Forrest Peterson has worked thirty years in journalism and public communications. His first novel, Good Ice, is due to be published by North Star Press in late October or early November. He lives with his family in central Minnesota and is working on his second novel.

     When Maria Ruiz and her young son, Mario, leave their home in southern California, their past follows them to a small town in the Midwest. Against a backdrop of the late 1950s-the consumer society, automobiles, television, rock 'n' roll, the Cold War-the story portrays a Midwestern town, its people, and the measure of tolerance and bigotry present in facing racial and cultural differences, mental illness, and respect for a suffering hero from the "greatest generation" of World War II. Winter weather and an ice-covered lake contribute to the setting.

     When Mario and his close pals befriend a troubled drifter living in a shack outside of town, they see the discrimination and injustice that he faces, a burden also shared in the story by a young, black police officer, Latino migrant workers, the mentally ill, and an un-wed mother. The kids stage a dramatic rescue of Tom Nathan from the state hospital, where he ended up after being falsely accused of assaulting the son of a local businessman, a long way from his heroism in the costly battle for Iwo Jima in February 1945.

Good Ice excerpts

          Tom knelt next to Ike and gently scratched behind his ears. "You know, dogs and horses are the only people you can really trust."
Horace smiled. "That's what all the kids call me, Horse."
          "I know."
          "I don't mind. In fact I kind of like it. I've been called a lot worse, that's for sure."
          "So are you here about Ike or what?"
          "Actually I wanted to talk to you," Horace said.
          "Me? What about?"
          "You know the talk that's been going around town, about the Harley kid getting beat up."
          "You know I didn't do it."
          "I know, but the problem is others think you did, or want to think you did."

          Aaron said that's what happened to the Jews in World War II. They didn't do anything wrong but were arrested and thrown in concentration camps. At first they didn't even know what was going on.
          When they found out about the atrocities and gas chambers some tried to fight back. That's what they had to do with Tom. He didn't beat up Frank Harley and now he was in the mental hospital and they were going to turn him into a zombie.