Hi, I'm Lovar Burton and this is Lovar Burton Reads.

In every episode I hand pick a different piece of short-fitch and I read it to you.

The only thing these stories haven't common is that I love them and I hope you will too.

You know, I always enjoy a good story of magic and wizardry and I especially like it when

they get infused into a world that's very familiar to us.

Which is why I'm excited to read to you today John Dillinger and the Blind Magician, which

combines wizards and spells with gangster history.

What could be better than that, right?

The story was written by Alison M. Dixon and originally published in Apex magazine.

Now Alison has been writing fiction for the last decade and a half and her work ranges

from horror to dystopian fiction to domestic thrillers.

Her latest novel out is called The Other Mrs. Miller.

It was published by Putnam and is a twisty tale of domestic suspense.

She says her hobbies and obsessions include gaming, cooking, crochet, and true crime.

It's a woman after my own heart.

And she obviously wove her interest in true crime into today's story about John Dillinger.

Now for those who aren't all that familiar with gangsters or if you're not a crime enthusiast,

here is a bit about Dillinger that might enhance your listening of today's story.

After a troubled childhood and teenage years in which he frequently ran a foul of the

law and bullied other children and a brief stint in the Navy, Dillinger got married.

He tried to find a job, lived the straight life.

The story goes that he had trouble finding employment and ended up robbing a local grocery

...