Crime Novelist, Omar Scott, Prepares to Release His 4th Book

Author Omar Scott reveals his writing process, elaborates on why crime novels are so popular, and provides an exclusive excerpt of his upcoming novel, Loyal To A Fault.

In tandem with the modernist movement that sought to challenge traditional modes of literary representation during the early 20th century, so came the wave of what’s commonly known as “urban fiction”. In the western world, crime fiction — mystery, thrillers, suspense, etc. makes up somewhere between 25 and 40 percent of all fiction book sales. This has begun to raise the question of why crime novels are so popular, and Dallas crime novelist, Omar Scott, has the answer.

Since its emergence in the 1960s and 1970s, urban fiction has recently grown more popular because it has the ability to capture the harsh realities of living in urban settings. Originally from Los Angeles, Scott’s family moved to Dallas where he graduated from Justin F. Kimball high school. Growing up in a single-parent household, Scott turned to the streets and gangs to make peace with his situation. After committing a robbery with his friends, he had an accident that left him with second and third-degree burns on his chest and right arm. If that wasn’t bad enough, while healing from his injuries, he was arrested for the crimes that he had committed. Inspired by his favorite writers, Donald Goines, Sistah Soulja, and Eric Jerome Dickey, it was then that Scott decided to not only turn his life around but to write fiction books about the very real criminal activity that he once took part in. He attended college at El Centro and Mountain View College where he majored in creative writing.

Armed with the mistakes of his past and the desire to change his life, Scott took to writing crime novels in 2008 with his first piece of work titled Troubled Waters. When asked how writing crime fiction has had an impact on his life, Scott stated “Writing has given me purpose. It’s the reason why I’m here. It’s my gift to share with the world. Mark Twain once said, ‘The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.’