#36: Five for Them, One for Me, with S.A. Cosby
Shawn’s latest, KING OF ASHES, is out tomorrow.
Summer always promises a plethora of exciting novels, and few are more anticipated than KING OF ASHES—the latest from the reigning king of Southern noir, S.A. Cosby.
KING OF ASHES tells the story of Roman Carruthers, a financial advisor who has to save his family when his drug-addicted brother Dante becomes indebted to a deadly set of gangsters. But there’s also the mystery of his mother’s long-ago disappearance, and its lingering repercussions on Roman, Dante, and their sister, Neveah. A blistering morality tale set through the microcosm of a run-down Virginia town under siege by drugs and crime, ASHES further affirms Shawn as not just one of the most exciting new voices in the past decade, but also as a once-in-a-generation storyteller.
ASHES is the follow-up to Shawn’s blockbuster ALL THE SINNERS BLEED, which is being adapted as a series for Netflix and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. Higher Ground and Amblin also bought the highly-competitive adaptation rights for ASHES while the book was still in galleys.
In other words, it’s a good time to be S.A. Cosby.
And honestly, it should be. Shawn isn’t just one of the most acclaimed and talented writers working; he’s one of the hardest working, and one of the kindest. He’s part of a new chronicling of the South, proudly reclaiming the narrative from its tired and often racist past.
He’s also our Five for Them, One for Us.
Let’s go.
FIVE FOR THEM
1. What was the origin point for your latest novel, KING OF ASHES?
I kinda wanted to analyze evil—the darkness we carry inside even as we convince ourselves we are doing the right thing.
2. Since your breakout novel BLACKTOP WASTELAND, you’ve become the leading voice in a wave of fantastic rural and Southern noir writers— including Eli Cranor, Kelly J. Ford, David Joy, and others—who are redefining what it means to write about the South. How much of your work is a rebellion against where you’re from and how much is a tribute?
I hope I’m rebelling against the grotesqueness of my Southern history and I’m giving a tribute to the best parts of my Southern heritage
3. You’ve written a PI novel (MY DARKEST PRAYER), a heist novel (BLACKTOP WASTELAND), a revenge novel (RAZORBLADE TEARS), a procedural/serial killer novel (ALL THE SINNERS BLEED), and now a Shakespearean crime epic with KING OF ASHES. Each book is very different, but they’re all unmistakably S.A. Cosby joints. What is the challenge of inventing your storytelling with each book?
For me it’s finding the voice again. Stephen King talks about the Constant Reader, but I’m always trying to find the Constant Narrator—the guy or gal who is waiting for me to help them tell their story. Sometimes that voice isn't who you think it's gonna be.
4. KING OF ASHES will earn comparisons to THE GODFATHER, as it chronicles the corruption of Roman’s soul in the effort to save his family. But it really feels your most Faulknerian novel—entrenched in the repercussions of the past onto the present. Why is the exploration of the past such a ripe subject for Southern writers?
Well, as Willie says, the past is never dead, it’s not even really the past. I think for Southern writers being able to play with the nebulous nature of the past, of memory, is a direct response to the mythologizing Southerners retreated to after the Civil War. History is not only told by the victors; its also told by the writers
5. There’s an interesting twist in KING OF ASHES with Roman’s involvement in BDSM. What led to this character development for Roman?
I wanted to explore the idea of a strong male character who had an alternative way to express his sexuality to show strength and power is not determined by what you do behind your bedroom door.
ONE FOR ME
You worked at a funeral home for several years. What kind of anecdotes can you share from your time working there?
Everybody does actually wear shoes ...
TALKING ABOUT NEWSLETTERS
Despite having the most erratic newsletter schedule imaginable—there is no schedule—I’ll be joining E.A. Aymar, Vera Kurian, and Andi Bartz this Saturday, June 14, to discuss “The Whys and Hows of an Author’s Newsletter.”
Learn from my mistakes, people!
The event is sponsored by the Cheasapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and I’m sure Ed, Vera, and Andi will having wonderful ideas to share, and I’ll probably occasionally nod.
That’s all we’ve got for now. Thanks for coming. See you next time, and hey, let’s be careful out there.