Pellissippi State hosts attorney-turned-novelist Tom Slagle today

After years of writing legal briefs, retired Knoxville attorney Tom Slagle decided to tackle something more personal.

He tapped into his experiences as a high school senior in Turkey in 1969 and has written “Death by Innocence,” a novel he discusses with the audience at Pellissippi State today (the 20th).

The free event is 10:45-11:35 a.m. in the Goins Building Auditorium. The community is invited to attend.

“Writing this book was really a compulsion,” said Slagle, now a student in Pellissippi State’s screenwriting course.

Slagle’s novel is about the son of a career Air Force officer who spends his senior year in Ankara, Turkey, at the height of the late 1960s drug culture. The book traces the lives of four best friends who come of age experimenting with drugs and deal with the consequences of their actions.

Writes one reviewer, “A great read!! I couldn't wait to see how it ended—then was disappointed that it was over.”

Slagle says he’s curious to hear what younger people have to say about the story. For aspiring authors, he’ll share his experience self-publishing the book, which is now offered through a number of online dealers, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The author’s wife, Lisa Slagle, will read from the book.

For more information, contact the English Department at 694-6708.