Finalist for Best Literary Fiction -- (eFestival of Words)"Kill a few hours enjoying the suspense and human drama." -- Publisher's Weekly review of books by John J AsherMonroe Colson baffles his family and friends when he abruptly announces that he's moving to Mexico.Monroe, a successful children's book illustrator from a small Texas town, insists he wants to paint without interruptions. He arrives as a stranger in San Miguel, but ...

In this noir literary thriller, former government agent Robert Bohnert has left the life behind—but it won't leave him. Broken by the destruction of his family, he agrees to one last job—this time for the other side. When a "straightforward" diamond smuggling operation goes south—literally—Bohnert finds himself trekking through Mexico, pursued by killers, including, a cross-dressing hit man, a psycho meth head, and a fellow operative who was once a close friend. An unlikely love story comp...

A piercing new novel from the award-winning author of A Dignified ExitWhen James Martin's father kills James's mother and commits suicide, the Claybern family takes the orphaned ten-year-old in—against their young daughter Jilly's wishes.All James Martin wants is a normal life, free of the stigma of his father's actions and consequent blackouts from which he wakes totally disoriented and terrified of what he might have done.His worst fears are realized when...

Harley Buchanan wants out—out of his hardscrabble existence in West Texas, out of the dead-end farming life of his family, and out of the heartbreaking discovery of his high school sweetheart with another boy. He hitches out of Separation, Texas, determined to forge his way in the art world of the 1960s. But he can’t leave his past as easily as he left Texas. A shocking discovery ignites a blood-lust that propels him on an adrenaline-driven mission of revenge back to Texas, where he finall...

Yellow Mesquite: Asher has produced a persuasive portrait of a young artist’s passage to manhood, filled with unobtrusively evocative descriptions and characterizations. (Kirkus Review)A Dignified Exit: Is it noble or is it selfish to go away to die alone rather than become a burden on family and friends?Stories from Separation, Texas: “…one of the best short story collections I’ve ever read. This is what great American literature is.” (Best selli...