Back in March I treated myself to a harmonica, something that has been a growing interest as I listen to more and more blues. It cost ten bucks and a whole lot of effort to learn the very basics. But, I have moved beyond Mary Had a Little Lamb and recently signed up for lessons via YouTube. This is getting interesting.

Meanwhile, my current WIP (Work in Progress) is making slow progress. I attended a conference last month and learned a lot about story development. Incorporating that learning into the WIP is making a bit of a mess with the first draft. Thank heavens for the critics in my Palm Bay Writers’ Group. They’ve been keeping me on track as I submit chapters for review. Then there is the issue of being a Pantser—a writing style where the story evolves as you write, as opposed to being a Planner where the story is all figured out and then you write it.

My style has led to another cat becoming a major character although you won’t know it till the end.

I’ve been negligent in my posting on here. Truth be told, there are not many followers so there’s little incentive on my part. One argument: if I wrote more I would have more readers. Point taken. So to that end here’s what’s been going on.

I’ve entered Too Late to Pray in a self-published contest, mostly hoping for some positive feedback in their critique (truthfully, winning wouldn’t be so bad). I also wrote another short story specifically for a contest—it didn’t make the cut to the final round. Finally, there is another contest for the first 50 words of a novel. I’ve submitted the opening of my current work-in-progress. We’ll see.

My research for the WIP has taken me down some dark rabbit holes. It’s scary to find there are people buying into some strange conspiracy theories. It’s also scary to find there aren’t people realizing there’s a battle going on in the halls of power over what form of government will prevail—a republic controlled by the ruling elite vs. a very messy democracy where there will always be arguments over what’s best for the family. Good fodder for a satirical, social commentary.

This is so cool! I received a nice posting on the Space Coast Writers’ Guild web page. Check it out: https://scwg.org/new-hot

Too Late to Pray is now published in ebook on Amazon and through all other channels via IngramSpark. Now the hard part: learning the marketing game for self-pulishing. My beta readers, critiquers, et. al. have received their copies of the paperback and I look forward to their reviews appearing on Amazon. Next up, I’ve contacted the ladies at Hello Again Books in Cocoa Village (https://www.helloagainbooks.com/). They’re a small retail book store, very supportive of the local writing community. My hope is to be invited to their Meet the Author program. That may happen in July.

There are several contests I’m considering entering also. There’s the chance to win some cash, but more importantly is to secure a review or two. Call it “validation.” It’s good to get the opinion of fellow writer’s, but even better when it comes with no strings attached.

Meanwhile, work continues on the latest novel and a new short story. More on that next time.

Too Late to Pray is officially launched effective May 15, 2021. The Kindle version is available at: https://www.amazon.com/Too-Late-Pray-T-W-Lofgren-ebook/dp/B092FL7SGB/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=t.w.+lofgren+too+late+to+pray&qid=1621056825&sr=8-1

Other ebook formats and the paperback are available through on-line retailers. Search the ISBN nos. eBook: 978-1-7369440-1-1 and the paperback: 978-1-7369440-0-4. (Note that my printer/distributer, IngramSpark, says to give it till May 19, 2021 for the distribution channels to be available.

I’ve spent the last two days preparing for publication through IngramSpark for the paperback and eBook versions (other than Amazon). It’s much more complicated than I thought—zeroing in on genre descriptions, writing an explanation of what the book is “about,” etc. Now I’m experimenting with updating this website.

I writing this in an effort to get to know my way around my web site. This has taken some doing and I’ve lost my patience more than once. I guess we adult learners are a bit harder to train.

Hi! Welcome to my web page. I publish under my initials, i.e. T.W. because, hey, if J.K. Rowling can do it, why not me? Most people call me Thom (my preferred spelling) although they picture it like Tom. I added the “h” when I was in high school after seeing it spelled that way in a shoe store chain—Thom McAn. I tell people to think of it as Thomas without the ass.

I’ve always enjoyed literature, even from a young age, reading the likes of Jules Verne in 7th grade. I took a Creative Writing course in college, part of the General Studies requirements, figuring an easy “A.” I got the “A” but it wasn’t easy. But it was fun.

I put that aside, however as I pursued my career in photography (that’s a whole ‘nother story!), but was challenged by my daughter to try doing more writing. She was taking a similar course at that time. Call it a bonding moment. That’s when I got the bug and began writing short stories, joined the Greater Canton (Ohio) Writer’s Guild, and produced a novella—Dodging Butterflies: the Autobiography of Thomas Speaker.

That was a major learning experience. It’s a really rough first draft, published by a vanity press. I liked the storyline and it gave me the character, Thomas Speaker, who you meet in my current work.

So, that’s a bit about me. Feel free to leave a message. I’ll write more as I get used to this technology. Yes, it IS hard to teach an old dog new tricks