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AJ Valor

Author of Marigold Underground

Who am I?

I’m A.J. Valor, a novelist and mental health therapist writing stories with teeth—stories that expose the systems we normalize and the truths we bury. My work is a mirror, blending dark satire, emotional depth, and social commentary.

What you gain...

Behind-the-scenes access to the making of Marigold Underground
Early chapters and cut scenes
Character insights + worldbuilding secrets
ARC invitations (limited spots) with live video calls with the author
Updates on future books and creative projects

RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 6TH, 2026

Meet The Protagonists

Dr. Zoya Patel is The Healer of The Resistance–and one of the last ethical Psychiatrists left in America. Under President Grieves' suffocating regime, mental health care has been weaponized, forcing Zoya to offer her services in secret. Burned out but grounded by quiet moments of mindfulness, Zoya risks everything to provide "underground therapy" for the resistance, tending to the wounds of oppression while knowing one slip could cost her both her freedom and her life.

Amara Touissant is The Rebellious Artist. Her grandfather speaks resistance through jazz; Amara speaks it through spray paint. With a prophet's fire and an artist’s eye, this 17-year-old is secretly turning the walls of a dystopian Atlanta into a canvas of banned metaphor—a dangerous, beautiful rebellion that promises to either awaken the city or get her erased.

Amara is the granddaughter of jazz musician, Eli Touissant. Amara is sharp, witty, and fiercely loyal to a faith she hasn't yet claimed, but can't deny. Rebellious by nature, she uses her artistic talent to covertly paint murals of forbidden metaphorical prophecies on the city’s abandoned buildings. Amara is impulsive and brave, a vivid splash of color in a world sterilized by fear, making her a vital, yet high-risk, link in the intergenerational resistance.

Miles Grieves is the Conflicted Heir. He has the President’s eyes and the President's name. Miles Grieves is the estranged son of the dictator, living in a gilded cage of privilege while his conscience screams for the streets. Trapped between his father's cruelty and the forbidden community he secretly needs, Miles is a charismatic bridge—or a potential bomb—waiting for the moment to choose between family loyalty and the crumbling truth.

Miles Grieves is thirty-three and the soon-to-be estranged son of President Dalton Grieves. He lives a life of elite control, but his soul is restless. Torn between the familial tie to the regime and his growing horror at his father's actions, Miles seeks solace and truth at illegal gatherings. His internal conflict is the story’s great fault line: he holds the knowledge and access to bring his father down, but acting on it would mean turning his whole world—and his life—into a collective stake for the entire nation.

Meet More Characters

Councilor Marin Helms, President Dalton Grieves, and Reed Sterling

June Whitlock & Her Atlanta Garden