Eli Cranor

Eli Cranor lives and writes from the banks of Lake Dardanelle, a reservoir of the Arkansas River nestled in the heart of True Grit country. His critically acclaimed debut novel, Don't Know Tough, won the Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest and was named one of the "Best Books of the Year" by USA Today and one of the "Best Crime Novels" of 2022 by the New York Times. Cranor also pens a weekly column, "Where I'm Writing From" for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and his craft column, "Shop Talk," appears monthly at CrimeReads.

Cranor's new novel is Ozark Dogs.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Ozark Dogs works pretty well for this novel. The main theme is the vicious cycle of violence caused by poverty in places like rural Arkansas. My family is all the time taking in stray cats and dogs. I wanted to extend that metaphor to the people in my home state and play up the sense of loss. What's funny, though, is that Ozark Dogs was not the original title. When I turned the manuscript in it was called Salvation. Which hits on the book's other main theme of redemption. In the end, Ozark Dogs won out because of marketability.

What's in a name?

This book is chock full of original names. Evail, Bunn, Rudnick, and Beladonna Ledford. Guillermo Torres. Dime Ray Belly. Jeremiah and Joanna Fitzjurls. I keep a little black book in my pocket and take down unique names as I encounter them. Those were some of my favorites.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

I didn't read many thrillers until later in life, but I was always into the classics. I think teenage Eli would find a book like Ozark Dogs as a welcome surprise.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

The endings always take the most thought for me, and usually get changed half a dozen times before publication. The original Ozark Dogs manuscript was over 100,000 words. As it stands now, it's barely 70,000. Almost all of that cutting came in the final act.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I played guitar and wrote songs long before I tried penning a novel. Those early musical influences are as follows: John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Carole King, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Marley, Jason Isbell, Outkast, and lately one hell of a duo by the name of Shovels & Rope.

Visit Eli Cranor's website.

The Page 69 Test: Don't Know Tough.

--Marshal Zeringue