deeply, deeply, deeply happy. Before that was “Long Island Compromise” by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, which I loved. I also read “The Cliffs” by J. Courtney Sullivan and “James” by Percival Everett literally kicked my ass.

Q: Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any titles or narrators you would recommend?

I just learned to listen to podcasts. And what I mean by that is I’m a daydreamer. What happens to me is that I start listening and then I start daydreaming about something else. Then I have to constantly rewind and go back because I wasn’t paying attention. My concern is that with an audiobook, I would be constantly scrolling because I wouldn’t be paying attention. So I turn to an audiobook.

Q: Is there a genre or type of book that you read the most – and what would you like to read more about?

I read more fiction than non-fiction. And what would I like to read more about? I think I would probably like to read more biographies, but sometimes they feel very daunting. They all look very big and serious.

Q: Is there someone who has had an impact on your reading life—a teacher, parent, librarian, or someone else?

I have had two teachers in my life who are truly the reason I am where I am. One of them was my high school English teacher, Mrs. Joyce Eddings, she was the first person to read anything of mine and say, “Wow, you can write!” Having an adult say that was kind of a life-changing experience. It made me stand up a little taller and take my little letters seriously. I will also always thank him for introducing us to Latin root words. I still use it all the time.

The other teacher was a drama teacher, Mr. Paul Crump, and he also had this way of thinking about theater in a way that was outside the box. Somewhere between these two people is how I live as a novelist and a person who works in theater and who is always looking for a new way to tell a story in this form.

Q: What is something about your book that no one knows?

How scared I was while writing it. I was really, really, really scared that this wasn’t going to go over with people, that it wasn’t going to be what they wanted. That I was signaling that I wasn’t following the tropes of the crime fiction genre and that I was going to upset people. I was very, very scared, even though I knew this was the book that had to come out.

Q: If you could ask your readers anything, what would it be?

I think I would be very curious how they read the book. Is it at the beach? is he at home Is he at the library? I would just be very curious to know how they take it in the book.