The book is inspired by the colorful history of the author's father and his family. It very successfully evokes Georgia at the beginning of the 20th century. "Cold Sassy Tree" is not a biographical account of the author's own family.

Will Tweedy, the central character and the protagonist of the novel, shares many things with the author's father, William Arnold Burns.

The author's father was the grandson of the owner of the general store in Commerce, Georgia, and likewise Will Tweedy, the protagonist, is the grandson of the owner of the general store in Cold Sassy, Georgia.