Don't Start Me Talkin'

In this comic road novel, roles are reversed, race gets reviewed, and a legendary Delta bluesman takes one last ride.

"A master storyteller, Tom Williams enters the living history of Delta Blues and emerges with his own thrilling tall tale, alive with American music, American legend, American heart."--Matt Bell, author of "In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods"

"Tom Williams writes like Paul Auster might if he were funnier or like Stanley Elkin might have if he'd ever been able to stop laughing. Darkly charming."--Steve Yarbrough, author of "Safe From the Neighbors," "The End of California," and "Prisoners of War," on "The Mimic's Own Voice"

"Williams perfectly mimics an array of voices, weaving in multiple layers of analysis so complex and believable the reader must either question their legitimacy or laugh out loud with admiration and enjoyment."--"Necessary Fiction," on "The Mimic's Own Voice"

"Don't Start Me Talkin'" is a comedic road novel about Brother Ben, the only remaining True Delta Bluesman, playing his final North American tour. Set in contemporary society, Brother Ben's protege Peter narrates an episodic "last ride" across the great forty-eight, laying bare America's complicated relationship with African American identity, music, and culture. Much like his hero Sonny Boy Williamson once sang, Peter promises, "I'll tell everything I know." Tom Williams is the author of "The Mimic's Own Voice" (Main Street Rag Publishing Co). He has also published numerous stories, reviews, and essays, most recently in "RE: AL," "The Collagist," "Booth," and "Slab." An associate editor of "American Book Review," he is the chair of English at Morehead State University.