![]() ![]() Crews, both of these teachers believed in me and invested in me as a kid who loved English, reading and writing. We catch up on life, and I read him some of what I have written that week and take his criticism and feedback. ![]() Goodness, so many people, especially teachers. No doubt, people who like the series “Ozark” will find this fascinating. It is a classical tragedy, Hatfields and McCoys, with a Romeo and Juliet underplot. This novel has more considerable implications for the state as a whole. It is also set in Arkansas, but the characters and storyline differ. Tell us about your next novel, “Ozark Dogs.” I wanted to share real life and not the predictable story. I expose a different view of poverty in Arkansas, even using a unique “hill country” vernacular of the main character as a voice throughout the book. I try to do my best to share an honest look at the lives of these athletes and their families. The stories are painful, but so are the statistics. I wanted to tell the real story of some sections of Arkansas that do not always get a voice. Does Arkansas play a significant role in your novel?Īn old phrase in writing is “Write what you know.” If that were always true, we would have a lot more boring books, but for me, setting my book in Arkansas was what I know and wanted to offer – the good, the bad and the ugly. It was rejected over 200 times, but I knew I had something, and I was not willing to give up. I wrote this story in 2017, which wasn’t released until 2022. But what was published was my fifth edition. When I wrote the line, “I still the feel the burn on my neck, told the coach it was a ringworm, but it ain’t,” I knew I had something. I could relate to the coach in the story, where you sometimes feel the weight of being a mayor, sheriff, and youth pastor all in one role. I thought about the guys I met on my teams, where they lived, and the real issues their families faced. And my first answer is “Yes, but.” The stories of these characters and this rural town in Arkansas are real, but they are not based on any one place. They want to know if this story is based on a real town, real people or real events. This is always everyone’s first question. In 2022, you released your debut novel, “Don’t Know Tough.” Where did you develop your plot and characters? In other ways, I just had to keep working at it. But I never quit writing all along, any chance I got – between meetings, on the school bus, during my planning period, and during lunch break. I moved closer to my hometown, into the English classroom and stayed in that space with my students. I had a baby at home, and I was feeling the pressure, and yet I looked at the guys I was coaching and thought their lives were complicated beyond what I was dealing with in the locker room. That is the ultimate dream as a coach you want to be at the helm. And then, a few years later, I got a head coaching job. Then, I returned to Arkansas to join my mentor, JR Eldridge, as his assistant coach. I did play college football and in an overseas league after graduation. How does a guy like you go from quarterback to author? ![]() I hated it, always getting frustrated, claiming, “This was the worst day ever.” But, just like sports, with practice, I got good at reading…and writing. In the summers, my dad made me keep a summer reading journal. My parents were both public school teachers. Q&A with Eli Cranor: Let’s start with the obvious, where did you find interest in writing a book? With a highly anticipated novel releasing this week, we sat down with Eli Cranor, standout athlete turned football coach, English teacher and novelist, to hear more of this gripping story. That coaching relationship turned into a friendship and a bond of mentoring, discipleship, and something much bigger than what happened on the gridiron. After one year of playing with sand in his toes and beach waves after practice, his heart was still tethered closer to home.Ĭranor ate crow and called his recruiter to see if the offer might still be on the table. He turned down the ideal football recruitment package to answer the what-ifs at a college closer to the beach. And we are intrigued by the stories he has told and the ones on down the field.Įli Cranor is the son of public school teachers, a Russellville High School standout athlete and an All-American kid. However, that is not the plot of the upcoming novel by Arkansan Eli Cranor that is the story of his life so far. There are twists, turns and a bit of mystery. This story starts like a regular, All-American football in the South story. Stories of the game are woven into the very fabric of our state. There is something about Arkansas and football. ![]()
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