Month: June 2012

4.4 stars avg. rating Amazon.com and goodreads Brambleman A Novel by Jonathan Grant ISBN print 978-0-9834921-2-2 ISBN eBook 978-0-9834921-3-9 Available everywhere Thornbriar Press    Atlanta Paperback: $18.95 ebook:  $8.99 Down-and-out Atlanta writer Charlie Sherman has no idea what madness awaits him when a mysterious stranger convinces him to finish a dead man’s book about a horrific crime that’s gone unpunished for decades. What Charlie inherits is an unwieldy manuscript about the mob-driven expulsion of more than 1,000 blacks from Forsyth County, Georgia in 1912. During the course of his work, Charlie uncovers a terrible secret involving a Forsyth County land grab. Due to its proximity to Atlanta, the stolen farm is now worth $20 million—and a sale is pending. When he finds the land’s rightful…

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Wonder why I wrote Brambleman? Like the Dew has a Q and A up on that and other topics. Check it out.

The defense team of George Zimmerman, facing second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, has released some of its evidence, including videotaped police interviews. While Zimmerman mainly butttesses his claim of self-defense, there is a key statement we haven’t heard before. Zimmerman said he was reaching into his pocket when Martin hit him. Here’s the link.

CNN has confirmed previous reports: Sanford, Florida, Police Chief Bill Lee, who drew criticism for his department’s actions in the Trayvon Martin case, was fired Wednesday, his spokeswoman said. Spokeswoman Sara Brady said Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte made the decision. Lee had submitted a resignation letter in April that said he was stepping down, but city commissioners voted not to accept it. Read more.    

The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in Augusta, Georgia in 1845 due to schism between North and South over slavery. The SBC continued on its peculiar path after the Civil War, and the nation’s largest Protestant denomination became a bulwark of white supremacy and segregation. In 1995,  the organization finally renounced its racist origin and subsequent practices. Since then, minority membership in the SBC has increased dramatically. On Monday, 167 years after its founding, a historic change occurred. By acclamation, the convention selected African-American minister Fred Luter Jr. of New Orleans as its first black president. The New Orleans Times-Picayune coverage includes background on Luter, who built a tiny congregation into a massive one and was forced to rebuild it again after Hurricane Katrina: Although Luter acknowledged that his election was…

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Note to self: Don’t be racist. Here’s the latest coverage of Brambleman—a feature in the Forsyth Herald and NorthFulton.com by Carolyn Aspenso.  Click here to read article.