Place informs much of my writing. I find that setting itself can become a character in the work, an integral part of the protagonist's longing. 

Mississippi, poor, rural, forgotten or mocked. I set my work here because it's what I know, where I grew up. But also because I want to draw attention to it, this state that is home to some of the most talented artists in America.  Famous Blues musicians like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Famous writers like Eudora Welty and Jesmyn Ward and William Faulkner.