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Gary Slaughter discusses Cottonwood Summer '45

Cottonwood Summer '45
Written by Gary Slaughter

Gary Slaughter continues his entertaining, richly-detailed Cottonwood series with a new summer tale set in home-front America during the summer of 1945.

Cottonwood Summer '45, the latest novel in the Cottonwood series, continues the tradition of delivering an entertaining, richly-detailed reminiscence of home-front America during the summer of 1945, as well as details of the closing events of World War II. The last days of the war have a profound effect on America, as witnessed by the citizens of Riverton, Michigan, and Nashville, Tennessee, the settings of this fast-paced story in which Jase and his best friend Danny, the heroes of the Cottonwood novels, are plagued by yet another passel of bad guys.

Growing up in Owosso, Michigan, on which Riverton is based, Slaughter observed with boyhood fascination the German POWs who were interned at Camp Owosso located on the outskirts of town under the watchful eye of their Army guards.

“When the army chose to build a German POW camp on the outskirts of Owosso, my curiosity – and trepidation – soared,” Slaughter said. “Even as a small boy, I just knew that someday I would tell these stories.”

And so he did, very well. Slaughter’s previous novels – Cottonwood Spring, Cottonwood Winter: A Christmas Story, Cottonwood Fall, and Cottonwood Summer – were named finalist in six prestigious book awards for fiction writing in the categories of adult fiction and young-adult fiction.

Cottonwood Summer '45 will have readers weeping as Danny causes the accidental death of a dear friend, marveling at how the duo deals with their first experience with racial segregation, and laughing as Danny’s clairvoyance and intelligence bewilder pompous politicians and unfortunate criminals alike.

John Seigenthaler, public television host of A Word on Words, called the Cottonwood series’ two protagonists “this generation’s Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.” In Nashville Scene “Critics Pick,” the paper called the Cottonwood series “an upbeat portrayal of a simpler nation united around common goals.” And The Owosso Independent said, “Cottonwood novels appeal to all ages, but especially to parents as they relate their experiences on the World War II home front to their children and grandchildren.”

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Slaughter served six years at sea as a naval officer on destroyers. Over the course of his distinguished business career, he became an expert on the management of corporate information technology. He traveled extensively, lecturing and consulting to clients both in the United States and abroad. During this time, his list of professional publications, including books, articles, and white papers, grew to more than four pages. In addition, he founded several information services companies in which he played an active management role. When not writing, Slaughter presents his “Behind the Book” talk to audiences of all ages. And because of his extensive knowledge of POWs in America during World War II, he frequently speaks on the subject. Slaughter and his wife Joanne make their home in Nashville.

Visit www.GarySlaughter.com