Self-published author Dennis Rasmussen documents stories of the 1960s in his new novel and chronicles seldom told perspectives of the era in “Guys in Their 20s in the ’60s, a Novel Inspired by Actual Events.”
Rasmussen, with more than five decades as a professional musician, once self-published a memoir about his early days as a kid drummer on the road. Now, the mature writer classifies his new work as “historical fiction” and bases it around real events that both inspired and distressed those who lived through the 1960s. While his book’s stories take place during the “Hippie era,” Rasmussen asserts his book is likely not what one would think when reading about that colorful and dynamic decade. Rather, he aims to recall the cultural changes he and his friends—and most Americans—experienced back then.
Inspired by true-to-life accounts, the novel shares the personal adventures of three friends who pursue their life’s plans while surviving during challenges times. With the shock of the Kennedy assassination and civil rights struggles as part of their recent memories, the Sacramento buddies, now five years out of high school, hold a reunion to talk of old times, catch up on the present, and divulge their individual plans for the future. They are Adrian, a union musician with fuzzy hair and a squinty smile, Mitchell, a tall, handsome theater student, and Dave, a sensitive poet and longhaired carpenter. They don’t aspire to conquer the world, but strive to simply figure out how to maintain a music career that’s inconsistent; earn a college degree that might be out of reach; and live a simple lifestyle away from the chaos.
Starting in Sacramento, then swept up in the great migration to San Francisco, the guys make it up as they go. Learning, loving, evolving, and road-tripping, they each persevere in spite of seismic events all around, such as anti-war protests, national tragedies, and campus disturbances. Helping them negotiate a cultural revolution is a diverse cast of characters: girlfriends, artists, jazz cats, student activists, drama geeks, nightclub musicians, stoners and dreamers.
“Guys” is appealing to women as well as to men. At times, tragic, funny, romantic, entertaining and nostalgic, this historically-rooted novel places the reader in the footsteps of those who have trod the outskirts of the ‘60s counter culture while remaining rooted to their hometown sensibilities.
This captivating book has received several accolades from different quarters. “Dennis, I just finished your book. Wow, what a trip down memory lane. I loved the Sacramento and San Francisco references… It’s quite clear you can turn a phrase my friend. Keep up the good work… thanks for the thrilling ride through the Sixties,” says David Hodo, entertainer formerly of The Village People.
The book is currently available at the publisher’s website, Xlibris.com. Also, signed copies are available at a Radio event special price of $17.75 at www.dennisrasmussenbooks.com.
About the author:
Sacramento native Dennis Rasmussen has played drums for over fifty years—full time, part time, or at no time. Starting with gigs through the Nevada casino circuit, he sojourned to several major U. S. cities to play music, and later earned a bachelor’s degree in theater at San Francisco State. He wrote training manuals and other bureaucratese in California state offices, and, in recent years, worked as a reporter for a local Oregon weekly, then self-published a memoir about his early days as a kid drummer on the road.
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