Ace Atkins began his career as a correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times and moved on to work as a crime reporter for the Tampa Tribune. While there, Atkins earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for "Tampa Confidential," a series investigating a forgotten murder of a woman in the 1950s. That series led to his critically acclaimed novel White Shadow. He is the author of three other historical crime novels--Wicked City, Devil's Garden (nominated for a 2010 Hammett Prize) and Infamous--as well four Nick Travers novels. His new series begins with The Ranger (Putnam, June 9, 2011), featuring Quinn Colson, an Army Ranger, and set in Mississippi. He lives on a historic farm outside of Oxford, Miss., with his family.
On your nightstand now:
Every Day by the Sun by Dean Faulkner Wells--the story of the Faulkner family as told by William Faulkner's niece, a longtime friend here in Oxford. Decades of academic writing have managed to make Faulkner boring. His niece writes about the real man in loving, often very funny detail. A terrific, fascinating read.
Favorite book when you were a child:
A tie between The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. My fifth grade teacher, Miss Thompson, read both to the class during the final period. I remember being excited about going to school every day to hear the next chapter. Both books had a big influence on me. Crime writing and appreciation of hound dogs.
Your top five authors:
Hemingway, Faulkner, Chandler, Elmore Leonard and Robert B. Parker.
Book you've faked reading:
Dr. Ruth's Guide to Erotic and Sensuous Pleasure.
Book you're an evangelist for:
Dr. Ruth's Guide to Erotic and Sensuous Pleasure.
Book you've bought for the cover:
The recent reissues of Ross Macdonald. Some of the greatest cover art I've ever seen--check out the cover of Blue City. Gorgeous. I also love the design on the Ian Fleming reissues from Penguin. I wish more publishers would take notice of cool, hip design. A well-designed book beats a digital edition hollow.
Book that changed your life:
Most definitely The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker. That's when I knew I wanted to be a writer and what kind of books I wanted to write.
Favorite line from a book:
"I was neat, clean, shaved and sober and I didn't care who knew it."--The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. I think it was the best thing written in the 20th century. The novel has elements of Faulkner and of Chandler. It's hardboiled crime and Southern lit at its best. I think it's the finest novel I've ever read.