I’ve heard that a lot of people wake up at 3 am. I wake up at 3 in the morning. That’s when I get a lot of my writing ideas. I was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which affects the memory, and I’m afraid I will forget the ideas by morning. But I can’t turn on a light to write them down. That would wake up my wife. Pilots use a pen that has a red light to protect their night vision. I bought a bunch of them, and I keep a notepad by the bed.
But there’s another problem: my hand shakes: so my handwriting could qualify as encryption.
I’ve probably written more than a hundred short stories, many of them begin with the question “what if”. What if a camera could see through time? What if an alien ran for political office? I published two short story collections titled “What If” and then combined them into one called “Short Stories“. I’m compiling another one titled “More Short Stories“.
I started out writing non-fiction: Editing and publishing the biography of Talbert Gray (“First Through the Fire“), for a friend who was the first black television reporter in Florida, and writing one about Kirby Grant who played Sky King in the TV show I grew up watching. I knew Kirby and Carolyn for fifteen years after they moved to Orlando, but I didn’t decide to write about him until after he died in 1986 on his way to view a Space Shuttle launch (STS-61)v at the invitation of astronauts who also grew up inspired by the TV show.
As part of the research I drove to the Sky King airport and interviewed the owner.
I never got past student pilot, but I did pass the certification for drone pilot and wrote a study guide for the test. I’ve trained a few hundred law enforcement officers to pass the test.
I wrote books about broken borders and WordPress for web design, lottery patterns and treason. You might call that a variety. I write both fiction and non-fiction, the Parkinson’s memory thing means a memoir is off the table.
I joined a local writer’s group and everybody there was writing fiction, so I started writing short stories. The group leader asked what if I expanded some of my short stories into novels? I ran with it! What if a coffee shop barrister had psychic powers? “The Psychic Barista“. The United States once kidnapped a foreign president. What if the tables were turned? The title is “Due North“.
Like a lot of people, I’m into science fiction. I grew up with Star Wars and Star Trek. Now I watch a lot of YouTube videos about aliens and UFOs. I like to say I dive down a lot of rabbit holes, and then I steal the rabbit!
I see stories about alien abductions and UFO sightings. Several things bother me: Are space aliens all cosmic nudists? Why do flying saucers spin? Don’t the pilots get dizzy? I have some serious doubts.
Many of my projects begin with the question “what if?” Quite a few of my “what if’s” have been about aliens. What if an alien with telepathic ability was a detective? Would the evidence be admissible in court? I’m working on a novel based on that idea. What if two hybrid alien-humans had children? (“Star Child“) Would they be super telepathic? What other abilities might they have? Precognition? Telekinetic power? My short story collections are full of what ifs.
Growing up I was obsessed with reading the Hardy Boys books by F W Dixon, who I later learned was not one person. I kept borrowing the next book in the series from the public library until the library gave me the entire 72 book collection. My mother was not into clutter so at her suggestion I gave them away to a girl named Donna in my high school class. See, I do have some memories.
My wife is also not into clutter which is why I gave up the rest of my Huxley and Payne book collection and two 1964 Volvo P1800s. My wife claims I have O.C.D., but I explain that everybody sorts their shirts by color. Don’t they?
A lot of my fiction is centered on strong, intelligent female protagonists. There are several reasons. One is, the majority of fiction reader are female. The other is I respect strong intelligent women. I married one.
I finished reading Steven King’s book “on writing”. We have something in common. Our marriages have endured more than fifty years. Something we don’t have in common: I don’t drink coffee.
My parents were both conservatives from Hillsdale College in Michigan. I grew up reading Isaac Asimov, Aldous Huxley and Thomas Paine. My sister and brother went to college full time. I got tuition for junior college and was told to get a job. Do the math.
In my late seventies I’m supposed to be retired, but I never learned how. I sold my alarm business years ago and stepped back from operations of my website hosting business, I’m selling off my video production equipment, but I never really retired. A lot of days I put in ten to twelve hours a day writing. And I love every minute of it, because after ten years and over two dozen books, I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up: a writer and author.
If you’re curious about what I am working on currently, check the New Projects section of my website at TimTrottWrites.com
I published several nonfiction titles before joining a local writer’s group in Daytona, Florida. At one meeting, author Veronica H. Hart (Silent Autumn and many more) encouraged Tim to try writing fiction. He accepted the challenge and added short stories to his writing adventures. The future promises more fiction and science fiction short stories, perhaps even a novel or two someday, as well as more nonfiction titles.
I became involved in editing and publishing (Tim Trott Publishing), with First Through the Fire (by Talbert Gray) and a new series by a new writer, Michel Mir Jorge (Escape from Cuba and,Perseguido En Surinam).
The future promises more science fiction short stories, several novels, and non-fiction along the way.
At various times, I have been a member of Florida Writers Association and Florida Authors and Publishers Association.
