The Tu-Tone DeSoto: A Baby Boomer Coming of Age Story

On Sunday, January 26, from 1:00-2:00pm, David Robbins, author of The Tu-Tone DeSoto, will host an Author Talk to discuss his book. Admission includes light refreshments, and David will have signed copies of his book available for purchase. Tickets are just $5 and can be purchased here: https://www.storytellerscottage.com/bookings-checkout/author-talk-with-dave-robbins

ABOUT THE BOOK: The Tu-Tone DeSoto is a fast-paced novel centering on the lives of the eight Hanson, Iowa, high school teens during the Kennedy administration and Cold War years of the early 1960s. They are living in conflict with the mindsets of their parents through a generation gap destined to become an incendiary turning point in future years.

The teens’ internal concerns take precedence over more worldly events as they naively mature into adulthood. Julie Maxwell elopes with her boyfriend Beau Harper, who joins the Navy. Connie Mueller is the best friend of Penny, Julie’s younger sister, and they find their maturity at the expense of their relationship, placing Connie at odds with her dysfunctional parents. Miscreant John Bass has lived a wasted life. Michael Hendricks, looking for identity through the torment of dyslexia and poor grades, faces a bleak future. Regina, Reverend Thomas Barragan’s daughter, creates the formula for her imminent destruction. Daniel is the son of Roger Lilienthal, a renowned sociologist from Chicago, and has grown up before his time at the cost of his youth. He is faced with the perplexity of coming to terms with being gay during a time of cultural change -- a time in which a generation of Baby Boomers is being defined and coming of age.

The story revolves around the history of the early 1960s and the years during John F. Kennedy’s presidency. Topics featured include: the Kennedy inauguration, the promise of a vital new generation, the sociological and cultural shift from complacency to conflict, the music of the time and AM radio, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the JFK assassination. Being a work of historical fiction, there is a robust, date-by-date summation of the real events occurring during the story. There is also a suggested playlist of the songs in the story during this transformation into the rock culture.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Robbins is the author of The Tu-Tone DeSoto and The Reverend. His third book, The Weight of Indifference, will be out in February 2020. He has been actively writing fiction for nearly 30 years, and for the past five years, he’s been putting his efforts toward developing a series of novels in the avant-garde historical fiction genre. Robbins, a Baby Boomer, was born in Norwalk, CT, and currently lives in Simsbury, CT, where he continues to type away on his new book.

The Storyteller’s Cottage is located in a vintage Victorian house in the center of historic Simsbury, CT, and hosts all manner of immersive literary events throughout the year, including Agatha Christie inspired live murder mystery parties, Great Gatsby themed Jazz Supper Clubs, fascinating close-up illusions at Fine Parlor Magic nights, a Literary Dinner Party series on select evenings at midnight, and more.

The Storyteller's Cottage is located at 750 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury. Parking for The Storyteller's Cottage is free, and is available on the street in front of the building, and in the Fiddler's Green parking lot on Wilcox Street (behind the house). For more information, please call 860-877-6099 or visit www.StorytellersCottage.com.