Tom’s multi-layered storytelling style is a product of the Boise, Idaho public schools system. It is also built on 20 years of artistic, technical and project management experience. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Design from Western Washington University and is currently an Operations Analyst in the Washington, D.C. area.

His 12 years of immersive storybook experience is due entirely to his wife, Amy, and their two avid readers ages 11 and 13.  Tom and his family currently live in Fairfax, Va.

“My goal as an author/illustrator is to create stories that are fun to read, exciting to look at, and teach wisdom. Thank-you for visiting this site. I welcome your thoughts about or interest in my work in the contact section."

Background for this project:

The project for ‘The Yellow Princess’ and ‘Ground Control to Major Mouse’ actually began in 2001.  I was in the Navy, deployed aboard the USS Enterprise.  The first few months of the deployment included many enjoyable visits to countries in Europe.  I enjoyed the sights and cultural experiences.  I also had the opportunity to sketch things to send home to my children, who were ages 5 and 3 at the time. 

Letters and words only go so far with children at that age – drawing things from my imagination for their interests was my way of giving them something more personal while I was away.  I soon discovered I had access to great art supply stores at every port: paper,pencils and straight edges in France, pens in Portugal and laser copies in England.  Soon, what began as a few sketches on the margins of letters (see right) became a full-fledged pen and ink illustration project. (See below)

In 2008, I was geographically separated from my family again (because of a new job).  During that time, Amy encouraged me to turn the ‘mouse’ illustrations into something more.  So I dusted off my pens and developed them into two meaningful stories.  My intent is to make them available to a broader audience so other readers can enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed making them – and with any success perhaps I will have the opportunity to create more.