C.B. McKenzie breaks the boundaries that divide literary fiction and mystery writing.
He’ll help you bust boundaries and other writing quandaries during Bending Genres at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 12.
McKenzie’s “Bad Country,” a mystery set in Tucson in which protagonist Rodeo Grace Garnet is a part-Yaqui private investigator, won the 2013 Tony Hillerman Prize for best first mystery set in the Southwest, won the Spur Award for Best Western Contemporary Novel, and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. His next literary crime novel, “Burn What Will Burn,” is set in rural Arkansas, and will be released in June. He spent the summer in Iceland prepping for another book.
You won’t find detailed, easy-to-skip-or-skim descriptions, exposition or banter in McKenzie’s books. And unlike many mysteries, all the questions are not conveniently answered.
He says his books are not overwritten and that readers must read every word to get the full impact of the book.
You might recognize McKenzie from around Tucson. He received his master’s of fine arts and Ph.D. from UA and was a faculty member at Pima Community College. He lives in California.
What to expect at the book festival: He doesn’t have an agent, so he can’t help you find one. He will, however, answer just about anything else about publishing and writing, including developing your story ideas.
Fans of Rodeo Grace Garnet take note: He will be back, but won’t return to Tucson. McKenzie says he plans Rodeo stories set in West Texas (if you read “Bad Country,” you know why) and in New Mexico. There also won’t be a string of Rodeo books.
“I’m not a series writer,” McKenzie says.
—C.B. McKenzie will speak 4 p.m. on Saturday
