Tom McDonald
FLORENCE-Southern Short Stories writer, Tom McDonald will give a presentation and sign copies of his newest release, “Promises to Keep” on July 22 at the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism Visitor Center. The free event will run from 10:00 A.M. to Noon.
McDonald shares tales of his childhood that he hopes “will transport the reader back to a time when life was more carefree and innocent.” McDonald has authored three published manuscripts, the first two “When Memories Come Calling” and “Dirt Road Memories” were both selected as Southeast regional winners in the non-fiction category for the 2015 and 2016 USA Regional Excellence Book Awards, celebrating works that “truly capture the spirit of the Southeast region of the United States.”
McDonald holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Alabama and both a Master’s and an Educational Specialist degree from the University of Alabama. He retired from the Florence City School system as a counselor at Bradshaw High School. He and his wife currently reside in rural Lauderdale County. He is the youngest of seven children and spent most of his childhood in the predominantly blue-collar working community of Sweetwater in Florence, Alabama. As seen in his current works, growing up as a member of a large family in a rural area greatly influenced him and impacted his writing.
Reviews of McDonald’s books have been favorable, particularly of “When Memories Come Calling.”
Pat Dye, former coach at Auburn University, said, “There ought to be more books written by Tom McDonald. He has the ability to tell a story in a way that transports you to when it happened. Tom describes real life in the South and reminds me of similar adventures in my own boyhood as well as my more recent misadventures on the farm. I enjoyed every page.”
Promises to Keep (ISBN-13: 978-1934610-19-0), When Memories Come Calling (ISBN: B00GX2NLF0) and Dirt Road Memories: A Collection of Southern Short Stories (ISBN: B00T0V3XBI) can be purchased at amazon.com.
Media Release/Randa Simpson/Florence/Lauderdale Tourism
