The Trouble With Tom: In which five gallant old men flout the law
ISBN: 9781432751241
Reviewed by Rita Grasshoff for Rebecca’s Reads (11/10)
A rogue gang of wild turkeys invade the quiet retirement community of Whisper Wood. They run rampant through the streets and yards, destroying property and plants and dirtying up sidewalks. Over time, they become brave enough to even chase some of the residents! The various citizens of Whisper Wood react differently to the intruders. Some identify with and feed them, inadvertently encouraging their bad behavior. Other folks are annoyed and resent their presence from the beginning. Ultimately, most of the turkeys leave the area, but bad boy Tom remains. Terrible Tom, as he is christened by the community members, is personified as full of himself and enjoying his perceived position of untouchable superiority in the community, not unlike that of an exasperating teenager.
Soon, Whisper Wood residents are at their wits’ end with Tom’s antics. Their feelings of helplessness are well-developed by the author. A town meeting is called, but the results are not satisfactory to anyone. They learn that turkeys in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada are protected by the government from harm or removal. A Predation Request is submitted to the government, but bureaucratic red tape prevails and little action results. The new Whisper Wood administrator, Richard Donaldson, is hard-pressed to find a way to end Tom’s stay and save the residents from the misery Tom causes.
“Five gallant old men” decide to take matters into their own hands. Surprisingly, even though they are working toward a common cause, they are largely unaware that they are all involved in the fight. Their characters are nicely developed by the author, who turns them into amusing older men that many readers will recognize in their own lives. For example, one is overly talkative, stopping anyone whom he hopes will listen to him and forcing those unfortunate souls to find an excuse to leave his company.
The story line covers it all, with citizens dealing with bureaucracy and becoming creative in finding a solution. Their frustrations with the bureaucracy force them to be secretive, even with each other, in the course of subverting the law.
Readers of all ages should enjoy the reactions and relationships of this community of spritely senior citizens in this easy-to-ready novella.
Self-published book review of the week.
Self Publishing Advisor 
I am the author of The Trouble with Tom. Thank you for the attention, I am very pleased. Here are a few things I have to say about self-publishing. First of all, read all you can about publishing, Traditional and not. Then study books on how to self-publish by people who have been there themselves and are not trying to sell you anything.
My favorite is Self-Publishing Fiction by Gavin Sinclair. His book will recommend others and on you go.
Second, stop thinking of self-publishing as a last-ditch place to print your work after the Traditional Press has refused you over and over. Big time publishers would like you think they are the only legitimate game in town. They coined derisive phrases like “vanity press”. to keep you thinking that way. Well. Traditional Press is on the ropes financially because they let the money barons run thier publishing houses. Lets agree to refer to the many other ways to publish as “Non-Traditional Publishing.”, hold our heads up and be proud.
Third, after you have researched how publishing works, you will be better able to choose which of the many other ways in Non-Traditional Publishing is right for you. My publisher promised to publish my way, gave me lots of choices and when I didn’t like those choices allowed me to dictate the terms. Sure, there were some parameters (they have to make money too, afterall) But I chose what editing to accept, what paper I wanted, what print font to use and so on. I designed the cover of The Trouble With Tom myself and am so jazzed that I did that. Point being, here, is that if I hadn’t studied publishing before I signed on with my publisher, I wouldn’t know what questions to ask before signing a contract..
Last Line, Don’t jump into the pool head first until you know how deep it is, and then swim baby swim. The water is terrific.
Thanks for letting me spout off, Eunice Banks, author of “The Trouble With Tom”
@Eunice
This is great advice for publishing writers. Thanks, and congratulations on “The Trouble With Tom!”