Acworth, Georgia: Wedding at a car show

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Our daughter Laurel came by yesterday to show us her wedding album. There were 900 pictures on her slide show. An advantage over the age of print photos, to be sure, and yet— I think I made it to the 400 level, well into the people-eating-cake phase, when the SEC championship game came on (Woo-hoo! Go Dawgs!) and so, whatever happened after people ate cake, happened after people ate cake. I believe she pared down the album to 175 pics. Lovely wedding. We wish her and Michael the best. Here they are, dancing! There was something else going on that sunny September day: A vintage car show on Acworth’s Main Street. Sure it messed up traffic, but check  ’em…

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Friday: Brian Kemp Recall Petition Signing and Holiday Celebration!

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman It’s not Festivus exactly—we’re too charitable for that—but it is a petitioning of grievances because Brian Kemp is terrible at his job and thinks this entitles him to a promotion to governor next year. It does not. It entitles him to be fired. So that’s what we’re working to do. Gross incompetence, voter suppression, hyperpartisanship (preety sure that’s a word)—-the list goes on. The horrible is strong in this one. I’ve written as much already. Do we want this man to oversee an election that could catapult him into the governor’s mansion? No. We do not. Anyway, A Voice For All Georgia is having a party. It will be much more festive than Festivus. With activities and speakers…

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Georgia PSC candidate John Noel is running with the sun

PSC candidate John Noel wants Georgia’s energy future to be solar-powered By Jonathan Grant Republican victories in Georgia Public Service Commission races have been so predictable in recent years that Democrats haven’t bothered to field a candidate in three of the past five elections. Next year is shaping up to be quite different for the state’s asleep-at-the-wheel all GOP regulatory agency, however. Here’s why: Democrats are energized. Georgia Power’s troubled $25 billion (and counting) Plant Vogtle expansion has put a harsh spotlight on the PSC and its past decisions. Candidate John Noel, a colorful, dynamic energy-efficiency expert and walk-the-walk solar power advocate with political chops. The former Democratic state legislator with an unforgettable nickname is grabbing endorsements and making a splash with…

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What Makes Sally Run?

I intended to sit down and write a strictly biographical piece about Sally Harrell, but first I want to address some drama that’s been playing out over the past few days in Georgia’s 40th District State Senate race. It seems Sally’s opponent got on Facebook and attacked her as the “establishment candidate,” backed by “the elite.” Some kind of deal was made! Well, no. Here’s the link to what I’m talking about—a secondhand, anonymously-sourced claim that Sally made a deal to get out of this year’s Sixth Congressional Race in exchange for support for her state Senate campaign. Which is ridiculous on its face, because anyone who’s been a three-term state legislator and geared up to run for Congress would be capable…

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Brambleman wins major publishing award

News from Thornbriar Press (orig. pub. June 3, 2013) Strange Tale of Georgia County’s Ethnic Cleansing Claims Prize Brambleman, Jonathan Grant’s gritty, supernaturally-tinged tale of racism, redemption, and revenge in Forsyth County, Georgia, has won the Independent Book Publishers Association’s 2013 Gold Benjamin Franklin Award for popular fiction. Franklins, which honor excellence in  editorial and design, are considered among the highest national honors for small presses and independent publishers. This year’s awards were presented at the IBPA’s annual meeting in New York City on May 29 in a prelude to Book Expo America. Brambleman (Thornbriar Press, $18.95, ISBN 978-0-9834921-2-2) tells the story of homeless Atlanta writer Charlie Sherman, who is tricked by a stranger to finish a dead history professor’s book about one…

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About Brambleman, a novel

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 million—and a sale is pending. When he finds the land’s rightful owner, Charlie becomes convinced he’s been chosen by a Higher Power to wreak justice and vengeance on those who profit from evil. Brambleman is…

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