Greg Iles signs his new book, Natchez Burning, at Off Square Books in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (DM Photo/Cady Herring)
“You don’t know what you’ve got while you’re getting it,” Greg Iles said about attending the University of Mississippi, from where he graduated in 1983.
Iles stood on the stage at Off Square Books for the signing of his new book, “Natchez Burning,” in front of a full room. All of the chairs were occupied and people spilled all the way out to the front door, heads bobbing between circular lanterns.
Greg Iles signs Curtis and Nancy Wilkie’s copy of his new book, Natchez Burning, at Off Square Books in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (DM Photo/Cady Herring)
Iles said one of the best moments from his writing process was when he was searching for information on Twitter.
“’Natchez Burning,’ one of the best thrillers in years!” read a tweet from New York Times best-selling author Ken Follett.
Iles read Follett’s novel “Eye of the Needle” during his time at Ole Miss and greatly respects Follett.
It was at this moment when Iles said that he thought, “Okay, maybe I succeeded at what I set out to do.”
Soon before the deadline with his publisher, Iles made an off-hand comment to his fiancé Caroline that his emotions were high, and he had no business driving. One week before, he pulled onto Highway 61, and the next thing he knew he was in a hospital room with a very broken body.
The experience changed his outlook on life and “Natchez Burning.”
“Life is too short,” Iles said. “I don’t give a shit what they think anymore. This book is about Mississippi, race and my dad.”
Greg Iles showcases and signs his new book, Natchez Burning, at Off Square Books in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (DM Photo/Cady Herring)
