“What could possibly be the motivation behind leaving
corpses all over your family’s property?”
REMAINS
A Fictional Account of a True Crime
A new novel by Jim Cheney inspired by the 2002 gruesome discovery of 339 corpses recklessly discarded on the Tri-State Crematory property in Noble, Georgia.
“Although based on a notorious true crime case, Remains is first and foremost a novel and Jim Cheney expertly draws on all the power and resources of the form to conjure up a complex, heartbreaking story of one community’s descent into moral hell. His multi-voiced, kaleidoscopic account of these terrible events is compelling and unforgettable.”
“This is a gripping, arresting read that lingers long after the final page, unsettling in the best possible way. Cheney deserves a wider audience for his deft portrait of the American South, his unsparing look at the human capacity for self-deception, and his remarkable ability to illuminate the hidden resilience and complexity within ordinary lives. I highly recommend Remains — both for readers drawn to true crime and for anyone who appreciates fiction that refuses to look away from the darker truths of human nature.”
“I’ve known Jim for over 15 years. He is a friend, a fellow writer, and collaborator. We’ve shared pages and ideas, and I’ve had the privilege of designing the covers for three of his books. Jim’s writing explores humanity’s dark nature as well as the choices that shape who we are. As someone who’s worked closely with him, I can say he brings the same dedication and curiosity to the craft of writing as he does to supporting others in their creative work.”
About Jim Cheney
Writing for me is a necessity. Pure and simple. It’s a way to make sense of the non-sensical — a means of cataloging memories into characters whose lives are a hybrid of imagination, experience, and exploration. It’s often times a very lonely and isolating task, while at the same time liberating in that it opens my thinking to broader interpretations that I hope will cohesively make up a good story.
I have been writing since I was in high school. Poems, songs, professional communications. The dull stuff like memos, press releases, media pitches, etc. After 50 years, I can’t remember when I was not writing, either through words or the creative process of idea formulation. All of that spawned from a love for reading, a pastime I learned from my mother who constantly had her head in a book. You might say that it was a genetic calling. My influences are all over the map from Robert Penn Warren, and Stephen King to Hemingway, Flannery O’Connor and Dostoevsky. I also love T. S. Eliot, Bob Dylan, Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy, Tana French … you get the picture.
Yet this passion for the craft of writing is not of my own choosing. It is something I feel compelled to undertake, and when I’m not working at it, I feel a sense of guilt, as if I had locked these imaginary people in a closet and they were slowly running out of air, banging furiously on the door to be let out and go on about their lives. I was in my late forties before I was mature and patient enough to tackle a novel, and when I was done with the first one, I was immediately onto the next, having discovered that my muse was finally able to wander without constraint.
Thanks for reading!
JAC
Reach out if you would like to invite Jim to your bookclub meeting, join your podcast or speak at your next event.
More from Jim Cheney
Jim began writing his first novel after being struck by an idea while stopped at a dingy little rest stop on Monteagle Mountain, half-way between Nashville and Chattanooga. The idea developed into “All is Set Anew,” a horror novel set in rural Tennessee where two brothers try to escape their family history of poverty, abandonment and murder.
“One Black Day,” tells the story of two young men and their struggles to become adults. Set against the landscape of a forsaken Midwestern town with limited opportunities, “One Black Day” follows their parallel failures and discontent with identity, family, friendship, violence and loss, culminating in a single tragic intersection that will irrevocably change and connect them forever.