Author Thomas Fox Averill

It was 38 years ago when author Thomas Fox Averill heard the song "Tennessee Stud." He enjoyed the lyrical story of courtship, love, and fugitive life so much, that he used the song's plot and mood to write the novel  rode.

In this edition of New Letters on the Air, Averill describes his unique methods of research, creating believable characters in a western, and how he surprises readers. His earlier novels include the 2001, Secrets of the Tsil Cafe, and the 2003, The Slow Air of Ewan McPherson, a bildungsroman about a Scottish boy in small town Kansas.

Listen here until February 13, 2012.

New Letters on the Air, public radio's longest-running literary program, is a half-hour program that is produced by New Letters magazine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.