Welcome to Dedicated with Doug Brunt. You have just gained access to an exclusive insider's look at the lives and works of some of your favorite authors and hear conversations with the world's greatest writers as they discuss their writing lifestyle, creative process, latest work, and behind the scenes revelations.

Welcome to Dedicated. I'm your host doug brunt i am thrilled to have with us today jess walter he's the author of the zero a national

book award finalist citizen vince an edgar award winner and also my first exposure to jess was about 10 years ago when I read Beautiful Ruins,

a novel that charmed the whole world and was on the bestseller list for like a year

and a half.

His latest work is a collection of short stories called The Angel of Rome.

Jess, welcome to the show.

Yeah, thanks for having me, Doug.

It's great to have you here.

And I have never been so excited about the cocktail selection of a guest.

I was going to say, you had me at cocktail.

I was, yeah, that's a brilliant addition to the podcast genre.

Yes, that's our lure to get the best authors in the world onto the show.

I drink Manhattan's, and you have selected the Robert Burns, which I have never had and I'm dying to try.

Maybe while I fix this, you could tell us a bit about it.

Yeah, I think it's an apocryphal story, but supposedly the Bobby Burns is named after the poet Robert Burns.

And so that literary history made me want to try one.

And now it's become my test of a bartender because so few bartenders know what it is.

And then you have to have this special ingredient that you're pouring now, Benedictine,

which is a liqueur, a kind of brandy, that takes the place of bitters in what would normally be a Manhattan.

And I think the Benedictine is made to sort of smooth out the earthy, pety quality of the scotch.

But I like it.

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