Southern Author B. Mitchell Cator Debuts 'All The Good That Remains'

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Jun 01, 2016, 08:30 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- An extraordinary new writer of immense power and tenderness, B. Mitchell Cator has written an unforgettable novel about longing, belonging, and friendship in a rural community lodged in the barren hills of Texas, where acceptance and change are rarely welcome. His novel, titled "All The Good That Remains," (Anchor Hudson, 2016) debuts today and is available from booksellers everywhere.

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The novel centers on Deke, a loner and reluctant drifter with a good heart. In the beginning, Deke is searching for a place to belong, a place to fit in, a place to call home. He meets, and falls in with, Cole, a co-worker with a twisted mind prone to violence. When Cole drags Deke into a string of crimes, including murder, the only way Deke can escape is to move on again, to drift, to keep searching. Their story zooms in on, and escalates in, Logan, an economically depressed farming town in West Texas. The inhabitants, mostly ranchers and farmers, uneasily co-exist with the land and climate. Without knowing the connection among the town's characters and how their lives intertwine, Logan seems to be exactly what Deke is looking for as he attempts to not only escape Cole, but also find the comfort he desires. His peace, however, is short-lived. With a wake of violence trailing him, Cole is on the move, vowing to catch up with Deke.

"I like novels where the environment is a force and the characters are deeply rooted in their setting," explains Cator. "Perhaps that comes from growing up in rural farming and ranching communities myself."

Early praise for the novel includes Mary Helen Specht, author of bestseller Migratory Animals. Specht says the novel is "Sharply written, fantastically plotted… gripping and moving… I couldn't put this book down." Kirkus Reviews gave All The Good That Remains a starred review, which is awarded to books of exceptional merit, and said, "The author writes beautifully: The lights atop the grain elevators 'blinked like beacons, warning some things off and beckoning other things to come.' In a sense, that passage describes this impressive book's plot in a nutshell." Lone Star Literary Life said "…well-written, engrossing… there is no denying that solid storytelling has shaped this absorbing Texas novel."

B. Mitchell Cator lives near Austin, Texas. His work has appeared in The London Journal of Fiction, Change Seven Magazine, The Santa Fe Literary Review, Silk Road Review, Moonglasses Magazine, Gravel Magazine, and more. All The Good That Remains is his first novel. Visit the author's web site at https://www.cator.com/atgtr to learn more.