Cottonwood Pass: A Novel of Suspense Set Against a Contemporary Political Backdrop - Softcover

Giles, Ronald D.; Thompson, Theodore

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1439234191 ISBN 13: 9781439234198

Publisher: BookSurge Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

Running away from the sudden revelation of his wife's marital infidelity, 35 year old Al finds himself surrounded by a murder investigation headed by the Monroe County Colorado Sheriff’s Department. While at times it appears that Al is the suspect, it becomes clear instead that he is the target of a secretive foundation headquartered off the road to Cottonwood Pass. The foundation is chaired by a reclusive multibillionaire who has cobbled together an operational philosophy using the thoughts of Plato, Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals,” and something called a “manufactured crisis.” While suspicion and danger surround him, Al tries to resolve his relationship with his wife and keep his job, both of which he appears to have abandoned. Set in the stunning Rocky Mountains, Al also comes into contact with a beautiful, red-haired detective, Sandy, who is with him through much of his adventure. It is the most intense and dangerous seven days of his life, as not all things are as they appear.

About this title

From the Author:

THE INSPIRATION FOR "COTTONWOOD PASS"

Joan and I were driving through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and had earlier visited Aspen. We were headed north to Interstate 70 when our GPS commanded "in nine-tenths of a mile, turn RIGHT onto C-ought-unwod-Paas Rode."

Joan and I both knew that this was not the major way to get to I-70, but we had trusted "Jill" (our name for the female voice coming with the Garmin) on many other occasions and she had always gotten us there through some shortcut, so OK.

A right turn at the town of El Jebel onto Cottonwood Pass Road. The road was a two lane affair that took us through a neighborhood, but soon, the houses were far apart and the scenery was stunning. We were probably about 6500 feet when we left El Jebel, but now we were climbing higher past beautiful houses, built to capture the view.

The name "Cottonwood Pass" indicated that we were going to ascend a mountain and then "pass" over it easily which we were prepared to do, but when the road turned from asphalt to gravel, I became a little concerned. And then, when the road became narrow and rutted as we went up the side of the mountain, my radar was on full alert, even though we were in a Jeep Commander. Full alert radar went to Defcon 1 as Cottonwood Pass Road became one lane and steep as I picked my way slowly around large rocks that had washed down the ruts in the snowmelt. What happens if we meet another car coming the other way?

What Happens If I Have A Heart Attack? Who would find us in this wilderness if we slid off the road? I turned on my cell phone. NO SERVICE!

That was it. I announced that we were going no further. Joan would not accept that we could not make it over the Pass and walked up to the next curve and disappeared around its bend. Returning, she reported that a landslide had taken the road over the side of the mountain; we had to turn around.

Carefully executing a 23-point turn in a not-so-wide spot near us, I shifted gears to low as we crept back down Cottonwood Pass Road, not wanting to cause another landslide. As we crunched our way down the incline, my imagination began piecing together a fictional story about someone who did slide off the mountain. Was he injured? Did he have wilderness skills? Would he die? Was he murdered? Who found him? Why was he killed?
When we got home, I jotted down some notes. In the fall, some four months later, I began working on "Cottonwood Pass."    RDG

About the Author:

Ron Giles (b.1942) was a teacher of American History for three years before changing careers. For the next thirty years, he was involved in television production and management, working at WBNS-TV, WCPO-TV, WBZ-TV, QUBE Cable, Mullin Television Productions and QVC, where he created their television format and managed the television part of their operation for the first ten years of QVC's life. Having finished a stint as a consultant, working with media companies in Great Britain, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, China, South Korea, and Australia, Ron turned his eye towards writing.  In 2008, "On Harrisonville Avenue" was published -- an amusing coming of age memoir about growing up in a steel mill town.  In 2009, his second book, "Cottonwood Pass" was published, as Ron delved into the world of suspense and global politics with a book set in Colorado. In 2011, the third bood, "Great Heats" will be released, a novel of historic fiction set 1000 years ago among the mounds and earthworks of what is now Southern Ohio.Ron describes his style as "engaging, easy reading to which one can relate."  You may follow his work by visiting rdgiles.blogspot.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1439234191
• ISBN 13: 9781439234198
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 166