Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Cladis.
Hi Tom, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey began as a flight attendant for United Airlines in 1978…before the age of the Internet and cell phones. I was traveling all over the world and sending letters detailing my travels – and I would embellish them a bit for fun. People told me they really enjoyed receiving my letters, and I found that I really enjoyed entertaining through writing. And when I won a local magazine’s short story contest, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Of course, that was four years after I had graduated college 🙂 I got married five years after I started flying, hung up my wings for the button-down world of investment banking – and my writing career took a back seat to providing for my wife and three daughters – but I never lost sight of my life’s ambition to help and to entertain people through my writing. It was in November of 1994, that writing moved up to the front burner, when I read a newspaper article about a kid in Hortonville, Wisconsin, who was working on his car at his girlfriend’s house. It was up on a jack and he was underneath it, and it fell off the jack and onto his face. There was no one around to help him, so this 18-yr old kid, who was not a weightlifter by any stretch of the imagination, lifted the car off his face, and crawled out to safety, sustaining only minor cuts around his eyes from his glasses that had shattered. Reporters asked him how he had lifted the car off his face, and he sais it was because he didn’t want to die. So, in choosing to live, he simultaneously removed the subconscious choice he’d made that he couldn’t lift cars – and freed of that barrier, he was able to lift the car and survive. And I had the title of my first book – a nonfiction tract called, “How To Lift Cars Off Your Face And Other Tips For Living Forever.” I self-published the book in 2003 through Sheridan Books for two reasons: 1) I couldn’t get any agents or publishers interested in working with me, and 2) I didn’t want to work with any editors who would significantly change my manuscript (recognizing and fearing that my thesis, removing all self-imposed barriers from one’s mind – including the Big One, that death is inevitable – was too far “out there”). My writing career took another back seat to the demands of parenting and raising three very active teenage daughters – but I began writing Christmas short-stories every year – they were significant, usually around 20 or 30 pages, As before, the stories always were well-received and they were a way to keep my passion alive. I had kept in touch with the media relations person I had for my first book, and when she read the short story that would lead to “The Age of Serpents and Scorpions,” she said it was too good and the characters were too rich not to be developed into a full book, and once again, writing was moved to the front burner. Well, if you can call writing from 4:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the morning on weekends “the front burner” – but that was the only time no one was calling my name, the phone wasn’t ringing, I wasn’t driving the girls to all of their extra-curricular activities, etc. In addition, I was the Youth Director for our church for 19 years, which also ate up a lot of my “free” time during “normal” hours. Anyway, with that writing schedule, it took me eight years to finish the story – and then I’m up against trying as an unagented, relatively unknown author, to find a publisher – or an agent who could represent me. It is this business part of writing that I really don’t enjoy – all the form letter rejection letters, if those who were approached were kind enough to respond at all. And then something very serendipitous happened: my youngest daughter, a schoolteacher, had finished her year mid-May and her summer job did not begin until the first week of June – and she told me she needed to earn some money for those three weeks. I told her I just would give her $500, but she refused any handouts. Then, it occurred to me that here was a Millennial who could waltz through the Internet with the ease of Fred Astaire dancing with Ginger Rogers – and I asked her if she would accept $500 to put her nimble, Millennial fingers to work. She agreed, and I tasked her with finding me an agent or a publisher for my manuscript. I explained to her how next-to-impossible it would be (but not impossible!), and I showed her how to access those literary types who might be interested in my work. I also said she didn’t have to treat it as a full-time job – her generation can multi-task like no other – and I said she could spend her days playing or shopping, or whatever, and then, when she was watching tv at night, she could turn those Millennial fingers loose. I had no expectations – I just wanted her to feel that she had earned the $500. About a week later, she called me and was excited to tell me that she thought she had found one (a publisher). I was skeptical, to say the least – but I humored her, and she directed me to London’s Black Spring Press Group (BSPG) website. And I read its mission statement: “The identity and the vision of the press celebrates outsider, underground, outlaw, radical and avant-garde voices and styles, unafraid of exploring taboo subjects and expressing the truths about human lives.” My jaw dropped – it was perfect! I had a really good feeling about the BSPG, and I quickly emailed a query to its head publisher – who responded almost immediately that he would like to publish my book. Two weeks later, I was on a plane to London, and the rest is, as they say, “history!”
Thus, the “secret” to realizing my dream was three-fold: first, persistence. I never did quit. Yes, I had to put it on the back-burner a couple of times, but I always came back to it. And once I started, I treated it as a second job: after I zeroed in on my hours, there never was an excuse to miss that weekend 4:00-8:00 am time slot. Even if I was sick, too tired, on vacation, etc., I knew that if I made an excuse to skip my “job,” the next excuses would come easier and easier – and the book never would get finished. Secondly, I heeded the advice of Carlos Monzon (a champion middleweight boxer) and of Sir Winston Churchill. Monzon was defending his title against a particularly difficult opponent when he got knocked down in the middle of the fight – in front of his six-year-old son, who was in the front row watching his daddy fight. Monzon’s son was terrified when his father got knocked down, but Carlos got back up and eventually won the fight. He told his son afterwards, “It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, the important thing is to always get back up.” And I kept writing despite enough rejection letters to wallpaper a living room. Churchill was asked to speak to the preparatory school from which he graduated seventy years before, and the students, teachers, parents, and press all gathered to hear what the reclusive war hero had to say. The entirety of his speech lasted seven words: “Never, never, never, never, never give up.” After the shock of a seven-word speech wore off, replaced by the enormity of those seven words, Winston was regaled with a boisterous standing ovation! And giving up never was an option despite all the hurdles I faced at the time.
And finally, writers have to have very thick skin. They are opening up their innermost thoughts and desires for a very public inspection, judgment, and bludgeoning – and I’ve heard from many aspiring writers that the fear of opening themselves up to such public scrutiny was a deal-breaker. In fact, it was another writer, George Bernard Shaw, who insisted, “All great truths start out as blasphemies.”
And here I am with a published, coming of age fantasy, “The Age of Serpents and Scorpions,” in the market and available at all bookstores and at Amazon.com and other online retailers.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As alluded to above, pursuing one’s dream never is a smooth road. But, as FDR once said, “Smooth seas never made skillful mariners.” There’s never enough time, never enough money, it’s too scary, it will take too long, I’m not good enough, it might not work, etc. However, the choice to ignore and to rise above those fears and doubts and obstacles will elevate and enable you to lift any car off your face and guide you to the fulfillment of your dream(s). Pursuing a dream requires an unwavering focus. It is akin to using a magnifying glass to focus all the sun’s energy onto a single focal point on a sheet of paper. Should your hand shift even a millimeter, the paper will not burn. Only by keeping that magnifying glass completely steady on a single focal point will cause the paper to smolder, then burn. So, yes there will be obstacles and challenges along the way, but it is absolutely imperative to choose not to let them shift your focus from your dream, even by a millimeter. If you make that choice to stay focused despite the distraction of those things/thoughts that would cause your focus to shift, then that singular, passionate focus will ignite a passionflame that will fire you to your “promised” land – in my case, the publication of “The Age of Serpents and Scorpions!”
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a freelance writer and author, and I am known for coloring way outside the lines. I specialize in blowing people’s minds open, challenging unexamined traditions (politically, religiously, and scientifically), holding people accountable for dropping anchor in blind acceptance, and in blasphemous thought – recognizing the wisdom of George Bernard Shaw’s insistence that “all great truths start out as blasphemies.”
I am most proud that my most recent novel, “The Age of Serpents and Scorpions” has been compared very favorably to C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” series, as reviewers have said that my examination of deep philosophical, faith, and human nature themes weaved seamlessly into exciting and compelling storytelling reminded them of those same attributes for which Mr. Lewis was famous. He used animals in Narnia to carry the load, I use fictional and historical figures brought to life through time travel and parallel universes.
It’s in the Young Adult genre, but interestingly, adults comprise the largest readership of YA fiction. I think it’s because it’s a chance to revisit that time of their lives when they were in high school, knowing then what they know now, and not being bogged down by real-life obligations or the constraints of adulthood. And YA taps into that fantasy. Indeed, YA is such a powerful space for storytelling because, as we all know, for teenagers, everything is so immediate and intense! They are at turning points in their lives and they are evolving, questioning, feeling invincible…and their minds are open to all possibilities – and that openness was essential for writing this story. They haven’t yet dropped anchor in the trap of acceptance, a trap into which most adults fall victim when they feel powerless to effect change.
Overall, the book is a coming of age fantasy about two Colorado teenagers challenged by an enigmatic fortune teller to see the world not as it is, but as it should be. And it takes them on an epic adventure through Time and parallel universes as they try to figure out who they are, what they believe and what’s going on. The stakes are high – Good versus Evil – and ultimately, it’s about the choices they make and how those choices shape them and the world around them. The story takes place in Colorado, so the settings are very familiar – especially the action on Berthoud Pass and in Grand County, from Winter Park to Hot Sulphur Springs.
The thing that sets me apart from others is my conviction/brand that we should see the world not as it is, but as it should be. I believe that all limits are self-imposed – including death! Both of my books, “How To Lift Cars Off Your Face And Other Tips For Living Forever” (non-fiction) and “The Age of Serpents and Scorpions” (fiction) address themes of being led astray by leaders with personal agendas. My voice and style were described by the Black Spring Press Group as “outsider, underground, outlaw, radical and avant-garde, unafraid of exploring taboo subjects and expressing the truths about human lives.”
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I don’t do podcasts or blogs – lest someone else’s ideas sneak into mine. My thoughts and ideas are 100% my own and unique – and not a single word is AI-generated. And I can’t think of a better book to help me do my best in life, in work, and otherwise, than my own book, “How To Lift Cars Off Your Face And Other Tips For Living Forever.” It’s about choosing to remove the barriers in your mind that keep you from living a life free of limits. As an example, if I told 17-year-old Lance Meyers of Hortonville, Wisconsin, to lift a parked car, he would think I was crazy for suggesting such an “impossible” feat. But when he was 18 years old and had his car up on a jack and working on it at his girlfriend’s house, it fell off the jack and onto his face. No one was around to help him, and he couldn’t very well call out for help with the car sitting on his face – so Lance Meyers, the farthest thing from a weightlifter, lifted the car off his face and crawled to safety. When reporters asked him how he had lifted the car, he told them it was because he didn’t want to die. In other words, he chose to live – and in choosing to live he simultaneously chose to remove the thought from his mind that he couldn’t lift a car. Freed of that self-imposed barrier, he lifted the car and survived.
Again, the prevalent theme is choosing to see the world not as it is, but as it should be. And “How To Lift Cars Off Your Face And Other Tips For Living Forever” is the best resource for living freely and always putting one’s best foot forward.
Pricing:
- My book, “The Age of Serpents and Scorpions” is available for $21.99.
- My book, “How To Lift Cars Off Your Face And Other Tips For Living Forever” is available for $20.00.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tomcladiswrites.com
- Instagram: tomc_writes
- Other: hello@tomcladiswrites.com
