Sojka, Timothy Gene: - While Texas's greatest storytellers Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry focused on the western plains, Sojka focuses on southeast Texas's Big Thicket, Piney Woods, Neches River and the area's eccentrics. Few authors' voices more closely mimic the people and the rich environment they describe.Sojka's plot twists often dare readers to connect the dots, but his devotion to character arcs and off-beat dialogue prompted critics to award his last novel 39: Your Last Birthday the Maxy Award for Literature and Humor and a Readers' Favorite Silver Medal for Southern Fiction.Sojka still lives in southeast Texas with his wife. He writes, runs, paddleboards, and aspires to smoke the perfect brisket.