Volume 1 | Issue 1
1 June 23
Welcome to my blog! I promise to work very hard at never wasting your time with useless trivia. While my current plan (remember, however, plans are what we deviate from) is to focus on trivia from history or current events, I want to make it interesting. Most items will be the results of research related to my writing in progress. I hope you enjoy them.
The only difference between a writer and a crazy person is that a writer gets paid for it. - David Gerrold
Ground Rules
I've set myself some ground rules. First, under most circumstances, I'll only send one e-mail newsletter a month. To every rule there is an exception, and this is no exception. The exceptions will be during the buildup to a book release. For a few months before I'll probably send two a month, and for four weeks before the book comes out, one a week.
Second, I'll keep them short, usually to a single page. This first one is an exception, of course. But exceptions will be rare! I don't want to lose anyone by spamming long missives.
Third, you can always opt out. I hope you won't, of course. My job will be to keep you interested, including in reading the books. Before you opt out, please send me an e-mail explaining what you don't care for in the newsletter. To facilitate that, here's my e-mail address: thomas.m.wing.writer@gmail.com
Thanks!
Work In Progress (WIP)
I'm currently working on two new books, and revising a third. My primary WIP is Three brothers. It's a story of, you guessed it, three brothers as they serve in the US military during World War II. Loosely based on my father's and two uncles' experiences in that war, it follows them through some of the most brutal fighting in the Pacific, North Africa, and Italian theaters of operations. One brother is captured by the Japanese early in the war and myst survive three years in prison camps.
The second WIP, which takes a back seat to Three Brothers, is something I'm calling Sea Stories. I don't know yet how far I'll take this one, as it's stories from my own naval service. Two decisions will determine whether I complete it: 1) do I have the oomph to do it, and 2) is anyone interested in reading it. To Be Determined!
A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult that it is for other people. - Thomas Mann
The work in revision is the very first novel I finished in rough draft. In Harm's Way. I've grown and matured as a writer since I typed "the end" on this one, so there's a lot of work to be done. Periodically I'll read/revise a chapter and find myself cringing at how I said something or the way I portrayed a scene. But I like the story, so I want to get it done and published.
INTERESTING TIBITS (I HOPE!)
1813
HMS Shannon, commanded by Capt. Philip Broke, captures USS Chesapeake, commanded by Capt. James Lawrence off the coast of Boston, Mass. During the battle, Capt. Lawrence is mortally wounded, but as he is carried below deck, he orders the iconic phrase: "The the men to fire faster! Don't give up the ship!"
1939
Capt. Hollis M. Cooley, directory of Naval Research Laboratory, proposes research in atomic energy for future use in nuclear powered submarine.
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