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Coffee Pot Book Tour: Illustrated Colonials: The Pact by Tom Durwood

 


Welcome to a stop on the Coffee Pot Book Tour for The Pact by Tom Durwood, part of his The Illustrated Colonials series. Today we have a great blurb and and author interview. 

The Details: 

Book Title: The Pact
Series: (The Illustrated Colonials, Book One)
Author: Tom Durwood
Publication Date: 8th April 2021
Publisher: Empire Studies Press
Page Length: 218 PagesGenres: Young Adult / Historical Fiction / Adventure

 The Author:

 Tom Durwood is a teacher, writer and editor with an interest in history. Tom most recently taught English Composition and Empire and Literature at Valley Forge Military College, where he won the Teacher of the Year Award five times. Tom has taught Public Speaking and Basic Communications as guest lecturer for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group at the Dam’s Neck Annex of the Naval War College.

 Tom’s ebook Empire and Literature matches global works of film and fiction to specific quadrants of empire, finding surprising parallels. Literature, film, art and architecture are viewed against the rise and fall of empire. In a foreword to Empire and Literature, postcolonial scholar Dipesh Chakrabarty of the University of Chicago calls it “imaginative and innovative.” Prof. Chakrabarty writes that “Durwood has given us a thought-provoking introduction to the humanities.” His subsequent book “Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism” has been well-reviewed. “My favorite nonfiction book of the year,” writes The Literary Apothecary (Goodreads).

 Early reader response to Tom’s historical fiction adventures has been promising. “A true pleasure … the richness of the layers of Tom’s novel is compelling,” writes Fatima Sharrafedine in her foreword to “The Illustrated Boatman’s Daughter.” The Midwest Book Review calls that same adventure “uniformly gripping and educational … pairing action and adventure with social issues.” Adds Prairie Review, “A deeply intriguing, ambitious historical fiction series.”

 Tom briefly ran his own children’s book imprint, Calico Books (Contemporary Books, Chicago). Tom’s newspaper column “Shelter” appeared in the North County Times for seven years. Tom earned a Masters in English Literature in San Diego, where he also served as Executive Director of San Diego Habitat for Humanity.



 Follow Tom on Social Media

 











The Blurb:

 Six international teens join the American Revolution.

 Coming of age and making history. 

 They went into 1776 looking for a fight. Little did they know how much it would cost them…

 Six rich kids from around the globe join the Bostonian cause, finding love and treachery along the path to liberty.

 A new perspective on one of history’s most fascinating moments.

 Amply illustrated edition of a young-adult historical fiction novel.


The Interview:

JMR-Welcome to the Books Delight, Tom. Tell our readers where you live, what you do for fun and what does the perfect day look like?

TD- Hi JMR … I live in Seattle. My perfect day would involve a long walk, a strong cup of coffee, a turkey sandwich, writing an authentic paragraph, and contact of any kind with my kids.  Fun would be watching one of those dark, compelling cable tv series (Mare of Eastown, currently).

JMR-What’s your favorite historical time period? Why?

TD- The Dutch Age of Sail, the American west of the 1870’s and 1880’s, Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency. My new favorite is the Qing Dynasty period in China, which began in the 17th century and ended in 1912. My adventures are set in these periods, and I wake up every day with new angles on the characters and the story arcs – very, very rich settings.    

JMR- How did you come to be a writer of YA historical fiction?

TD-It was never a choice – I always felt that the stories already existed, and that my job was to carve them out and give them a fair treatment.

JMR- Children, especially teenagers, are not always interested in history. How do you make it appealing for this picky audience?

TD- Great question JMR (!!) The answer is character: if you can create authentic characters who act independent of the plot, and who engage the reader, then readers will follow you wherever you go. If not, nothing matters.

JMR- If you could distill the importance of the American Revolution into a few sentences for your YA audience, what would you say?

TD- More than an American movement, it represented the leading edge of a global shift from a medieval world to a modern world.  “One of the most mold-shattering mass action movements in recorded history.” (Gary B. Nash)

 

JMR- Tom, tell us about your book, The Illustrated Colonials. I believe it is part of a series.

TD- Yes, “The Illustrated Colonials” is a trilogy following the epic adventures of six young friends who become enamored of the Colonial cause. They learn that there can be harsh consequences for taking such a stand, yet they each manage to make a contribution to the global fight for liberty.

“The Colonials’ is part of a laughably ambitious series of teen adventures set at turning points of history. My “Illustrated Boatman’s Daughter” and “The Illustrated Ulysses S. Grant in China” are similar tales in current release.

JMR-What projects do you have in the pipeline?

TD- “The Illustrated King James’ Seventh Company” is next. This is an adventure set against the creation of the King James Bible, London in 1609, with a backstory in (of course) biblical times.  A less-conventional story set at the turn of the 20th century follows that.

JMR- Tell our readers how to find you on social media and the web.

You bet:

www.mycolonials.com

www.boatmansdaughter.com

www.usginchina.com

www.empirestudies.com

 

JMR- What question were you hoping I’d ask but didn’t?

TD- Hah!! Here is one: 

Did your experience as a teacher inform your approach to these writing projects?

Yes, for sure, teaching has changed my writing. My Valley Forge cadets were always sleepy but always game for a critical-thinking challenge– but only if I could explain myself super-clearly and vividly. My writing has much more outreach or reader-friendly aspect to it than it ever did. It needs to be more so, also for sure.

 Readers, I know you'll want to check out Tom's books so below are some buy links!

 Buy Links:

 This novel is available on #KindleUnlimited

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/3Gv62Q

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pact-Illustrated-Colonials-Book-ebook/dp/B0924ZN7SB

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Pact-Illustrated-Colonials-Book-ebook/dp/B0924ZN7SB

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Pact-Illustrated-Colonials-Book-ebook/dp/B0924ZN7SB

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Pact-Illustrated-Colonials-Book-ebook/dp/B0924ZN7SB

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Comments

  1. Mary Anne YardeJuly 2, 2021 at 5:50 AM

    I really enjoyed reading this interview.
    Thank you so much for hosting today's blog tour stop.

    ReplyDelete

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