Libraries are having a tough time these days, with their acquisitions budgets being cut to shreds. I had already donated several copies of Chain Gang Elementary to my library system for their local author program, so I pushed forward with Brambleman as well.  (Click here to see Chain Gang Elementary holdings.) I also offered to help them replenish their stocks of The Way It Was in the Sotuh: The Black Experience in Georgia. Once upon a time, DeKalb libraries had 20 copies of the book, but holdings declined to just seven copies. (Click here for holdings.) In all, I gave them 20 books today, which should mean there will be 10 copies of Chain Gang Elementary, 8 of Brambleman, and 13 of The Way It Was on the shelves. You should be able to find…

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By Anna Dase, Read Between the Lines See more reviews Title: Brambleman Author: Jonathan Grant Series: Stand Alone Genre: Historical Fiction with a Supernatural Twist Publisher: Thornbriar Press Release Date: May 14 2012 Edition: Print The Story 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…

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Some revisionist history, courtesy of a Southern rocker.  (I’ve lived in Georgia forty years and I’ve heard this argument more times than I care to remember.) The last surviving original member of legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Gary Rossington, recently announced the group would quit its association with the Confederate battle flag due to racism and stuff. Well, theere’s been a fan backlash, and Rossington backtracked on/clarified the issue on the group’s Facebook page, saying the band would continue to associate itswelf with the banner. I wanted to clarify the discussion of the Confederate Flag in our recent CNN interview.  Myself, the past and present members (that are from the South), are all extremely proud of our heritage and being from the South. We know what the Dixie…

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I had a wonderful time with Women Who Read Too Much, a longstanding Decatur-area book club. I met with them Sunday evening at the home of Ann and Alan Abramowitz to discuss Brambleman. Thanks Ann (front center), and thank you ladies!  

See original post. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Hoping that every Georgian has the right to free speech – even when it is uncomfortable to some – the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan is suing the state after it was denied an opportunity to participate in the Adopt-A-Highway program. The group is seeking an injunction that would allow them to participate in the program. The lawsuit, filed this week in Fulton County Superior Court, argues that the state has “set up criteria for qualification for the Adopt-A-Highway program that are unconstitutionally vague and…have established no process for appeal of denial to an application.” In June, an application to…

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Embarrassing. Another first for Georgia. In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Political Insider blog, Jim Galloway reports: Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced this afternoon that, to meet a 3 percent ($732,626) budget cut ordered by Gov. Nathan Deal, he’ll be forced to cut off general public access to the state archives collection in Morrow, effective Nov. 1. From Kemp: ”The decision to reduce public access to the historical records of this state was not arrived at without great consternation.  To my knowledge, Georgia will be the only state in the country that will not have a central location in which the public can visit to research and review the historical records of their government and state.” Access to records will be available by…

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