Hello,

 

When I began writing my first novel, “A Walk in the Thai Sun” it was 28 years ago and I was accompanied on that voyage by the four members of my writing group. That’s it.  It felt like a solitary activity I shared with a few friends.  I wasn’t sure who these people were who wrote the books that graced the shelves of libraries and bookstores. I’d never met any of them.  But the truth is these were only the people who had secured traditional publication contracts.  Self-publishing was not a thing back then.  Then came the Internet and along with it the means to digitally self-publish and distribute books.  Soon after traditional publishers began requiring their authors to maintain significant web presences and become more actively involved in the promotion of their books. Now this online promotion this is rapidly approaching saturation. My Facebook and Twitter feeds are full of authors trying to sell me books.

I engage in online promotion and have had success, but it’s too impersonal for my tastes. I’d rather get out into the public and present my work. You can’t ignore the online reality, but I think one must find a balance between that and personal appearances. By far my most favourite public events are those in libraries. When you’re in a library, you know you’re dealing with people who love to read. At this point in my life, I’m far more interested in meeting with readers and other writers than I am with creating a successful online presence, however necessary the latter may be.

So, what do you need to know about me as a writer? I began by writing songs, part of my deluded teenage years when I thought would be a rock star. Then I got a BFA in Drama from the University of Calgary. I emerged from that time in my life as a playwright. Several of my plays have been produced including professional productions but most of that was back in the 70s. During the 80s and 90s, I wrote non-fiction and short stories while raising my kids. In the early 90s, I wrote one crime drama novel, “The Walk in the Thai Sun” which what wasn’t published until 2014, twenty years later. There’s a story behind that. The publisher, Moonshine Cove, returned the rights in 2017 and I’ve since re-published it. “A Walk in the Thai Sun” is available as a paperback throughout the Alberta Library System and I’ve also made it available digitally through Overdrive. Libraries wanting to buy paperback editions should contact me.

Planet Song by T.K. Boomer

My most recent literary adventure is a science fiction epic called The Fahr Trilogy. This falls into the first contact sub-genre of science-fiction, a story of mankind’s first encounter with an alien sapient species. Deciding to write science fiction was a departure for me. I read a lot of it growing up and in my early 20s, but I’d never considered writing it. That all changed when I got an idea for a science fiction trilogy just before retirement. On boxing day of 2015, a publisher offered me a contract for the first novel in the trilogy, “Planet Song”. I chose not to sign it. By then I understood that self-publishing would give me more control over how my book was marketed and a higher income. The initial self-publishing learning curve was high but once one has the basics it’s an easy process to repeat. “Planet Song” was published in June 2016, and it has gone on to average four stars over 35 online reviews, including 20 on Amazon.com.  That’s easy to check. For more information on this book click the cover.

 

I followed “Planet Song” with “Alpha Tribe” late in 2018. You will have noticed by now I write science fiction under the pseudonym T.K. Boomer. There’s a story behind that too. Alpha Tribe is the sequel to Planet Song and the second book in The Fahr Trilogy. Information about Alpha Tribe it Is also accessed by clicking on the book cover. Information about The Fahr Trilogy and its author is available on my website.

 

All three books are available digitally through either Koko or Amazon. Amazon also has the paperback editions of the two science fiction novels. Overdrive has digital editions of all three books, so libraries can purchase these and lend them out as eBooks.

 

I’m looking for opportunities to present my work in a library setting. This can take many forms, anything from simple book signings and public readings to workshops on a variety of writer-related subjects. These could include self-publishing, creating e-books, approaching agents and publishers and most other subjects related to getting one’s book out there.  Or I could talk about the writing process. I’ve done a lot of teaching and public reading.

 

My home is in Sherwood Park, Alberta but I will travel to do these presentations and no library is too small. I don’t charge a fee, but I ask that I have the opportunity to sell my books at these events and that you purchase the books for your library system. Also, the further away from Sherwood Park you are, the more I may need to string several library appearances into a single trip. If you know of other libraries in your area that might be interested that would be great.

 

Thanks for the opportunity,

 

Greg McKitrick (T.K. Boomer, G.J.C. McKitrick)

 

Contact tkboomerauthor@gmail.com  780-863-6992