COVID UPDATE

My wife and I have had our second COVID vaccine shot, and we are ready to ditch the mask. Unfortunately, we cannot do that 100% of the time. We still honor “mask required signs” posted by restaurants and shops.

Even before our vaccination, we never let fear control our lives. We did take reasonable precautions, we did grocery shopping, kept doctor appointments, made trips to the cleaners, and had our hair cut. We limited restaurants to outdoor types and limited visits to those with family and close friends. And until just the last few months, we only knew people who knew people who had the virus. Then my sister and her husband were hit by COVID. Both recovered—no hospital required.

At the same time, we do not minimize the devastation caused by the pandemic. We feel for those who lost friends and loved ones to the disease. But, we are shocked by the havoc to our economy and the loss of freedoms imposed to “protect” us. And most of all, we are frightened by the realization that our enemies no longer need bullets to subdue us. All it takes is a virus. Several of my Mark Rollins Adventure fans have suggested that his next adventure involve an evil plot to develop a virus that targets based on DNA—a bug that can kill us but not them!

The line between fiction and reality grows thinner by the day.

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 For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Collins is also the resident author for Stories from Applewood.  The Applewood Manor is the longest continuously operating bed and breakfast style hotel in Asheville, The untra short stories are about Asheville including its ghost, mysteries and tall tales. Check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range, available in print, digital and audio.  
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Tale of Two Cities

Nashville son in-law, Tom Davis, was just named Art Director of the year 2020 by the American Advertising Federation Nashville for the pro-bono design work on the We Are Nashville campaign which was awarded 19 Gold and 41 Silver Addys.

We Are Nashville is a privately funded, multi-year exploration of the New Nashville designed to foster understanding of who we are, inspire conversations that help us get to know one another, and take simple but meaningful actions that help our neighbors and preserve the special character of the city. For the story go to https://www.wearenashville.com/about/.

Nashville has many monikers that provide a clue to its complex character—Music City, Smashville, Buckle of the Bible Belt, Nashvegas, Cashville,The Protestant Vatican, and with over 20 Universities and colleges it has also earned the title Athens of the South.

Asheville son and daughter in-law, Stephen and Robin Collins, report they are on schedule to reopen Applewood Manor Bed and Breakfast Inn after major remodeling and upgrading. Part of the upgrade includes Applewood’s website, https://www.applewoodmanor.com, with a section devoted to stories about that unique city. Just as Nashville has a story to tell that Tom Davis and team put into the We are Nashville campaign, so does Asheville, North Carolina have its own story to tell and I just posted story number seventy-eight in that series and there are more are on the way. These are stories about things to do and see in Asheville, about people and events in the life of the city, its mysteries, ghost stories and tall tales. Asheville has been called many things—weirdest, happiest, quirkiest place in America, Santa Fe of the East, New Age Capital of the World, Paris of the South, Beer City USA, Most Haunted, Sky City and others. It has many secrets, mysteries, and legends—some factual, some alleged, some exaggerated and some just plain lies. Writing about the stories to put Asheville character on display has been a fun project.

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 For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Sample Story from Applewood Manor

My series, Stories from Applewood Manor, is now available on ApplewoodManor.com.

These are ultra-short stories written for the Applewood Manor. They include pieces about the historic inn and its Montford neighborhood, things to do in and around Asheville, moments and people in the city’s history, ghost stories, and tall tales. To sample a selection from the “Tall Tales” category, click on the rocking chair figure or go to https://www.applewoodmanor.com/stories/chimney-rock-gold.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Applewood Manor Stories

My series, Stories from Applewood Manor, is now available on https://www.applewoodmanor.com/.

These are ultra-short stories written for the Applewood Manor. Applewood is the Asheville, North Carolina bed and breakfast owned by my son Stephen Collins, and his wife Robin. Most of the stories are about 500 words in length, and there are more coming. They include pieces about the historic inn and its Montford neighborhood, things to do in and around Asheville, moments and people in the city’s history, ghost stories, and tall tales. To sample a few, go to https://www.applewoodmanor.com/stories.

Having never written short stories, I am enjoying doing this different kind of writing. Because each story stands on its own, I do not have to deal with the laborious task of editing a 50,000-word manuscript—a task I have never liked doing.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Wanting to be Rich is Ok!

Mark your calendar for April 20th,2021. That is when the Political Economy Research Institute of Middle Tennessee State University will host the Zoom lecture, Why It’s OK to Want to Be Rich!
It is not to early to register.

About the Event: "Finger-wagging moralizers say the love of money is the root of all evil. They assume that making a lot of money requires exploiting others, and that the best way to wash off the resulting stain is to give a lot of it away. In Why It’s OK to Want to Be Rich, Jason Brennan shows that the moralizers have it backwards. He argues that, in general, the more money you make, the more you already do for others, and that even an average wage earner is productively “giving back” to society just by doing her job. In addition, wealth liberates us to have the best chance of leading a life that’s authentically our own."

About the Speaker: Jason Brennan is the Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He specializes in politics, philosophy, and economics. He currently has 7 books under contract with Oxford University Press and Routledge Press, at least 2 of which will be published in 2022. He is the author of 13 books, including Why It's OK to Want to Be Rich (Routledge Press 2020), Good Work if You Can Get It (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020); Injustice for All: America's Dysfunctional Criminal Justice System and How to Fix It, with Christopher Surprenant (Routledge, 2019); Cracks in the Ivory Tower: The Moral Mess of Higher Education, with Phil Magness (Oxford University Press, 2019).

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Christmas 2020

Martha and I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe new year. As for what have we been doing in the year 2020, we have been doing very little. COVID has us sheltering in place and wearing masks when we do venture out. That is usually to the grocery store, or to doctors. So far, the closest we have come to COVID is that we know people who know people who have had it. Hopefully, we will stay COVID free until we become eligible for the vaccine. We hope the same for you. I suspect all of us will be happy to see this year end and start the return to a non-COVID lifestyle! I for one can’t wait to get rid of the face mask. COVID has affected us all—especially grandchildren whose college and schools have been totally disrupted.

Despite the obstacles, we have worked on the house and have purchased a new water heater, new HVAC and landscape lighting. With Martha’s help I did manage to publish a new book during the year, Beyond Visual Range, and I am writing a series of ultra-short stories to be used in launching Applewood Manor’s website next year—called, of course, Stories from Applewood. Here is a Christmas related sample:

 ABOUT Christmas Spiders

It was snowing and we already had a good six inches on the ground. I was standing on the Rocking Chair porch at Applewood Manor watching some of the younger guest building a snowman. I say younger, but you must understand that for someone in their seventies pushing eighty people in their thirties, or heck, even forties, qualify as young. Dr. Cornelius Burgos, a retired Church of Christ minister, was also on the porch. He and his wife moved to Florida when Dr. Burgos retired, and this year, missing the seasonal changes, they decided to spend some wintertime in the mountains.

It was that time of the year when people are starting to decorate their homes for Christmas. There were Christmas trees for sale on just about every vacant lot in the city. Holiday shopping was getting in high gear. You could feel the excitement as people counted down the days to Christmas. So, it was only natural that the minister and I started talking about Christmas. I asked Dr. Burgos if the commercialism bothered him. “Sometimes,” I said, “The real reason for Christmas seems to get lost in the excitement of tree decorating and all the gift giving and getting.”

Dr. Cornelius Burgos’s face seem to light up at the question and he said, “Not at all my friend. I consider it wonderful. Trees and particularly evergreens have been a symbol of growth, death, and rebirth throughout the ages. They represent the joy of life God has endowed us with. And Christmas is a celebration of gift giving. After all, Christ was a gift—the greatest gift of all. I’m sure you remember the words--For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son “

Dr. Burgos continued. “Throughout the ages Christmas has been about giving. To help our Church children understand that we give Christmas gifts and decorate our Christmas trees to celebrate the birth of Christ, I tell them the Ukraine story of the Christmas Spiders. Would you like to hear it?”

“Sure” I said, “

Well, there are variations, but the one I was taught in my village as a child goes like this:”

“Once upon a time, a poor mother lived with her children in a small home. Outside their house was a tall pine tree, from which a pinecone dropped and started to grow from the soil. The children had heard stories of people decorating trees to honor Christ on his birthday. So, they tended to it, ensuring that it would continue to grow and be strong until it became tall enough to be a Christmas tree to take inside their home.

On Christmas eve, the tree was up, and the mother got busy cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year—the day of the year on which the Christ child was born. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished to a corner in the ceiling to avoid the housewife’s cleaning. Unfortunately, the family was poor and even though they had their Christmas tree, they had no gifts to go under it. Nor could they afford ornaments to decorate it in celebration of Christ birthday. The spiders, another of God’s beloved creatures, heard the sobs of the children as they went to bed and decided they would not leave the tree bare. So, the spiders created beautiful webs on the Christmas tree as their gift, decorating it with elegant and beautiful silky patterns.

When the children woke up early on Christmas morning and saw their beautiful tree. They were jumping with excitement. God was pleased, and as the rays of the sun shone on the tree, his blessing, for what the children and spiders had done in his son’s name, turned the webs into glittering silver and gold making the Christmas tree dazzle and sparkle with a magical twinkle. Thus blessed, the family never suffered from want again. And, to this day, gold and silver colored tinsel decorates Christmas trees all over the world, and we exchange gifts to celebrate the birthday of Christ.”

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 For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

The Story Behind The Story

I was talking with a reporter last night who was preparing a story about giving books for Christmas. She wanted to know why I wrote my new book, Beyond Visual Range. I tried to explain, but it wasn’t until we ended our call that I got the words in the right order and realized why the book was a good choice for Christmas. At first glance the story of two women drone pilots battling a rouge military, in space, that is bent on overthrowing the government doesn’t sound very Christmassy.

Here is what makes the book different. I wanted to tell the true story of our military drone pilots, but as a mystery author, I wanted to do so using my fiction adventure mystery genre. That is what Beyond Visual Range is—the true story of our drone warriors in a fictional mystery format. These warriors protect the rest of us every single day of the year including Christmas Day. And they do so at great sacrifice and suffer grave wounds. Consider these lines from the book:

“It is an environment full of grays with few blacks and whites. It’s a job where it is easy to violate one’s sense of what’s right or at least to question it. We can recover from horror, fear, and grief. Warriors have been doing that for all of history, but when we feel we have crossed the line—violated what’s right, it injures our very souls. The closeness of the drone pilot to his victim creates a bond of sorts. To strike when he least expects it seems cowardly or a betrayal. Worse is to kill an innocent, like the little girl, by accident or not. That is an act that stays in your head forever.

Your gift of Beyond Visual Range will be an entertaining mystery adventure that tells the true story of the struggles our military drone warriors face protecting us so we can enjoy a safe Christmas. And, until December 21st you can give a signed library quality edition at a 40% discount with free shipping. Just go to https://www.tomcollinsauthor.com/specials-2020.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Christmas Specials for 2020

Three Book Gift Ideas for Christmas
40% off and Free Shipping
Sale Ends December 21st

1: My Newest Mystery Adventure:
Beyond Visual Range

Signed Hardcover Edition: Regular $29.00, Christmas Special $17.40
In this mystery adventure two women drone pilots battle in outer space to defend their country from a rogue military element threatening to overthrow the government. One is a former fighter pilot who after a crash now flies from a wheelchair. Here is what one Amazon reviewer said:

Not only can this happen; some or all of it probably is happening. Not only is our future in the balance, our very existence is too.

2: Two Book Set of my Law Firm Mysteries: Mark Rollins and the Rainmaker & Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer

Signed Hardcover Set: Regular $58.00, Christmas Special $34.80:

Drawing from thirty years of experience working with law firms the two law firm mysteries open the doors on a world of greed, lust, crime, and mystery. In the Rainmaker someone wants to kill the law firm’s public face—its rainmaker. In the Puppeteer, a lawyer and rising political star dies in Nashville’s, notorious Printers Alley with a bullet through his head!

3: Your Choice of Two Editions of my Professional Guidance Book: The Language of Excellence

Signed Hardcover Edition: Regular $39.00, Christmas Special $23.40
Signed Paperback Edition: Regular $29.00, Christmas Special $17.40

This book is one of the best gifts one can give to a young professional. It can be invaluable to the entrepreneur starting a new business or a seasoned executive frustrated by the difficulty of steering an unresponsive corporate ship. The Language of Excellence is a guidebook for business and personal excellence. It takes the most fundamental elements of management theory and practice and distills the content into simple and readily teachable images and phrases for aligning an entire organization from top to bottom.

Here is what the author and distinguished business leader Gary Slaughter had to say about The Language of Excellence:

“In my judgment, The Language of Excellence by Tom Collins is among the best five books I have ever read on this subject…It just may be the only guide book to personal and business excellence you will ever need to read.”

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Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. 
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Southern Cornbread Dressing and My Secret Gravy Recipe

The Thanksgiving turkey will be smaller in most homes this year, but the most important item on a southern  dinner table will still be the “Dressing” accompanying the Turkey. Not just any dressing, but good ole Southern cornbread dressing and gravy! Some folks still call this dish “Turkey Stuffing” even though most of us no longer actually cook a stuffed Turkey. The recipe below has been handed down for at least three generations in the Collins family and will keep about twenty people happy at Thanksgiving. This year you may need to adjust the recipe for a smaller gathering thanks to COVID-19.

• Prepare two large skillets of cornbread-about 8 cubs. I use Martha White Self-rising Cornmeal Mix. Make in advance, break apart, and let it try dry out for two or three days.

• Dry out a few slices of white bread, remove the edges, and tear into small pieces—enough for two cups.

• Crumble the cornbread into a large mixing bowl. Add the pieces of white bread.

• Sauté 2 large onions (chopped) and an equal amount of celery in butter. When tender, melt an additional stick of butter in the same pan and then mix the onions, celery and the added butter into the cornbread mixture.

• To the above mixture, add the following and mix thoroughly:

• 2 tsp. of poultry seasoning

• Four Chopped boiled eggs

• Two cups of chicken stock

• Two raw eggs

• Dust with pepper and salt

The mixture should moist. If it seems too dry, add more melted butter or stock.Transfer to baking pans or casserole dishes. I use disposable aluminum pans and transfer the finished cornbread dressing to serving dishes when ready to serve. Bread is a great insulator, so it will take longer to bake than you expect to thoroughly heat the dressings to a safe temperature of 160 degrees (200 degrees is even better), and that may take an hour or longer depending on the depth of the mixture in the banking dishes. The mixture should not be deeper than one and a half or 2 inches in each banking dish. Bake at 325 degrees. Do the cooking ahead of time, and reheat to warm your dressing when you are ready to serve. The cooked dressing can be refrigerated and even frozen to serve later.

Now for the Gravy that people rave about. The truth is, my closely guarded secret gravy receipt is nothing more than Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup thinned slightly with chicken stock and to which small handful of turkey meat bits has been added for a real homemade look. After originally posting, one of my relatives reminded me that a finely chopped boiled egg was traditionally added along with the turkey giblets. Over the years, the egg has become optional.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Heartbroken

Heartbroken, that was the word Teresa Kellogg, current owner of the City Café, used as she made the announcement:

“The City Café, another victim of COVID-19 and a staple of the Murfreesboro Tennessee college town, is closing its doors after 120 years in operation.”

My wife and I both attended Middle Tennessee State College, now a University, in the late fifties and early sixties. The City Café was the favorite off campus place to eat. It is where my wife and I met. Located on the town square, it was more than just a restaurant. It was the meeting place for town folks as well as for MTSU students. As for its menu, it was a typical meat and three restaurant dishing up comfort food and lots of “free” fresh baked bread.

In my day, college students dominated the dining room in the early evening—from five to about seven at night. For the townies, it was their breakfast and lunch choice. And it is where the regulars—local businessmen and retirees—hung out for coffee, small talk and “chewing the fat.”. Another MTSU student, Henry Matthew Ward (Matt), wrote a wonderful book reminiscing about the Café’s regulars and the stories they told. Matt was a couple of years behind me. After graduation he became an instructor at the college and later, he got into the real estate business. For many years he has been one of the City Café regulars. His book, True Stories (and other Lies) Told at City Café, is now sure to become a keepsake for all those who will sorely miss the Murfreesboro city square icon.

The restaurant has set up a Go Fund Me page to help its employees while they look for another job. To donate go to https://gf.me/u/y8ais

PS: After originally posting, Matt Ward let me know that his book, True Stories (and other Lies) Told at City Café is available for purchase at http://parkbenchpub.com/html/about_the_book-true-stories.htm for $12.50 plus $3.00 postage. Matt (Henry Matthew Ward) is a self-published author. For other books authored or published by Matt go to his publisher website, http://parkbenchpub.com/.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Audio Editions Now Available for Full Series

The entire Mark Rollins adventure series of mysteries is now available on Audible. There is no better way to shorten a car trip than to listen to an audio book.  And if you are unlucky enough to find yourself quarantined or recuperating from illness or a medical procedure, audio books are a great way to make the time go by faster.  Or do like a friend of mine, who recently posted the following message on Facebook:

…Looking for a new book to read. Any suggestions? Actually, I don’t read anymore I listen to audible.

Here is an idea for the holidays, especially for a family member who has a daily commute, give them an Audible membership. It will really change their life.

The audio editions of the six books in the Mark Rollins adventure mystery series can be purchased from Amazon or directly from Audible.  For the Audible link to each individual book go to https://www.tomcollinsauthor.com/audio-list.

The Mark Rollins adventure series includes:

• Mark Rollins’ New Career & the Woman’s Health Club (Book one) Rollins becomes the owner of an unusual business born out of boredom rather than the necessity to earn a living. It is an exclusive club for very wealthy women of Nashville. An investment-banker husband of one of the fitness club members is reported missing. The clues suggest foul play, but Rollins discovers that this money man is running for his life—and his hunters are not far behind.

• Mark Rollins and the Rainmaker (Book Two) In the Rainmaker someone wants to kill the law firm’s public face—its rainmaker. Drawing from thirty years of law firm experience, the author opens the doors on a world of greed, lust, and crime.

• Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer (Book Three) In the Puppeteer, a lawyer and rising political star dies in Nashville’s notorious Printer’s Alley with a bullet through his head!

• The Claret Murders, a Mark Rollins Adventure (Book Four) It's Nashville ... with a devastating flood, a beautiful lawyer, a deadly secret, and wine to kill for.

• Diversion, a Mark Rollins Adventure (Book Five) The bucolic area around Manchester and Tullahoma, Tennessee, is becoming infested with pill mills selling prescriptions for cash. The area also includes targets the country's enemies are willing to die for.

• Beyond Visual Range, a Mark Rollins Adventure (Book Six) Two women drone pilots battle in outer space to defend their country from a rogue military element threatening to overthrow the government. One is a former fighter pilot who, after a crash, now flies from a wheelchair.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

The Language of Excellence

The digital edition of the Language of Excellence is available at a 30% discount from Google. To take advantage of the discount through December 15, 2020 go to Google Play Books, search and select The Language of Excellence and enter discount code 7X1UPME747E4Z or use the link below to go directly to the discounted book.

The author and distinguished business leader Gary Slaughter writting in the 2nd & Church publications said about my book on leadership and management?

“In my judgment, The Language of Excellence by Tom Collins is among the best five books I have ever read on this subject."
"Tom Collins’ The Language of Excellence just may be the only guide book to personal and business excellence you will ever need to read. Borrowing from a lifetime of achievement, Collins lays out clear guidelines that can help you find your own success while enabling you to offer others the same excellence that has marked both his life and career. A must-read for achievers.” 

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Puppeteer Is Now On Audible

Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer is now available on Audible. The Puppeteer is a story of murder in the law firm. While the mystery is a work of fiction, the destructive issues of embezzlement and eat-what-you-kill compensation plans, all too prevalent in law firms, are the real stuff as I discovered first hand in my thirty year career working with private law firms.

2020 River Swing

With COVID-19 hanging over our heads, the Harpeth Conservancy like many other organizations has had to reinvent its programs and activities in support of its mission to restore and protect clean water and healthy ecosystems for rivers in Tennessee. That includes reimagining its annual fund raising event, “The River Swing”.

For 16 years, the annual River Swing event has been a fabulous celebration while raising nearly one third of the needed funds for the Conservancy’s mission. This year, the 17th annual River Swing will forgo the in-person celebration, but it still needs your financial support by way of the Internet. First, you can support the organization by making an individual contribution or becoming a River Swing sponsor—Go to https://harpethconservancy.org/river-swing/ for details. And second, participate in the annual River Swing Auction. This year the auction is entirely online. Bidding starts October 19, and the final gavel falls on October 25th, 2020.

Be prepared to start bidding on October 19, 2020 by registering here in advance. Do not get out bid. Check the status your bids daily or more often. The auction includes great donated merchandise and packages. Martha and I have donated two packages for the auction:

• First, for wine lovers, is a 2014 bottle of Chateau Cheval Blanc together with a signed copy of my novel, The Claret Murders.

• The second, is a two night stay at the historic Applewood Manor in Asheville, NC accompanied by a signed copy of my new mystery, Beyond Visual Range.

The auction is a wonderful way to support a clean Harpeth River while taking advantage of some super bargains—so happy bidding!

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Reading From the Puppeteer

Today, I’m reading from my third book in the Mark Rollins mystery series, Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer. It  is one of two books I wrote with the law firm reader in mind. Anyone can enjoy the story. It will, however, be of particular interest to  law firm partners, associates, paralegals, and administrative staff. Other readers may find the first few chapters slow going and a little textbook like, but the pace picks up quickly after those few beginning chapters.

The Puppeteer is a story of murder in the law firm. While the mystery is a work of fiction, the destructive issues of embezzlement and eat-what-you-kill compensation plans, all too prevalent in law firms, are the real stuff as I discovered first hand in my thirty year career working with private law firms.

Author reads from his book,

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 For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Reading from the Rainmaker

Today I am going to read a little from Mark Rollins and The Rainmaker.

The Rainmaker and a second book, Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer were written with the law firm readers in mind. Anyone can enjoy the stories. They will be of particular interest, however,  to  law firm partners, associates, paralegals, and the administrative staff. Other readers may find the first few chapters slow going and a little textbook like, but the pace picks up quickly after those few beginning chapters. The stories deal with law firm profitability, partner income, embezzlement, and compensation issues—proving once again that money frequently drives the crime—especially murder.

In Mark Rollins and the Rainmaker someone is trying to kill Neil Forte, the top Partner in his law firm. He is the face of the law firm, the partner who brings in most of the firm’s new clients.  Still he is on someone’s hit list and the killer has contracted out the killing to an illegal immigrant, Ramiro Melendez. Forte, a devoted cyclist , had agreed not to leave this house without letting the Rollins team know. But at 5:30 in the morning Forte thought there could not be anyone out there who posed a danger. So, at 5:30 without letting his protectors know, he left his Belle Mead home to rendezvous with his cycle team.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Tomorrow is the Day!

Tomorrow, Sept 16, 2020, we will hold the first session in the Free Enterprise Lecture Series in support our capitalistic free market system. This is a Zoom event, to register go to https://mtsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Wrc2JqmlRNibewzwPv15bw. Please feel free to pass the registration information on to family members and friends.

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For signed copies of The Language of  Excellence and other books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions of some books are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Invitation From Tom and Martha Collins

Martha and I would like you to join us for a Zoom event on September 16, 2020.

In cooperation with Middle Tennessee State University’s Political Economy Research Institute Martha and I are sponsoring a series of lectures on free enterprise. We would like you to Join us for the first lecture in the series.  It is a virtual discussion with author and historian Dr. Burt Folsom Jr. (visiting professor of Economic History at Kennesaw State University). Dr. Folsom will focus on his book, Uncle Sam Can't Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy, coauthored with his wife, Anita Folsom.

The event will be held Wednesday, September. 16, 2020 from 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. (Central Time). It is a private community event that requires registration to join the Zoom lecture and Q&A session. To register go to  https://mtsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Wrc2JqmlRNibewzwPv15bw.

More about the Political Economy Research Institute and the planned Lectures:

“The Institute’s mission is to engage undergraduate and graduate students with faculty in research that will further the understanding of business and economic principles, as well as their impact on regional, national, and international financial conditions and the wellbeing of society. To advance its mission, the Institute will engage in research and educational programs which uncover the institutions and policies that encourage and enhance human wellbeing.”

Cutting through the legalese, the Political Economy Research Institute’s programs promote an understanding of capitalism and its benefits.  Sometime after my wife and I finished our formal education, educators apparently stopped teaching the benefits of our free market system. Nor did our generation share often enough what our own life experiences had taught us— that while we prospered under capitalism and our free market system, nations with top down government run systems decayed. Those systems invariably led to oppression and a decline in the wealth and wellbeing of their citizens.  Maybe we thought the principles we believed in were self-evident; apparently, they were not. So, we have some ground to make up, and that is why Martha and I decided to give our support to Middle Tennessee State University by creating the M. Thomas Collins and Martha R. Collins Lectures in Free Enterprise.

Hope to see you there on September 16th.

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 For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Reading From The Claret Murders

As I noted earlier, COVID-19 has shut down the opportunity to meet in person with book clubs and fans of the Mark Rollins adventure series. I have always enjoy doing readings at those events. Since I cannot do it in person, I’ll occasional do so by way of the internet. Today I am reading excerpts from Chapter 28, Mano a Mano, in my book, The Claret Murders.

Author reading from his book The Claret Murders

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Applewood Manor, Asheville NC

My Son, Stephen, and wife Robin have just become innkeepers after purchasing the Applewood Manor in Asheville, North Carolina. More than a hundred years old the Applewood Manor is one of the longest continuously operating Asheville bed & breakfast inns. While this is their first step into full service inn keeping, they are not new to the recreational property business. They own a beautiful French country villa in Roussillon, La Petite Colline de Roussillon, for those looking to vacation in Provence.

Applewood has its own standalone appeal as an historic bed & Breakfast in the breathtaking mountains of North Carolina, but it owes a measure of its popularity to Asheville as a destination—historic buildings and architecture, home of some of history’s most dynamic personalities and beautiful mountain vistas. The mountains of Asheville are the oldest in the country. And, then there is the mystical side of Asheville. Psychics from all over the world travel to the area drawn by  what they believe is a paranormal “vortex” of energy. Many say that the area draws that energy from the spiritual residue of ancient Native Americans who lived and died in those mountains. Then there is the blood spilled into its grounds during the Civil War. Certainly, Asheville has seen more than its share of mysterious events and deaths.  In fact, some say that Applewood sets in the most haunted place in the country.  

With Stephen and Robin at the helm, visitors can expect a wonderful experience with or without accompanying ghost.  Knowing them, you be well fed, offered great wines, giving an opportunity to learn new things or improve existing skills. And if you are a mind to, Robin will  have you on a tennis court or Stephen will have you on a bike pedaling up and down the areas mountains.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.