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Author Fan Club

Author Fan Clubs:
R.A. Allen
Kevin David Anderson
Peter Andrews
Thomas Anselm
Carol Ayer
Victor J. Banis
Cynthia S. Becker
Karen Bernardo
Venita Blackburn
Andrea Bodel
Bruce Boston
Michael Bracken
Warren Bull
Mort Castle
John Chabot
O'Neil De Noux
M.M. De Voe
McKenna Donovan
Peggy Duffy
Barry Ergang
Elrena Evans
Gail Farrelly
John M. Floyd
Sunny Frazier
Robert Friedman
Jennifer Gennari
Jonathan C. Gillespie
Diane D. Gillette
Beth Groundwater
Mindy Hardwick
Jess Harris
Laura Hartman
Libby Fischer Hellmann
Belea T. Keeney
Floris M. Kleijne
Gerri Leen
Laird Long
Adrian Magson
Tracie McBride
Thomas Millstead
Michael Neal Morris
Jim Musgrave
Kris Neri
Richard O'Donnell
Lydia Ondrusek
Heather Parker
Barbara Quinn
Bruce Holland Rogers
Terry Sanville
Anita Saran
Wayne Scheer
Marge Simon
Del Stone, Jr.
Loretta Sylvestre
J.A. Tyler
Dennis R. Upkins
Daniel Wallace
J.D. Webb
Mike Wiecek
Bill Wilbur
Sarah Wisseman
Tim Wohlforth
Simon Wood

Thomas Anselm

Tom Anselm is a featured columnist for the Suburban Journals of St. Louis, a subsidiary of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where his column, A Boomer's Journal, can be seen every other week. Tom has written two novels: You're Never Too Old for Space Camp, the story of the amazing adventures of a veteran middle school teacher, which is now available at Booklocker, and David, My Brother, the story of a young teen with a disability who is starting a new school. Tom is a professional special educator.

Tom has been blissfully wed to the lovely Jill for more than 35 years. At last count, he is the father of six and grandpa of eight. Family, golf, and writing occupy his time, and the occasional mid-day nappie. His family motto is Numquam Desiste, which, roughly translated, means Never Give Up.

Stories

The At-Bat
On a perfect September afternoon, batter Tommy Gun Kehoe squares off against pitcher Tim Josephson one last time before retirement.
Time: 16:40 / $0.88 Sample Add to Cart

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Q & A

Q: I'm wondering if you ever have trouble switching gears from writing your column to writing fiction. As a former journalism major, I remember it being drummed into me that I must be very factual and use as few words as possible to get my facts across. But in fiction, there needs to be description and poetic phrasing and such. For myself, I find that somewhat of a challenge because of the journalism training. How about you? Of course, I realize that writing a column is different from writing a news story. Did you ever work in other areas of journalism? Thanks, Carol Ayer (fellow Sniplits author)

TJA: Carol, that is a great question. I did about two years as a stringer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and covered local municipal stories. It taught me deadlines and compactness and accuracy. But I have a lot to learn in that regard and don't consider myself a real journalist. As for the columns, I have more time - two weeks - to put them together, so the pressure, though there, is much more manageable. And the ideas are from somewhere in the recesses of my noodle, or something I see or hear in the news or a great thing one of my grandkids might do or...or...well, the options and sources are endless, although the focus is on issues about being a Baby Boomer. I like the short story genre, since it gives a guy a set format: get in, do the job and get out. That fits my ADHD-like life and the fact that I still work for a living. I did write a novel a few summers ago that has just been published, but then as a teacher I did have a few weeks off to do that. I guess I just like to write stuff, and the format doesn't matter much. Maybe I should write a song and get paid everytime it plays...yeah, that's the ticket. Thanks for the question.

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