This interview was originally broadcast in March, 2017
As every reader knows, novels can transport us to unexpected places. They also can shine new light on places we thought we already knew. Today’s guest, Shawn Vestal, manages to do both in his debut novel, Daredevils.
Daredevils is a coming-of-age story about taking big risks. It features colorful characters, a southern Idaho setting, an epic road trip and a fast-paced narrative that offers surprises till the very end. While fiction, it alludes to several historic events, including Evel Knievel’s famous attempt to rocket across the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1974, and the federal raids on a polygamist colony in northern Arizona in 1953.
Shawn Vestal is a longtime journalist who writes a column for the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington. He won the 2014 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for his short story collection, Godforsaken Idaho, and his work has been published in a number of literary magazines.
