44. J.L. Mackey

<p>Ezra Ballinger, protagonist of The Cowboy Church, would appreciate me keepin’ this short. So I will.</p><p>J.L. Mackey is an author, poaster, and all around DisLit staple. He’s hilarious, to-the-point, and embodies the criteria for a new, based kind of Southern Gothic, something we attempt to define on the pod.</p><p>His cinematic latest novella The Cowboy Church tracks Ballinger, a simple bar owner beset by chronic and crushing arthritis, as he faces off against a private equity type mogul. </p><p>I’d highly recommend the read. Like most DisLit standouts (Automaton by The Wr...