McCracken Poston Jr.'s Blog

If you’ve read "Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom" and think it would make a great movie, consider adding it to Goodreads’ "Books That Should Be Made Into Movies" and other such lists that spread the word of Alvin's story!

I'm grateful that Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom has been receiving recognition this year, including a nomination for Georgia Author of the Year in Memoir and a finalist spot for the Clue Award for True Crime Book of the Year at CrimeCon.

The story follows my defense of Alvin Ridley — a man accused of murdering his wife after allegedly keeping her hidden for thirty years. What we didn’t know at the time was that Alvin was autistic. His diagnosis more than two decades after the trial has reframed everything.

Earlier this month, I did a Reddit AskMeAnything (AMA) about the case. To my surprise, it reached over one million views in just 18 days. I’ve been moved by the public’s interest in Alvin’s story, and by how many people saw themselves or someone they love in the details.

If you’re curious, the full discussion is here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comment...

Over the last week, on social media for my book, I have noted the 25th anniversary of the Alvin Ridley murder trial, January 7-15, 1999. My book, "Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom" (Citadel, Hardcover, February 2024), is just weeks away from launch.

I asked Alvin yesterday if he remembered what we were doing exactly 25 years ago. "Going to lunch, I reckon," was his guess. This was a pretty good guess, as we did go to lunch that day, as we have done for many years since the trial.

Opon winning the trial 25 years ago yesterday, the first public comments I made on the courthouse steps, after presenting Alvin, were something to the effect that (Alvin) is ready to start rebuilding his reputation in the community.

I hope that this book accomplishes this goal.

McP

After a week of presales on Amazon, and before I had even started copy editing with my publisher, a book appeared on Amazon, Rakuten, and other sites all over the world. It was titled "SUMMARY of Zenith Man by McCracken Poston Jr."
It looked like a cheap, Cliffnotes version of my book, and it was at a price point I thought even my friends might opt for instead of my book!

Thanks to Rakuten, I got to see inside the book, and it was 47 pages of drivel that clearly was written by a bot. Interestingly, although it said it was a "summary" of my book, my name in it was "Rebecca Mitchell" and my client's name was also changed.

Reedsy let me know that the "author" was based in Nigeria - the home of many internet frauds. I got everything shut down and off most sites. I'm sorry if anyone got ripped off.

McP

I had always just browsed in the good Atlanta and Chattanooga bookstores for my next good book. I only discovered Goodreads when someone brought to my attention that there was a short story there someone had written that sounded very similar to a story I had lived through and was trying to write about.
I had pretty much given the story away to any true-crime documentaries, podcasts and articles in national publications that came asking, so I shouldn't have been surprised. I guess it was the fact that the title that I had chosen, and one that I had suggested to New Line Cinema when they optioned my true story, was used by that writer, and that set me off.
I'm embarrassed now to think about how I reacted. There's no copyright in titles, and the writer changed our names, and it was only a short story. I have since apologized for my initial reaction, and wished that writer well. Live and learn.
The happy ending of the story is that the sensation of something very close to me being taken away inspired me to sit down and write. My first book, "Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom," will be published in February, 2024 as a lead title by Citadel (Kensington Publishing). As I wrote in Goodreads, I'm taking my story back!