Mark Bennett: Terre Haute-raised journalist's experiences lead to well-received novel

Feb. 2—A decade ago, glowing reviews flowed in for Josh Green's first literary effort, a collection of fictional short stories based on his crime reporting, "Dirtyville."

Men's Health magazine placed "Dirtyville" among 11 books on a list of "Best Books for the Beach" in the summer of 2013. There is was, right alongside works by Stephen King and Dan Brown.

Green's next book — the full-length novel, "Secrets of Ash" — has now been released. The Atlanta Journal Constitution calls it "compelling," and Kirkus Reviews labels it a "lyrical meditation on brotherhood and trauma," noting Green's "observational eye and a talent for an unusual turn of phrase."

Its published by the Sager Group in San Diego, headed by acclaimed writer Mike Sager of Washington Post, Esquire and Rolling Stone fame.

He's given several interviews, and celebrated book launches at iconic Manual Tavern in Atlanta and even the Terre Haute Brewing Company last Christmas season.

The scenario sounds like an author's dream, right?

Well, note the 10-plus-year time lapse between "Dirtyville" and "Secrets of Ash."

And, realize that span includes the COVID-19 pandemic's uncertainties.

Thus, the path from the first book to this one, as Green puts it, involved "10 years of rejections, frustrations and a few unbelievable setbacks." Two of his literary agents, which are necessary to connect authors to consumer publishers, got him close to publishing deals but then both agents left the business all together. One "fell in love" with his manuscript in the midst of the pandemic and was linked with HarperCollins, the world's second-largest publisher. Then that agent left for a different line of work.

"It was like, after 20 years of practicing basketball, getting a call from the coach who's saying I'm starting, and I couldn't get a damn ride to the game," Green said.

Yet, the end result of those twists, his novel "Secrets of Ash," softens the aches and pains a bit.

"It's been a pretty grueling journey, but it's kind of making it sweeter," Green said.

"It's really been fantastic," he added.

The 44-year-old, Terre Haute-raised, 2002 Indiana State University graduate's daily livelihood comes from his longtime role as a freelance journalist in Atlanta. His work appears in Atlanta magazine, Urbanize Atlanta, the Journal Constitution, Gwinnett Daily Post and magazines such as Garden & Gun. Green and his wife Lori are raising their daughters Lola, 12, and Marley, 9 in Atlanta, where he's lived for nearly 20 years. That choice may baffle folks in Green's hometown.

"I know most of Terre Haute thinks of [Atlanta] as one big obstacle between [Indiana] and Florida," he said Thursday, with a laugh. "But I love the place."

Still, the experiences that inspire Green's characters in "Secrets of Ash" occurred in various places, including Indiana.

Green tells the story from alternating points of view of two brothers with wildly different lifestyles. "I always wanted to do a novel focused on siblings," Green said, "especially with one trying to save the other." He's one of three brothers himself.

"Secrets of Ash" older brother Jack Lumpkin obeyed his domineering father while growing up in a high-end Atlanta neighborhood. Jack protected his younger brother, Chase Lumpkin, a rebellious troublemaker.

Their adult lives go in opposite directions. Jack becomes a millionaire bachelor as an outspoken, nationally syndicated sports radio host of "Morning Madness with Bachelor Jack" in Atlanta. Chase enlists in the Army, leading to combat duty in Afghanistan, where he's wounded and comes home with physical and emotional scars to get along with a Purple Heart.

Deeply troubled and struggling with PTSD, Chase returns to the Peach State, but instead of Atlanta, he heads for seclusion cabin living in the Ash County mountains. He's haunted by the memory of a murder that occurred during the Afghan war. Chase's mountain retreat serves as the setting of the brothers' reunion, after Jack rejects his cushy radio gig and its trappings as a result of an on-air confrontation with a NFL coach and sets off to see his kid brother.

What's ahead for them? "More trouble than they could ever have imagined," says the "Secrets of Ash" synopsis.

Chase and Jack stem from interactions and observations in Green's own life.

Green's first job out of ISU came as a reporter at the Greensburg Daily News, based in the small town between Indianapolis and Cincinnati with the famous courthouse tower tree. It was 2002 and 2003. Green interviewed local returning veterans from the Iraq war, but also interviewed World War II and Vietnam vets. "Something about that degree of risk and sacrifice fascinated me," he recalled.

Chase Lumpkin emerged from those encounters.

Green also listened regularly to audacious Atlanta sports broadcaster Mike Bell. "I thought, why not make the older brother character like that?" Green said. That older brother has to put aside his excesses "to save his brother's life."

Jack Lumpkin was born, in a literary sense.

The setting of "Secrets of Ash" got inspired by an Esquire story that Green read in 2011 about veterans gathered in a community setting, "Vetville," in rural Tennessee. In the story, one veteran spoke of wanting to ride a horse into the mountains, sadly, to take his life. "That kind of hit like a bolt of lightning," Green recalled of that heartbreaking tale in the article.

Green had forgotten — until his recent efforts to get "Secrets of Ash" published — that the "Vetville" story was written by Mike Sager, the namesake of Green's publisher.

"My eyes bugged out of my head," Green said, "like maybe this was meant to be."

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.