Ashville Rising is almost here!

It's been a quiet few weeks here on the blog—life has a way of pulling us into its rhythms, doesn't it? Between work, family, and those little moments of reflection that sneak up on you while sipping coffee on the porch, I've been pouring my heart into something special.

Today, I'm thrilled (and a little nervous!) to announce that my fourth novel, **Ashville Rising**, is available on Amazon as a Kindle Book! Release of the paperback is imminent.

This story is the next chapter of The Apprentices, part of my Handyman's Guild adventures, which are inspired by the rolling ridges and hidden histories right here in our corner of Alabama. It's a young adult urban fantasy set in the small towns we know so well—Ashville, Leeds, and the Cahaba Valley—where everyday kids discover an ancient secret society called the Guild. They guard mysterious "lines" of underground pressure tied to the land's old scars: faults, ridges, buried relics from stagecoach days and even further back.

Meet Makaley Broward, a grease-monkey teen from Springville with a knack for fixing engines... and apparently, the earth itself. Along with her friends JD, Sean, and Dezi, she uncovers a humming relic beneath the Ashville courthouse that's been waiting centuries to wake. There's mystery, a touch of the supernatural, old Alabama lore (think paleokarst voids and forgotten stage roads), and that quiet sense of wonder when the land feels alive beneath your feet.

It's about listening—to the ground, to history, to the people who came before us. And holding on when things start to shift.

If you've ever felt that pull from these Alabama hills, or wondered what secrets our courthouses and old houses might hold, I think you'll connect with this one.

**Ashville Rising**  available soon on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. I'd love for you to grab a copy and let me know what you think—drop a comment here or shoot me an email.

Here's the link: Ashville Rising

Thank you for being part of this little corner of contemplation. Writing this book has been a journey of its own, full of late nights and "aha" moments. Can't wait to hear if it resonates with you.

Until next time—stay curious,

Ron  

P.S. If you're local, keep an eye out—I'm hoping to do a signing or reading soon!

The Quarry Keeper

 

 **📚 New Book Release! — *The Quarry Keeper***

*A Handyman’s Guild Companion Story*

The Quarry Keeper a companion to The Handyman's Guild is now available as a Kindle eBook or an Amazon paperback. 

 Set in the quiet ridges and abandoned quarries of Leeds, Alabama, this story introduces readers to Herbert Nash—a mysterious, soft-spoken man known around town only as the eccentric who lived near Atlas Quarry. But Herbert wasn’t just a loner with an old lantern… he was a Keeper, entrusted with listening to the land itself and calming the forces that stir beneath it.

Everything changes the night a dangerous tremor threatens to crack the quarry wide open. Just when disaster seems inevitable, Herbert encounters a young boy named Randall Broward—a child with an unusual sense for danger and an ear tuned to the pulse of the valley. Their meeting sets in motion a legacy that will echo through generations and eventually forge the Guild we came to know in The Handyman’s Guild.

 **What You’ll Discover Inside** 

* The origins of the Guild’s presence in Leeds, long before lanterns chose their bearers

* The first spark of Randall Broward’s destiny and why the ground seemed to know his name

* A Southern blend of folklore, quiet magic, and small-town mystery.

* A story about responsibility, unseen guardians, and the everyday people who quietly keep the world safe

Whether you've read The Handyman’s Guild or are discovering this universe for the first time, The Quarry Keeper stands on its own as a rich, atmospheric tale rooted in place, memory, and purpose. If you enjoy magical realism tucked into ordinary life—and stories where heroes fix what others never notice—this book is for you.

**🛒 Available Now on Amazon**

Available on Kindle and Amazon paperback

Pick up a copy today and return to the valley where everything began.

The stone still remembers.

Some lanterns never go out.