James Cooper — Oklahoma City’s first openly gay city councilman — released his debut novel, Moonlit Massacre in October from Literati Press. The book explores one of America’s earliest mass shootings, This month, Cooper began his nationwide book tour that includes a stop in North Texas. The author will appear on Saturday, Jan. 4 at Recycled Books in Denton for a public reading and discussion about the book.
Drawing from one of America’s most notorious crime stories, Moonlit Massacre tells the story of a community held in fear at the time of the shooting. The author mixes elements of true crime, literary horror and historical fiction to examine the inner lives of Oklahomans from marginalized backgrounds. Rather than focus on the assailants, Cooper explores a young city rocked by tragedy in this novelization based on a true story.
About the book:
In the summer of 1978, six employees of an Oklahoma City Sirloin Stockade buffet restaurant found themselves forced into a walk-in freezer during a robbery, then executed, leaving no witnesses. The shocking event and resulting nine-month, nationwide manhunt left a deep scar in the psyche of OKC residents and served as inspiration for Cooper’s new novel.
“Parents and politicians were blaming video games and horror films for the shooting, and those were things I loved as a teenager,” Cooper said in a press release. “So, I attended college to study media violence and the root causes of real-life crime. The book weaves in that research, and I’m excited people are connecting with this story so we can have an honest national conversation about preventing these mass shootings.”
Cooper, who is also also the first person of color elected to a Oklahoma City council ward in 2019, serves as the English Artist in Residence at Oklahoma City University, where he teaches courses on film studies, writing and horror. Cooper was reelected in 2023.
While pursuing his Master’s in English at Oklahoma State University, Cooper received an award from The Society of Professional Journalists for his column in OSU’s O’Collegian concerning the need for federal hate crimes legislation.
The Oklahoma Gazette published Cooper’s 2011 two-part cover story on the history of OKC’s LGBTQ community, “From Closet to Community.” Advocate Magazine named Cooper one of its June 2020 “Champions of Pride.” The New York Times profiled his 2019 campaign.
Cooper’s appearance is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 4 at Recycled Books, Records and CDs.
— Rich Lopez