10 Questions for Tom Fillion
1.
It
seems like you have been writing and self-publishing for years now. I started
around the same time, when you had to use CreateSpace to make a print book and
cover. Tell us about your first efforts with Amazon and Smashwords.
I’d
give myself an F+ in marketing so I’m trying to improve on that. New book covers are part of that. When I
originally did the books I used Amazon’s cover creator, but let’s face it,
readers do judge a book by its cover. That’s why I’ve used a professional
designer for a new cover on THE DREAM MECHANIC.
I
started writing in second grade inspired by The Call of the Wild by Jack
London, The Hardy Boy novels by Franklin W. Dixon, Beautiful Joe
by Margaret Saunders, and Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. I
still have my copies of Beautiful Joe and Misty of Chincoteague!
I’ve
had many jobs and that’s probably contributed to my writing being very
eclectic. The most notable are from 16 – 20 in the summers I worked at Mt.
Washington Cog Railroad in New Hampshire.
My grandfather had worked there for 30 years as an engineer so even
though I lived in Tampa at 16 my brother and I and a friend rode a Greyhound up
the east coast to Mt. Washington. During the 4 summers that I worked there I
washed dishes, base clean up crew, switchman at Waumbek, brakeman and fireman
on the trains. As a fireman I shoveled a ton of coal to get up Mt. Washington.
Truly a unique experience and I keep in touch with some of those friends from
that period.
After
graduating from the University of South Florida with a degree in English, I was
kind of burned out and directionless which resulted in a few flunky jobs one of
which was a waterbed setup man and that is the basis of THE DREAM MECHANIC
oddly enough. Some of my friends went to graduate school, but I didn’t. I’ve always said this job was my graduate
school because I dealt with people from all levels of American society. Besides
that, it was fun getting stoned and drunk with some of the customers!
In
1980, I began teaching at Hillsborough County Adult High School in Tampa. I got
married that same year to June who was from New York City and she had gone to
Manhattan School of Music as a voice major. I was certified in English,
Mathematics 6-12, and Gifted, so I taught various classes at the Adult High
School: Math, Computer Applications, and English as a Second Language. There
was a huge program there for foreign students to learn English. Wherever there
were trouble spots in the world and refugees, some would end up at the Adult
High School.
And
that’s how I ended up in Saudi Arabia in 1991. I took a job with Lear Seigler
Inc, a defense contractor, as an English Language Trainer for the Royal Saudi
Air Force in Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. My experience there is the basis of
my novel, HUBBLY BUBBLY. I lived on a US Airforce compound out in the
high desert about 50 kilometers from Mecca. There were F-16 and U2 pilots,
British Air, and McDonnell Douglass personnel on the compound. We all traveled
to King Fahd Royal Saudi Air Force base every day. My wife and daughter flew
met me in Frankfurt that summer and we drove up to Norway where she had
relatives. June’s father grew up in Norway.
. I was with Hillsborough County Schools from then until I retired in 2019. I taught various levels of Mathematics and coached track, golf, and tennis during that time period. In the mornings before school, I wrote and self- published 5 novels and 2 collections of poetry. Now that I’m retired, I’m focusing on growing an audience for my writing!
4. Has Tampa always been your home? Tell us about yourself.
For
the most part, I’ve lived in Tampa.
I
went to Catholic and public schools here in Tampa grades 1 – 12. My novel, GIUSEPPE’S
AWARD, is about Catholic school and the Florida State Fair!
Before
I graduated from USF in 1975, I split in my 1962 VW bug and went to Vermont and
lived in the woods where I made fiberglass canoes. I brought a bunch of philosophy books with me
to read. Of course, I didn’t read any of them, but I did watch most of the
Watergate hearings!
1991,
the year I spent in Saudi Arabia is the only other time I haven’t lived in
Tampa.
5.
You
write poetry as well as fiction. Are your poems collected or more random
events?
The
poems are very eclectic and cover a range of thoughts, observations, and
subjects, some serious, some funny, and some satiric and sardonic.
The
cover of ARCHIPELAGO OF MYSELF is a picture of Slieve League in
Donegal, Ireland that I took in 2007 when my wife and I visited Ireland.
The
cover of THE SKY’S THE LIMIT is a picture I took in Albuquerque,
New Mexico where my daughter lives.
I
have enough poems for another collection. I just haven’t put it together yet.
6.
I
found seven titles available. Are any of the books related by character or
settings? Tell us about each title.
The
Dream Mechanic
is a Southern Gothic journey back to the Me Decade of the 1970s when credit
card debt was tax deductible and businesses that lost money were profitable.
After graduating from the University of Urban Failures (UUF), Wilbur Dobbs
takes a job as a dream mechanic setting up waterbeds at Wetbedders, a small
business and tax write-off for Dave and Margo Hamilton, so that he can pay back
his National Defense Student Loan from UUF and the Record Club of America for
three hundred copies of In The Court of The Crimson King, his favorite album.
Wilbur is fed, clothed, liquored, stoned, entertained, loved, hated, and abused
by a variety of people from the Me Decade as he enters the inner sanctums of
their bedrooms for several hours that make indelible impressions on his
overactive mind. The reader is in for a real treat as Dobbs meets weird and
wonderful characters from up and down the social ladder reminiscent of John
Kennedy Toole's, A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, and James Purdy's, MALCOLM.
Giuseppe’s
Award: He’s Robinson Crusoe. He’s an
imaginary cowboy. He’s a cigar-smoking paperboy of the month. He’s friends with
Clarence, Graveyard, and Chipper. He and his brother, Frankie, have a go-cart
with no brakes. He has a dog named Ginger and a duck named Elroy. He’s out of
uniform at a funeral mass. He’s friends with Agar the Giant, Baby Flo the Fat
Lady, and Cash McCain star of the Florida State Fair. He’s Giuseppe Fieri, a
fourth grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Hell and sits in the fourth row, fourth
seat according to his GPA. Nobody past the first row ever wins the community
improvement essay contest, but he does.
When
The Moon Is In The Seventh House:
Billy narrates the story of his best friend, Flint Dupree, and Ellie Windows
who met in a Sex and Violence in Southern Literature class that also describes
their relationship. Join Billy's wild ride through astrology's seventh house
associated with friendship, partnership, competitors, enemies, and marriage.
Billy gets through his own 'midlife crisis' with a little help from his friends
at St. Christopher's Crazy Eights Factory, including his own personal
gynecologist.
New
England Book of the Dead:
In New England Book of the Dead, Robert Fortier escorts his legally
blind, eighty-eight year old father, Roland, from Florida to Vermont to see his
father's sister, Alma, before she dies in the hospital. It's the longest time
he has spent with his father since growing up and traveling the world.
Hubbly
Bubbly: For
months Jim Tierney sent out his resume with no results. An economic recession
in 1990 raged. A home addition he started languishes from lack of funds. His
self- esteem is in the crapper. One day he receives an unexpected phone call
offering him a job that comes with a villa and a houseboy. What? He accepts the
job immediately because he’s lost and has to find his way in the world again.
He accepts the job before telling his wife and daughter that the job is in
Saudi Arabia and there’s a war right around the corner.
Archipelago of Myself: Archipelago of Myself is a collection of whimsical and eclectic poems. The topics and titles include a kaleidoscope of modern life: Slow Dancing In Hell, Hunger Games In Texas, I want To Be a Kardashian, Twerking In The New Year, Orchestra Seats At Armageddon, Chapel of Continuing Basketball Re-Education Camp, Dreaming In Swahili, Get Your Sorry Ass Up And Go To Work, etc.
The
Sky’s the Limit: This
collection of 121 eclectic poems from 2015-2018 covers a range of topics and
absurdities of modern life. These are some of the topics and subjects in this
new collection that are sure to entertain, enlighten, anger, and amuse.
7.
What
are your marketing plans now and how are they different from when you started
writing?
I
queried agents and got read by some top agents which considering the publishing
landscape was a plus. I’ve even had an agent, but nothing ever happened. That’s
when I started self-publishing my writing, but not really promoting it. Now that I’m retired from the teaching
profession and the emotional baggage that carries, I am more willing to work on
the back end of the self-publishing enterprise. Answering these 10 questions is
a big step in that direction!
8.
What
writers influenced your thinking and style? Have you always loved books of a
certain time or place?
Lots
of writers!
Seeing
this is primarily about The Dream Mechanic, there are two writers
that I kept in mind while writing this novel. One was Sherwood Anderson who
wrote Winesburg, Ohio, a collection of interlocking stories. The
other writer is James Purdy who wrote novels, plays, and short stories. Malcolm
is my favorite novel of his. Gore
Vidal called him “an authentic American genius.” I was fortunate to have known
James for many years through a friend of my wife’s from New York City. I
included his comments about The Dream Mechanic on the back cover.
9.
Do
you attend any writers groups or seminars?
Yes,
I recently joined Tampa Writers Alliance.
I’ve
attended a couple conferences with agents and authors. One was some years ago
at the Algonquin Hotel in NYC. The other one was recently 2024 Florida Writing
Workshop here in Tampa.
10. Are you writing something new? Tell
us about your latest projects.
As
I mentioned earlier I have enough poems for another collection. On the fiction
side, I have two novels that are basically finished. Spirit Week deals with
homecoming at a high school and a secret of a powerful political family. The other novel is The Year of Broken
Glass dealing with the Covid pandemic. Also, I’ve been writing a
free-for-all that I call Bayshore Chronicles about my bike
travels along Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard and
other things that come up.
Email:
TomFillion@gmail.com
X:
@dreamechanic
FB:
dreammechanic
http://dreammechanic.blogspot.com/
