Where can I find The Ruiner: A Casey Sparks Novel?
The Kindle e-book, hardcover and paperback can be found on Amazon here.
Where can I find The Intercession?
The Intercession is an episodic novel with one chapter being released each week. It is exclusively available on Kindle Vella here, and the first three chapters are available for free for anyone to read. It will be published as a complete e-book, paperback and hardcover in 2025.
Is Cherry Hill, AL a real place?
No. The town is fictitious, but many other places mentioned are real or are based on real locations.
Is Murder Creek a real place?
Yes. Although its description as being a distributary of the Alabama River is incorrect. It is, in fact, a tributary of the Conecuh River further to the East. The fictional location of Cherry Hill is in the general area between the two real rivers.
Also, there are at least two competing stories claiming to explain the origin of the name. Both of them are sordid tales involving slaves, indigenous peoples, white travelers, a robbery and killings. But they diverge wildly in plot and in which people incited the incidents.
Is the Red Lion a real place?
Yes. The Red Lion, featured in The Ruiner was inspired by a bar of the same name which used to operate in Mobile, Alabama. A sign with concrete lions existed, the main door was huge, the exterior was pained in a tutor style, and the inside (first story) was decorated exactly as described in the book. Sadly, the real Red Lion closed many years ago. The sign is now gone and the location has been host to a variety of drinking establishments over the years. As of this writing, it operates as an “exclusive nightclub”.