​Eli Cranor, Up-And-Coming Local AuthorMay 10, 2017
|Emily Young
 
Eli Cranor is a relatively new name to the local author designation, but we have a feeling he's going to fit right in. We were lucky enough to get the chance to find out more on this up-and-comer. Check out his interview and video below!

When did you start writing, and what inspired you to do so? 

I began writing in college while I was playing football and majoring in English Literature. I had a professor, Dr. Johnny Wink, who was my catalyst. He still reads nearly everything I write. From there he led me to guys like Jack Butler and Alex Taylor, guys who have helped every step along the way. Writing is lonely work, but when you have a group like that, it helps. I think writing is about as strong a thing a person can do. It's like breathing for me, or working out - if I don't write a certain amount of words throughout the day, something just doesn't feel right.

What are you currently working on?

Currently I'm in novel mode. I wrote short stories all the way through college and up until this past year. I think that's a good way to start. Short stories are fun. You can write one in a single sitting, edit it, and have a pretty complete package in about a week. Patience is not one of my strongest attributes. I enjoy having a finished product. So the short stories were a good way for me to just keep writing. But this year I decided to tackle the novel. Novels are hard. You can get lost somewhere around two hundred pages. I've currently written three novels, one of which is just about ready to be sent out to actual publishing houses. It's a football story about a high school coach who is fired after inciting a race riot at the halftime of the state championship game and the only place he can find a job is in Sweden. I played one year in a league in Sweden before coming home to coach high school ball for five years. This book hits close to home. Most of my work centers around football. You write what you know, write what you love, and no matter what I do, I just can't seem to get off a field.

Where can we find some of your work?

You can find all of my published pieces at elicranor.com. My stories have been taken at Foliate Oak, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Every Writer, New Pop Lit, and most recently, Eclectica Magazine.

What is the story behind Long Shadows in the Almost Fall? Is it based on anyone you know?

Long Shadows in the Almost Fall is a story about every football team I've ever been around. There is always a guy like Mikey. I think it's part of the allure of the gridiron. I probably spent too much time on the sideline watching those guys when I should have been worrying about what coverage the defense was playing. But I guess all those years of watching them culminated in this story. I never asked any of them why they were out there, why they decided to sit out in the heat and the cold and watch boys run and tackle. So I wrote this story to find out.

Huge thanks to Emily at Dog Ear Books in Russellville for this video of my latest story. Buy books from DOG EAR!
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUPdx8l8OJU

​http://www.eclectica.org/v21n2/cranor.html
Click the link above for my latest story. "Long Shadows in the Almost Fall" came out this past weekend. 

Click here to check out my new feature from Karl and the gang over at New Pop Lit. Very impressed with their attention to detail and professional platform. Check it out!