Robert Justice is a Denver native and the author of two novels— “They Can’t Take Your Name,” which was a finalist for the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award, and the sequel, “A Dream in the Dark.” He is the host of the Crime Writers of Color podcast and founder of the Read a Book, Right a Wrong campaign. Learn more at RobertJusticeBooks.com and follow him on Instagram/Bluesky/Twitter: @Robert4Justice.
SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory – what’s it about and what inspired you to write it?
Robert Justice: “A Dream in the Dark” is a crime novel about Moses King, an innocent man convicted because the victim, Claudette Cooper, had a dream that he was the perpetrator. Her dream is now his nightmare.
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I was specifically inspired by the real-life nightmares endured by Lorenzo Montoya and Clarence Moses-El. Mr. Montoya was sentenced to life without parole at the age of 14 for a crime he did not commit and Mr. Moses-El was arrested and subsequently convicted on the basis of a dream. They were exonerated after losing 13 (Montoya) and 28 (Moses-El) years of their lives for crimes they did not commit. This novel is dedicated to these two survivors of the greatest injustice in our justice system: wrongful convictions.
I’ve fictionalized their stories and placed their futures in the hands of Liza Brown, a woman determined to rescue others from a justice system that failed her father, and Eli Stone, an angry, grieving man.
SunLit: Place the excerpt you selected in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole and why did you select it?
Justice: The biggest challenge I faced with “A Dream in the Dark” was writing my antagonist, Claudette Cooper. Her character is based upon the real-life nameless victim who had the dream that put an innocent man in prison. During the assault, her attacker beat her blind so she couldn’t identify him to police. Her fear and pain were real and we can only imagine how she desperately needed to know that her perpetrator was behind bars.
This excerpt, White Cane Fields, was my attempt to show the years of uncertainty she lived with following the trial. My hope and prayer is that the real life Claudette Cooper has found peace and security, wherever she may be.
SunLit: What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write?
Justice: My Wrongful Conviction Novels are an opportunity to display my love of literature and music (which is why my stories are laced with the works of Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, Public Enemy and Billie Holiday) and my love of Colorado and the Mile High City (which is why my novels highlight Five Points, Mother Cabrini Shrine, the Cash Register Building and events like Killdozer.)
There is a burning car on the cover of “A Dream in the Dark.” The fire on the cover foreshadows a moment in the story when a peaceful Martin Luther King Jr. celebration turned into a full blown race riot.
This was not fiction, it happened in 1992 when Skinheads along with the KKK clashed with participants in Denver’s MLK Marade. It was a dark day in Denver’s history and I was there.
“A Dream in the Dark”
Where to find it:
- Prospector: Search the combined catalogs of 23 Colorado libraries
- Libby: E-books and audio books
- NewPages Guide: List of Colorado independent bookstores
- Bookshop.org: Searchable database of bookstores nationwide
SunLit present new excerpts from some of the best Colorado authors that not only spin engaging narratives but also illuminate who we are as a community. Read more.
SunLit: What did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?
Justice: Writing “A Dream in the Dark” allowed me to explore the connection between two giants: Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King Jr.
Many have argued, and I agree, that there is a direct link between the poetry of Hughes and the rhetoric of King. Hughes’ question “What happens to a dream deferred?” had influence on King’s vision of what America might become.
Most people know about Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, but few know of his nightmare. King inspired hope in 1963 when he declared: “I have a dream.” Yet four years later his optimism dimmed into despair when he lamented: “Not long after talking about that dream, I started seeing it turn into a nightmare.”
“A Dream in the Dark” takes the warning of Hughes and King seriously, namely, that our deferred dreams can also become our lived nightmares.
SunLit: What do you want readers to take from this book?
Justice: Colorado is a beautiful place to live but not everyone is living beautifully.
While Denver doesn’t carry the mystique of places such as Los Angeles, New York or Chicago, it still provides plenty of material for a crime/mystery novelist.
Denver is a beautiful place to live and, as a Denver native, I love the city I call home. However, part of my aim in setting my novels in Denver is to shine a light on the fact that in this beautiful place to live, not everyone is living beautifully. Wrongful convictions can happen anywhere. I’ve set my novels about systemic injustice in my hometown because I must not assume that what happens in other places is not also happening in my own backyard.
SunLit: Tell us about your Read a Book, Right a Wrong campaign?
I believe that together we can right wrongful convictions. That’s why I started the Read a Book, Right a Wrong campaign.
If you’ve purchased either of my Wrongful Conviction Novels—”They Can’t Take Your Name” and/or “A Dream in the Dark”—you’ve already made a difference!
Simply put, I donate a significant portion of my advance and royalties to local innocence projects, including Colorado’s own Kori Wise Innocence Project. The average cost to free an innocent person is enormous, and I hope that proceeds from this series of books will raise enough money that we will be able to say that together we had a part in somebody’s freedom.
SunLit: Tell us about your next project.
Justice: My next novel explores the unique plight of wrongfully convicted women. Innocent women are easier to convict and more difficult to exonerate than their male counterparts because they are usually sent to prison for crimes that never happened—no crime upon conviction means no evidence for exoneration.
My main characters Eli and Liza return to fight for the freedom of an innocent woman so she can reunite with the child she gave birth to in prison.
A few more quick items:
Currently on your nightstand for recreational reading: “54 Miles” by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
First book you remember really making an impression on you as a kid: Autobiography of Tony Dorsett
Best writing advice you’ve ever received: “Write something that will change your life.” John Truby
Favorite fictional literary character: Jean Valjean from “Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo
Literary guilty pleasure (title or genre): Ok, I’ll admit it. I like to read my own novels! Like the old adage says, “Write the book you want to read.”
Digital, print or audio – favorite medium to consume literature: Paperback
One book you’ve read multiple times: “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison
Other than writing utensils, one thing you must have within reach when you write: Coffee (oat milk cortado) or hot tea (something spicy and sweet) or rum (Dos Maderas 5 + 5)—depending on time of day. 🙂
Best antidote for writer’s block: A personalized writing ritual that gently leads you to the page.
Most valuable beta reader: My agent