I’ve been writing and creating since I can remember. My Mom started teaching me how to read and write at about three years old and I didn’t waste any time applying what I learned. It was sometime around second grade when I read Edgar Rice Burrough’s Back to the Stone Age, and all I wanted to do was tell stories. My “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and “Goosebumps” was called “More Science Fiction Tales” and the attached volumes. School book drives allowed me access to the classics I knew from Monster Movie Matinee, Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man. The made for TV horror of the 70s, from Trilogy of Terror and that goddamned Zuni doll to Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’s fairies. Heavy viewings of every Godzilla and King Kong movie, the OG Planet of the Apes franchise and, eventually, Star Wars… all of it molded my imagination and influenced me.

Teenage Tom found Terry Brooks, Frederick Pohl, Richard Matheson, Robert E. Howard, Stephen King, Michael Moorcock, the magic of Richard Adams and John Carpenter. Each of these people made impressions upon me like none other, further molding how I told the stories I was developing in my mind. Dungeons and Dragons gave me a further outlet for story telling. This carried on into adult Tom and led to his true love, the extremes of horror. Nancy A. Collins, Skipp & Spector, Joe Lansdale, and Brian Keene. Oh, and the beauty of Cormac McCarthy. Through these people I learned there are no barriers. Nothing is taboo. And all of it can – and does – blend together.

And now it gets real. Friday, I share a bunch of my fucked up stories with the world in “A Book of Light And Shadow.” A goal I set nearly 5 and a half years ago has been met. It’s funny how my writing career was launched by my ability to talk. Radio, and in turn podcasting, has opened so many doors for me,. Considering I started upon my writing path as a teenager… to say it’s been a long, strange trip is an understatement. None of it was easy. I wrote 300,000 words for This Is Infamous over two years, allowing me to establish my voice as a writer. I learn more every day. I firmly believe you can never learn enough. I’m a gamer, and why do we play games? To learn. Workshops, mentoring… I suck it all in and apply it.

And the end result is this. A Book Of Light And Shadow. I wanted to release it in May. Back then, the title was Unplugged: Live From R’Lyeh & Tanelorn. I had designed a cover for it, using old friend Patrick Fitzgerald’s drawing of my hero, Ami Nightswan (thus Pat’s credit in the book as an illustrator). None of it sat well with me. So I held off.

What is special about these stories? Why have I included them? Well, some are a great example of things to come from me. Other pieces were previously published, and I’ve touched them up some for this release. Regardless of the why, each story is a chronicle of my progress as a writer. Some were first written, at least in part, over 30 years ago, while I was still in high school. The stories within are genre bending, much like the novels I read growing up. It’s a diverse lot, covering science fiction, horror and fantasy. Much of it blurs together, mashing up the genres. New readers to my fiction need this disclaimer: Don’t expect happy endings. And the whole cat thing… well… yeah (Thanks, Church!).

I hope you enjoy the stories. I know I enjoyed telling them, crafting them. There shall be more to come, coming sooner than you think…

You can pre-order the Kindle version A Book Of Light And Shadow here, or get yourself a paperback copy from me or on Amazon, and it’s available on Prime now.