Miller tries to avoid the “Southern writer” and “Southern literature” labels. Louis is a retired Fox News-watching, divorced 63-year old who can count his reasons for living on one hand. Layla, a quirky, loving mutt, is overweight and licks many feet. Louis is in a deep existential crisis and we meet him when he’s at his lowest point. He has lost his long-term wife. His relationship with his daughter is not the best. He has also quit his job to inherit his father’s estate, which is the most pressing issue for him. He drinks too much and eats lots of fast food. He is unable to do any repairs on the house and finds strange comfort in a crumbling world. He prefers misanthropy to stepping out of his comfort zone and connecting with others. Layla is no different. She has her faults when it comes down to being a dog’s pet. Layla is not able to fetch or obey commands and, much to the dismay of her new owner, can’t even catch a bite of bologna. They work together to overcome the challenges of life, perhaps through their differences or because of them. He’s not so old. Miller describes Louis as “just sort of miserable” and says it takes him changing his routine to get up a bit. Louis describes Layla’s story: “She was a contradiction like so many of you, strong in certain areas but weak in others… Sometimes weakness looks like weakness, but it is actually strength. Layla could swim miles on trash and still live on it. She was a champion for the land and sea.” It’s impossible to read “Biloxi” without seeing Mississippi, for better and worse. The imagery of the landscape and people, racial tension, and driving down Highway 90. Miller claims that Louis could come from any place. His complacency and unique familiarity are what make him so compelling. Miller found Louis a challenge. He allowed Miller to see the world from an older man’s point of view and showed how allowing a dog to enter one’s home on a whim could change one’s perception. Inspired by real life Gulf Coast experiences, the opening scene in which Louis meets Layla and watches him stumble to adopt her was inspired by this. Miller spent her time in Gulfport cruising the coast, and she came across a sign that said “free dogs”. It was attached to a number of birthday balloons. Miller thought to herself, “Who would let dogs go like that?” She wondered if anyone would ever adopt dogs in this manner. Miller was astonished to read the passage last month at Jackson’s Lemuria bookstore. Her dry humor was evident in every word. You could see that she still enjoyed the scene and the character created from it. She laughed and said, “It just seemed all too trashy.” “Louis is just a narrow-minded and unthoughtful bull-in-achina-shop typea guy.” Miller’s second novel is “Biloxi,” which follows her short story collection “Always Happy Hour.” Readers who are familiar with Miller’s previous work will recognize some parts of Louis. He’s quite negative. He’s pretty pessimistic. He doesn’t see much value in himself. Miller described Louis as a “lonelier, grumpier, older version of me” when Miller first discovered the character and gave him a sense for his place. Miller stated, “There’s no other place like Mississippi Gulf Coast.” She added, “It was really lonely for me.” This brought out a lot about Louis’ life and circumstances in the book. His humanity is often revealed despite all this. Louis becomes more thoughtful the more we get to get to know him. Or maybe because we get a chance to get to know him. He watches his granddaughter count Mississippis as he thinks, “Even in Mississippi, the children counted Mississippis. We had the river and the measurement for seconds.” There was a lot more, too. That, along with Miller’s ability not to be overly detailed where it is necessary, makes Miller’s writing and “Biloxi,” so captivating. Mary Miller and “Biloxi”, Liverlight, $24.95, are more details here.