Beneath Gray Skies tells of David Slater, a private in the Army of the Confederacy in the 1920s as he takes part in the power struggles in the West¹s last slave-owning state. Here, the American Civil War was never fought, and the South seceded peacefully, surviving as a pariah nation into the 20th century. The new National Socialist government of Germany allies with the Confederate States of America, controlled by the CBI under the iron fist of Jefferson Davis III, and sends over a mysterious cargo on the Zeppelin Bismarck, captained by anti-Nazi Hugo Eckener. British and American Intelligence work together with the heiress to a shipping fortune, a freed Confederacy slave and rogue British agent ³Bloody Brian² Finch-Malloy to stop the arrival of the dirigible and prevent the growth of the Nazi-Confederacy alliance and the spread of slavery to other nations. Combining historical facts with a fictional past, Beneath Gray Skies gives a fascinating look at a world that easily might have been.

Hugh Ashton lives in Kamakura, Japan, where he works as a writer and journalist. Beneath Gray Skies is his first published novel.
 

Author: Hugh Ashton
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: lulu.com (April 8, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0557060532
ISBN-13: 978-0557060535
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Today's writing Member:HughAshton

Editorial Reviews

Collin Kelley writes with the heart of a saint and the horns of a satyr. Conquering Venus poetic, personal and proud goes off like a starter s gun to announce a fine new writer of fiction. --Charles McNair, Land O Goshen and Book Editor of Paste Magazine

From Memphis to London and to Paris, Martin Paige seeks redemption after a terrible and violent loss. The wonder is that he still believes in love, even when it appears like an apparition in an elusive and conflicted young man. Collin Kelley takes you on a sometimes frolicsome, sometimes tragic tour of the heart in this engaging first novel. --Gary Zebrun, Only the Lonely

Unflinching and mysterious, Conquering Venus is that rare combination of poetic and page-turner. Collin Kelley who refreshingly faces taboos head-on has packed his cinematic debut novel with compelling characters, meaty plot twists and satisfying surprises. This novel is freshly contemporary as well as, in its own fashion, a love letter to Paris. --Kate Evans, For the May Queen and Complementary Colors

About the Author

Collin Kelley is a novelist, poet and playwright from Atlanta, Georgia. His poetry collections include After the Poison, Slow To Burn and Better To Travel, which was nominated for the 2003 Georgia Author of the Year Award, Kate Tufts Discovery Award and Lambda Literary Award. He is a multiple Pushcart Prize nominee and a recipient of the 2007 Georgia Author of the Year/Taran Memorial Award from the Georgia Writers Association at Kennesaw State University for poetic excellence and his work as co-editor of the Java Monkey Speaks Anthology series from Poetry Atlanta Press. His poetry, essays and interviews have appeared in magazines, journals and anthologies around the world. His play, The Dark Horse, was the recipient of the 1994 Deep South Festival of Writer's Award for Best Play from the University of Louisiana and the Georgia Theatre Conference Award in 1997. Kelley has been a journalist for more than 20 years. Conquering Venus is his first novel.

Paperback: 388 pages
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (July 18, 2003)
Language: English
List Price: $16.99
Author:John Sammon
Member: Gregan