The entry begins:
Drowning Tucson is set in inner-city Tucson during the late 1980s, which was a turning point for violence and gangs in this particular part of the country. To put it simply: it got much worse around this time. Not that Tucson is a bad place today. But the part of the city I explore in my novel is its underworld, the gritty underbelly of what is now widely perceived as a tourist destination for its spas, Old West theme parks, posh golf course retirement communities (in the middle of the desert!), and Native American arts and crafts. There are no cowboys in Drowning Tucson, but there are still scenes of violence that might make the Old West depictions of Tucson and its surroundings seem quaint. While there are certainly a number of Latinos who are characters in the novel, there are also some intriguing non-Latino characters as well, so it’s here that I want to start.Aaron Michael Morales is an Assistant Professor of English at Indiana State University where he teaches Creative Writing and Contemporary Literature. His fiction has appeared in Another Chicago Magazine, Passages North, and MAKE Magazine, among other places. His first short collection of fiction, titled From Here You Can Almost See the End of the Desert, was published in 2008.
For the role of seedy, rapist cop, Officer Loudermilk, I eagerly invite Gary Busey to come do a reading. Though I didn’t write this character with him in mind, I think he would fill the role of crooked, waste-of-space cop quite well. If he wouldn’t come read, I’d then ask...[read on]
Learn more about the book and author at Aaron Michael Morales' website.
My Book, The Movie: Drowning Tucson.
--Marshal Zeringue
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