January 18, 2024-Tom and I met at a book event in Hamilton, Ontario, where showed me his wonderful story about a ten-tentacled octopus named Terry. I remember listening to Tom tell me about his book and thinking, wow, he’s such a vibrant man with a love of storytelling that is very easy to notice by the passion in his voice and in his face! After he explained his story, I had a bit of a concern, “Ten-tentacled octopus don’t exist…so, teachers may have a problem with that since this is a mid-grade novel and not a picture book.” Well, little did I know that there is an ancestor of the octopus that did in fact have ten-tentacles and a scientific journal had written an article on it! Problem solved! Here’s the link if you want to check it out: Ten-Limbed Octopus Ancestor Discovered, Named After Biden | The Scientist Magazine® (the-scientist.com)Terry the Ten-Tentacled Octopus is officially a number 1 best seller-how awesome is that? Let’s get to know more about debut author Thomas O’Donnell:
Once I decided to retire from my 42 wonderful years in the steel industry I now targeted energy on hobbies that time now permits. The first attention was given to getting my wife Sue and I spending time away from the cold Canadian winter weather. Fortunately our 4 sons were all enjoying successful carriers.
Although all were doing well in their vocations it was our eldest son Jim who was arguably the most financially secure and generously able to purchase a condominium for us parents to enjoy in Florida. Sue and I spent the next 13 years wintering in Kissimmee Florida and also a couple of months in October and November. The limit for Canadians staying in USA was 6 months maximum.
In Florida I was able to make improvements on my very average golf skills. Enjoyment was at a peak when family and friends were able to visit with us. Sue and I also took advantage of our other hobbies such as Ancestry Genealogy, Sue jigsaw puzzles, me musical keyboard study and also quiet moments to read. Back at home away from Florida we both loved Gardening and beautifying our neighborhood property. This gardening enjoyment resulted in close to a dozen trillium awards over the years. My attention also turned to writing Legacy Projects.
The First Legacy Project was writing a poem called “The Race”. This poem is only one page long and took me 2 years to write. I am very proud of this poem and want to get it out to the world to read. The Second Legacy Project was a Legacy Love Letter to my 4 sons. The Third legacy Project was a Legacy Love Letter to my 3 living sisters. The Fourth Legacy Project was a Legacy Love Letter to my wife of these many years.
Carrying on this Legacy compulsion I began writing my book “Terry the Ten Tentacled Octopus”. I wrote this recently completed story and dedicated it to our third eldest son who unexpectedly passed away at the young age of 53 from heart failure.
From the time of early childhood through my adult life I have been a movie buff. Although I have many favorite movies my number one choice would be “The Wizard of Oz”. Again I have many favorite animated movies but my number one choice would be “Peter Pan”.
When I was at my sister’s in Toronto for a family visit, my proud sister knew I was writing a book. One of the family’s friends who also was visiting at the time asked me where did the ideas come from? I didn’t have a good answer at the moment but thought about the question after returning home. I quickly scribbled down my future response on some paper and put it into my working manuscript 3 ring binder. It is still saved and says “Imagination and a little Pixie Dust”.
In conclusion, our condo in Florida was only a ½ hour from Walt Disney World. Our family has been to WDW so many times over the years that our grandchildren could be Tour Guides.
My Impossible Dream in 2024 is that Disney would take my story “Terry the Ten Tentacled Octopus” and use their Magic and Pixar team to turn it into another one of their impressive list of successful movies. JUST DREAMING!
You can find Thomas’ book here:
Canada: Terry the Ten Tentacled Octopus: O’Donnell, Thomas, Suyon, Hannah: 9781989506905: Books – Amazon.ca
USA: Terry the Ten Tentacled Octopus: O’Donnell, Thomas, Suyon, Hannah: 9781989506905: Amazon.com: Books
Globally: http://www.pandamoniumpublishing.com/shop
