SIMON J CLEARY
// AUTHOR · NOVELIST

SIMON J.
CLEARY

“Ghosts in the Ash” & “The Shattered City”

An Irish-born writer building thrillers about the machinery underneath. He writes about the systems that process people, the investigators who notice, and the cost of being the one who points at the machine.

Explore the novelsRead Chapter 1 free

Irish-born · Thrillers about the machinery underneath

Ghosts in the Ash — A Duke Savage Novel by Simon J Cleary
FILE 001 · DUKE SAVAGE · DEBUT
The Shattered City — Science-Fantasy Novel by Simon J Cleary
The Shattered City · Book 02
// THE NOVELS

The Novels

Two worlds to enter: the Duke Savage trilogy, and the science-fantasy second novel.

NEW
Ghosts in the Ash — A Duke Savage Novel by Simon J Cleary
Book 01 · Duke Savage

Ghosts in the Ash

“In a city that erases people with a transposed digit, one investigator was hired to find a woman who was never meant to be found.”

Duke Savage is fifty-three — a former investigative journalist turned private investigator operating out of a cramped office above a pawnshop in Los Angeles. When an encrypted message warns that a young woman is running out of time, he begins searching for Sarah Chu, who has been systematically erased from the administrative systems that govern modern life.

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// ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Irish-born. Los Angeles-set. Writing the system.

A debut novelist exploring how power learns to be invisible.

Simon J Cleary holding a copy of Ghosts in the Ash
Simon J Cleary · Author photo

Simon J. Cleary is an Irish-born writer and entrepreneur. His fascination with institutional systems, public narratives, and the hidden mechanisms that shape modern life informed the creation of GHOSTS IN THE ASH — written across twenty-seven drafts and exploring administrative power, personal responsibility, and the cost of pursuing truth when the people closest to you are paying the price.

He didn't fully understand what he'd written until the night his wife's friends went quiet listening to it and told him: “The dry, sarcastic, notices-everything cynic — that's one hundred percent you.” GHOSTS IN THE ASH is his debut novel and the first installment in the Duke Savage trilogy.

Born
Ireland
Background
Writer & entrepreneur
Debut
Ghosts in the Ash — 27 drafts
Series
The Duke Savage Trilogy
Setting
Los Angeles · Baltimore · Arlington
Twitter / X@simonjclearyInstagram@simonjclearyGoodreadsSimon J ClearySubstackThe Savage Dispatch
// THE DISPATCH · AUDIO

The Podcast

Conversations on craft, the system, and what the city won't say out loud. Hosted by Simon J. Cleary.

Coming soon.

Episodes will appear here as they are published. Join the dispatch below to be notified when the first one drops.

// APPEARANCES

Events

Readings, panels, and the occasional workshop. To be announced.

T.B.A.

Appearances, readings, and festival dates for the Ghosts in the Ash launch will be posted here as they are confirmed. Join the dispatch below to be the first to know.

// FREE CHAPTER

Read the opening of Ghosts in the Ash — free.

Plus The Savage Dispatch, a sporadic letter from Simon on craft, the writing life, and what the system is doing now. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

// CONTACT

Get in touch

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