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Tom's
Page > Writing
| Although I have been writing for many
years I never looked at myself as a writer. For me, writing is a form of emotional
release. When I'm upset I find it useful to write down everything in my brain- whether it
makes sense or not. When I go back to edit my words I can apply logic and common sense to
my work to see if what I am writing remains accurate in the cold light of reality. Although I have written for many years I've never had anything published- except a few Letters to Penthouse. When I had the opportunity to build my first web site for the sheriff's department I actually became a writer. The MCSD Web Site contains is more than 350 pages- virtually all of which I wrote. The same is true for all of my commercial sites and my business site- Custom Design Concepts. However, what I really want to be is a successful novelist. At present I am working on three different books. The first is Degree and Inches. It is a crime novel (oh, really?) about a series of assaults and murders involving officers of a large and successful Health Maintenance Organization or HMO. The setting is a large urban area with multiple police agencies- none of whom that talk to each other. My second novel is Active Shooter. The name is taken from the newest training concepts of law enforcement officers. It used to be that police officers were trained to surround and apprehend suspects. With the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the Burlington, Wisconsin, shootings in November of 1998 and the Columbine shootings in April of 1999 a pro-active approach is being undertaken. This approach has come to be known as 'active shooter' response. My novel is a fictional account of such a situation and is an attempt to explain to persons outside of the law enforcement community the absolute chaos that reigns in such instances. I've begun my third novel. It is entitled Hard Truths and is a sequel to Degree and Inches. The main character, John Sipes, now living in Bend, Oregon (one of my favorite places!) is again confronted with a terrible personal tragedy and those responsible have no criminal liability. It is time to take the .308 Remington 700P off the fireplace mantle and make things right. Presently I am working on my first magazine article. It is tentatively entitled, 'On the Road Again, for the First Time. It describes how my life changed when I was transferred from the Information Services to the street at age 49. I am submitting it to both Indianapolis Monthly and to AARP The Magazine (yes, the American Association of Retired Persons). All work shown in these pages is copyrighted © Thomas N. Wood, 2002 - 2003. This work, or any portion thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent of the author or major league football. Side effects may include back pain, headache, dry mouth, chills and certain unusual sexual side effects. Children must be at least 48 inches tall. So, there. Please also note that these works must be considered only as a 'work in progress'. Most of it is in a raw, unedited form. It contains numerous misspellings, grammatical errors, run-ons, fragments and every other possible error. including personal judgement, opinion and stereotyping. But I've found that when the mood to write strikes me I better get my thoughts down on paper. The editing will also take place here so there will be constant changes. |
| Degrees and Inches | |
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Preface (updated 10/10/2003) |
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Chapter 2 - Exert |
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Chapter 5 - Exert |
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Chapter 12 - Exert |
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The last chapter - Exert |
| Hard Truths | |
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Preface |
| Active Shooter | |
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Chapter 3 - Exert |
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