James Lee Burke

Hey there. I'm James Lee Burke, and I've spent over five decades writing about the dark, swirling underbelly of Louisiana - a place where Spanish moss drips secrets and even the sweetest magnolia blooms can hide something sinister. (And yes, I'm that guy who created Dave Robicheaux, the detective who just can't seem to stay out of trouble.)

I was born in Houston but grew up in Louisiana, where the boundary between past and present is about as solid as morning fog over the bayou. Those early years shaped everything I write. My grandfather was a Texas Ranger who could spin stories that would keep you spellbound for hours, and my grandmother... well, let's just say she taught me that the scariest monsters aren't always supernatural - sometimes they wear suits and smile at you in church.

I started writing when I was a kid, but life had other plans first. I've worked as a land surveyor, newspaper reporter, social worker, and taught creative writing at five different colleges. (Trust me, nothing teaches you about human nature quite like trying to convince college freshmen that they should care about semicolons.) Each job was just collecting material for the stories I knew I'd write someday.

My writing style? It's like a good gumbo - rich, complex, and not afraid of the dark. I mix crime fiction with Gothic elements, historical weight, and social commentary. Some folks call it "literary crime fiction," but I just call it telling the truth about the world as I see it. In my Dave Robicheaux series, I write about a flawed man trying to navigate a flawed world, all while battling his own demons and the very real ones lurking in Louisiana's shadows.

"A Private Cathedral" might be my most ambitious book yet. It's where I finally let all the supernatural elements that have been haunting the edges of my stories take center stage. Time-traveling assassins, ancient family feuds, and the kind of evil that transcends centuries - it's all in there. (And if you think that sounds crazy, you should hear some of the real stories people tell down here.)

Look, I don't write cozy mysteries or simple whodunits. My books are about the battle between good and evil, about redemption and loss, about how the past never really stays past. They're about what happens when ordinary people face extraordinary darkness - both inside themselves and in the world around them.

When I write, I'm trying to capture something essential about the American South - its beauty and its brutality, its grace and its grotesque underbelly. Every sentence matters to me. I labor over each word like a craftsman (my editor would tell you I'm stubborn as hell about it, and she's not wrong).

If you're looking for straightforward crime fiction where the good guys wear white hats and everything wraps up neat and tidy, I'm probably not your guy. But if you want stories that'll haunt you, characters who feel as real as your neighbors (though hopefully less murderous), and writing that tries to find beauty even in the darkest places - well, pull up a chair and stay awhile.

I still write every day, usually early morning when the world is quiet except for the birds and my coffee maker. My wife keeps me grounded, my kids keep me honest, and my memories of Louisiana keep the stories coming. After all these years, I still believe what my grandfather told me: every person has a story worth telling, if you just listen hard enough.

To my readers: thank you for walking these dark roads with Dave Robicheaux and me. Y'all are the reason I keep pushing deeper into the shadows, looking for those moments of grace that make all the darkness worthwhile.

(And yes, I still believe in redemption. Even for the worst of us. Maybe especially for the worst of us.)