What do the grandest condo tower in Buckhead, drug smugglers, an insular North Georgia town called Cherokee, and a drunken but successful Atlanta sports radio host nicknamed “Bachelor Jack” have in common?
They’re all fictionalized elements of Urbanize Atlanta editor Josh Green’s new novel and second book of fiction, Secrets of Ash.
Set in Atlanta and the North Georgia Mountains, Secrets of Ash was inspired by Green’s years of reporting on Atlanta real estate, working in local media, and covering the plight of U.S. military veterans for newspapers and magazines. He studied creative writing in college and has been publishing fiction since 2008.
Secrets of Ash tells the story of brothers Jack and Chase Lumpkin, Atlanta natives who take disparate paths in life and find themselves in a harrowing, life-or-death predicament in the mountains near Blue Ridge that neither brother could have ever imagined.
The novel was published by California-based The Sager Group, founded by legendary magazine writer (and Emory University graduate) Mike Sager, whose journalism has been adapted into films such as Boogie Nights.
The Sager Group; cover design, Siori Kitajima
What they’re saying about Secrets of Ash:
Atlanta magazine: “A propulsive suspense novel, with enough twists and turns to keep you reading until dawn.”
Matthew Brennan, poetry professor, author: “The descriptions are genuinely beautiful segments of writing full of inventive metaphor and painterly detail… The novel would make a very good movie. It does for the mountains of northern Georgia what James Dickey did in Deliverance for the rivers.”
Kirkus Reviews: “A lyrical meditation on brotherhood and trauma… Green has a great observational eye and a talent for an unusual turn of phrase.”
Atlanta-Journal Constitution/Gwinnett Daily Post: “A compelling story of two brothers—one a wounded Purple Heart war veteran and the other a loudmouth radio personality—whose fragile relationship is put to the ultimate test in the North Georgia Mountains.”
Secrets of Ash is available in ebook and paperback via Amazon and all other online outlets.
Look for readings and events around metro Atlanta as 2024 unfolds.
