Hello – and Thanks for Stopping By!

I’d like to warmly welcome you to this, my first ever blog entry.  God willing, there will be many more to come.  To that, I’m encouraged by a quote I recently came across from Pico Iyer:

“The beauty of any first time is that it leads to a thousand others…”

 …well, a thousand blog entries might be a little ambitious, but hey, let’s see how things go.

You might like to know that A Gift Most Rare took about two years to write and bring to publication.  From the very beginning, I was led by one overarching goal:  to write a God-honoring Christmas tale that would be true-to-the bible and the sublime, awe-inspiring, transcendent, unmatched meaning of the Christmas event as told in the Gospels.

…it’s not that I have anything against Santa Clause, toy-making elves or flying reindeer!  They represent some of the most fun and lovely folklore ever conceived (in fact, there was a time when I believed in them myself!)  For that matter, who doesn’t love holiday parties, eggnog, Christmas cookies, and movies like It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas and of course, Charlie Brown’s Christmas?!

At the same time though, it seems apparent that the birth of Jesus can be overlooked in the midst of all the other traditions we rightly love about the holiday season.  So, in order to keep our priorities straight, you’ll see that each chapter of A Gift Most Rare opens with a bible verse, setting the tone for what’s about to happen.  You’ll also see that our story focuses on two things which receive preeminent attention throughout the bible:  the importance of honoring God and of caring for those in need.   

In addition to the above, I also wanted to write a coming of age/period piece going back in time to the early 1970s.  That’s when I was in middle school (6th, 7th and 8th grades,) which for me, were three of the best years of my life (I know…I know – said no one else ever!)  In those days of discovery, we got our first taste of freedom (i.e.: going places without our parents); we began to play sports against other schools (putting on a Briarcliff Bears jersey for the first time felt amazing); we began to go out on Friday and Saturday nights (…sure we had to be home by 9:30, but it was fun and exhilarating anyway) and of course, there was the nerve-wracking, heart-pounding, palm-sweating, mind-blanking, cotton-mouth-producing experience of attempting to talk with girls…

For those who grew up in Briarcliff back in those days, you’ll recognize that many of our shared experiences (skating in Law Park, sleigh riding at Briar Hall Country Club, walking up town to Joe Weldon’s Deli, etc.) inspired several chapters in this story.  For those who grew up elsewhere, I’m sure your experiences will be easily interchangeable.

So what’s next?  Well, this is just the first book in a trilogy which I’ve come to refer to as the “Briarcliff Triplets.”   The summer sequel is complete and ready for editing (working title: Summer Up!)   Book three is outlined and ready to be written (working title:  Victory Lap.)  

I plan to make regular entries to this blog page – so please come back again soon for regular posts on events, activities and updates.

Thanks again for stopping by!  Very best regards to all –

Tom

PS:  please feel free to leave me a note over on the Contact page if you have any questions or if there’s anything you’d like to correspond with me about.  I’ll do my best to get back to you in a timely way.