Ace Atkins loaned me his copy of RUM PUNCH by
Elmore Leonard as research for
a project I'm doing and also because it's fun to read. This is one of the few books I've ever read where I thought with great deliberation, "Well, there's no way there will be an
owl in this book." I was like, "Owls are not for Elmore Leonard! He is actually too cool for owls." And then on page 199 we get, "I go, 'Man, you sound like a ******* owl.'" When will I learn my lesson that
every book has an owl in it? I edited out the cuss word for you!