Buy
From:
Amazon.com
$20.00 paperback
$5.00 Kindle
From:
Amazon.com
$12.56 paperback
$20.78 hardcover
iUniverse.com
Barnes & Noble.com
From:
Amazon.com
$9.85 paperback
$17.17 hardcover
iUniverse.com
Barnes & Noble.com
From:
Amazon.com
$13.46 paperback
$22.46 hardcover
iUniverse.com
Barnes & Noble.com
New! - My latest book, coming out soon!
A Book of Common Flowers - A collection of 40 common flowers comprising a watercolor image, botanical history, photo followed by a prose poem. The watercolor is a soft rendering of the flower on the first page of a 6-page section for each flower. The botanical history follows, exploring the Latin name, origin of the species, possible place in mythology or literature throughout the centuries. The literary references range from Longfellow, Shakespeare to more contemporary references as dive4rse as Tiny Time, Debbie Reynolds and Hellen Keller among others. The photo captures intricate beauty of the flower often resembling a painting. The final page is an irreverent, somethings erotic and humorous prose poem commentary on the flower. This is the author’s first venture into poetry, his previous work consisting of three novels and a book of short stories. He describes this new genre for him as finger painting with words, a form of stream-of-consciousness, without the restrictions of iambic pentameter and other structures of traditional poetry.
Green
Lethe Press - 2017
The year is 1967 and Tim Halladay has graduated William & Mary, looking forward to studying drama at Yale, when he finds himself drafted into the United States Army. His college education makes him an object of ridicule and suspicion among the other members of C Company--Charlie Company. Of course, he has to hide his homosexuality.
Tom Baker's newest novel is an honest portrayal of a young man fearful of his secret being discovered, at a time when seeking out the comfort of another man's touch could mean arrest, imprisonment, and a disgraceful court martial. And as the threat of being sent to Vietnam becomes more possible with each passing day, Halladay is determined to hide his true nature under the facade of a soldier's green fatigues.
"A sharp and intriguing tale about a gay draftee in the ’60s." — Kirkus Reviews
"Green is a terrific read, full of absurdity, humor, drama and an ending that sneaks up on you even though you know it’s headed there from the first page. A wonderful achievement, and an absorbing book." — Out in Print
Paperwhite Narcissus
It is 1966, and Tim Halladay, in his senior year at William and Mary, is in the process of discovering his true sexuality. He spends his weekends living in the basement apartment of his aunt Blade’s Georgetown home. There, he uncovers the darker side of the nation’s capital, making forays into the Washington, DC, neighborhood of Foggy Bottom and meeting some brilliant, unforgettable men and women.
Tim has known since he was thirteen that he was born a twin and that his brother, Jeffrey, died in the delivery room after they were born prematurely. Over time, Tim’s curiosity about his unknown brother has grown dangerously close to an obsession. As he deals with the recent death of his theatrical mentor and worries about being drafted after his graduation—a prospect that makes him hesitant to apply to Yale’s drama school for graduate study—his fixation on Jeffrey continues to grow. Tim’s journey takes strange and adventurous turns as he goes from Arlington National Cemetery to Williamsburg at Christmas time, and then on a South American adventure with his aunt Blade.
Along the way, Paperwhite Narcissus delves into an exploration of narcissism, identity, and the doppelganger theory as one young man struggles to define himself.
Awards - Finalist - 2015 NIEA (National Indie Excellence Awards) LGBT Fiction
"Tim had cut classes to attend Red's funeral. He now had a lot of work to catch up on, but he had told his professors beforehand, and they had all agreed to work with him. It was well known at William and Mary that Tim was a protege of Red Ryder, the flamboyant TV star of Another World. Tim's mother had heard about the actress's sudden, tragic death on the local Westport radio station while preparing breakfast and had immediately called Tim. The news had spread quickly across campus. Two jocks from Sigma Nu had found Tim on the floor in the hallway of his dorm, sobbing in a fetal position, the receiver of the pay phone dangling above his head. They had carried him back to his room like a dog hit by a speeding car, placing him carefully on his bed and spreading a blanket over his limp, trembling body. They had immediately called the Dean of Men's office."
Full Frontal, to make a long story short
My second book...
It is August of 1957, and Tim Halladay, a caddie at the Longshore Country Club, is looking forward to beginning eighth grade at Assumption School. Tim and his best friend and fellow caddie, Jimmy, are oblivious to the fact that they are slowly transforming into young men with secret desires.
As Tim embarks on a journey of emotional and sexual development, he approaches the world around him with a "full frontal" attitude that allows him to somehow not only survive but thrive, beginning with his first gay experiences as a shy teenager in suburban Connecticut and moving through his escapades at a Virginia army base, the Hotel Manhattan, the Museum of Modern Art, the Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel, to his first three-way with cute Greenwich Village neighbors, or tending a mafia-owned gay bar, or becoming involved in unexpectedly hilarious jury duty sequestration. As Tim moves from one encounter to the next, he gradually transforms, moving toward a future as a rising star.
FULL FRONTAL shares an intriguing glimpse into the life of a gay man, as told through his eclectic relationships as he eventually discovers that true happiness is all about give and take.
The Sound of One Horse Dancing
A little bit about my first book...
Twenty-seven-year-old Tim Halladay is a rising star in the three-martini lunch world of Madison Avenue in the early 1970s. In only five years Tim has become a vice-president at the first ad agency he interviewed with, in charge of some of the most prestigious accounts listed in Advertising Age.
But a week before Thanksgiving, his life takes a serious hit. After a hard-drinking, sex-filled night, Tim the "golden boy" arrives late to work. He suddenly finds himself fired without explanation. With three hundred dollars in his savings account, Tim wonders how he'll even pay the rent.
As Tim comes to terms with his unemployment, he reminisces about his life and the circumstances that have brought him to this crucial crossroads. Everything in his life -- his emotionally unstable upbringing, his service in the army during the troubled years of the Vietnam War, his affair with a high school girlfriend, his experiences at William and Mary during the JFK and LBJ years, his first job in the world of advertising, and his adventures as a closeted gay man in the Stonewall Era Greenwich Village -- contributed to both the downfall and redemption of Tim Halladay.
About Tom
TOM BAKER is a graduate of the College of William & Mary. He enjoyed a successful career in the advertising world, winning many awards for ads and commercials he produced. He left the corporate world in 2010 to devote full time to writing. He has published three novels and a book of short stories, all featuring the same central character, Tim Halladay. After 42 years of living in a tree house in Santa Monica Canyon he relocated to his roots in New England and now resides in Gloucester, MA on Cape Ann.
