Compact Stories About Other "Tom" Characters

Shortly after I completed my first new Tom Swift novel, Tom Swift and His EnvirOzone Revivicator, I joined the Yahoo Tom Swift group. Once there I discovered that the very man who inspired me to write that initial novel had posted a challenge list of about eight titles he would like to see stories written to cover. They were character-based and title specific and intrigued me greatly.

At the top of the list was Oh, My Aching Back, Or... A Honeymoon In a House On Wheels, and was to be about Tom's mother from the Tom Swift Jr. books, Mary Nestor Swift. I couldn't resist, so I sat down and began writing it. It immediately turned out to be her personal diary starting on the day of her wedding to Tom's father—the original Tom Swift himself—and followed each of the 21 days of their honeymoon; a honeymoon that was definitely not what she imagined it would be. It was fun to write and I wanted to do more!

So, the next title on the list was about the Enterprise cook, Chow Winkler and the title was The Chili and The Challenger. If that doesn't bring a cooking competition to mind I don't know what does. So, that became the next one.

I have found that these compact stories—or novellas if you please—work best at just 4 or so chapters and between 8,000 and 12,000 words. They are fairly easy to read and do not get bogged down in too much detail, plus they give a fun look into the lives and work of many of the people Tom Swiftians have come to know and love.

They seem to make a nice-sized book when collected in sets of 3, 4 or 5 stories. So, below you will find those collections with links taking you to the on-line book store where you can either download them as PDFs or order them as quality, digest-size (about 15% larger than a paperback book) quality printings.

The Tom Swift Invention Series    The Original Tom Swift Rewrites

The Tom Swift Invention Short Stories


In addition to the Tom Swift stories, I also write stories under the pseudonym of T. Edward Fox. The following are the currently-available books about other characters in the Tom Swift world.

Anne Swift Trilogy

ORDER THIS BOOK

Download an Excerpt from an "Anne Swift" story
PDF format -- right-click

Anne Swift is Tom's mother in the reimagined Tom Swift Lives! novels and my very own Tom Swift Invention Series novels. In a case of almost a throw-away comment, she is once described as "…she herself had a degree in molecular biology…" and it is mostly left at that. Even though she is generally spoken about as a "mother" or "homemaker" in all of the books, I felt that she must have more going on in her life than making beds and frying chicken. So…

The above book contains three stories about Anne Swift, molecular biologist and detective. She leads a double life: homemaker by night and—when called upon for special projects—a special scientist for the FBI by day. The only person from Enterprises that knows her secret is Harlan Ames, the ex-Secret Service man and now head of Security at Enterprises. The stories cover dangerous cloning experiments, a mysterious glowing and deadly orb, and a man who sickens and kills everyone he contacts yet remains perfectly healthy himself.

Anne Swift Trilogy

ORDER THIS BOOK

Anne Swift #4 -- A huge cache of dinosaur bones are discoverd while a construction crew dredges to expand the Shopton Yacht Club. But, soon the people who have been cleaning the bones for preservation beging to get sick... really sick, Anne and her favorite co-worker Wiley Oswaldt are joined by a British scientist and doctor as they try to unravel what the mysterious DNA mutation is doing to people.

This book is available as a single story.

 

Anne Swift Trilogy

ORDER THIS BOOK

Anne Swift #5 -- As a large object approaches Earth, several chunks break off and enter Earth's atmosphere in spite of the assurance of astronomers. Most of these hit in the northeast portion of the U.S. And, anyone going near a piece dies.

Anne and her team must find out why, and find a way to stop any spread of whatever is causing deaths. But, the one thing she didn't count on was that someone has chipped off a piece and is selling smaller bits via an on-line auction site. Soon, it will be too late to contain the problem.

This book is available as a single story.

 

COMING SOON:

 

Anne #6 - A giant swarm of insects is heading toward the East Coast from somewhere in the Mississippi Delta. It might not be so bad wecept they seem to be in a frenzy, and when they are swatted, they explode. What could cause both the behavior and the violent results? Anne #7 - Following a light show many in a small southern Canadian town believe to be aliens, goats and people begin to die. The real mystery is that they bleed completely out without any visible signs of physical trauma. Anne and Wiley must solve the mystery before more die!

 

I recently completed the first ever Operators Manual for Tom Swift's Fat Man diving suit.

Fat Man diving Suit cover

If you've ever wanted to climb into a Fat Man diving suit, you will need to
understand how it works. This operator's guide is for the B model series of
the Fat Man suit. That is the one currently being sold to professional divers
and salvage companies all around the world.

The suit is full of refinements in both control and safety over Tom Swift's original
A model suits. Far greater operator control is possible along with long-term
comfort and conveniences. This manual is a must if you are considering the
purchase of one of these amazing diving suits!

This manual may be purchased by clicking here.

__________________________________________________

And now to the multiple character collections

ENTERPRISING CHARACTERS

1 - Mary Nestor Swift: Oh, My Aching Back, Or... A Honeymoon in a House On Wheels
The honeymoon personal diary entries of Tom Swift Jr's mother, Mary, as she and Tom Sr. spend 21 days honeymooning in ways she never imagined.

2 - Chow Winkler: The Chili And The Challenger
Chow receives a mysterious message containing a challenge and a threat. He must find out who sent it and then come up with a winning recipe. A problem arises when his challenger destroys his prime ingredients.

3 - Harlan Ames & Phil Radnor: Swift Justice
The Enterprises security team springs into action when Tom's father's reputation and a top secret project are threatened by an old Swift foe.

4 - Geroge Dilling: Your Future in Industrial Advertising
The head of Communications at Enterprises is also a prized guest lecturer. This isa composite of the lecture he gave at three famous universities telling would-be advertising students about what it takes to succeed in that business


SWIFT-LY WITH STYLE

1 - Tom Swift, Jr.: Young, Gifted and Swift
It is during World War II and young Tom Swift is itching to come up with some invention to help win the war. He sets out to devise something that can transmit visual images over long distances and ends up creating an entirely new, second invention, both destined to change the world.

2 - Ed Longstreet: Vacation in Kabulistan
Tom's cousin Ed is an adventurer with more money than sense sometimes. He is on the trail of a giant diamond that has a curse which kills its owners after they lose possession of it. When the search takes him to Kabulistan he discovers a world of intrigue, people who aren't who they seem to be, and a determined police Captain.

3 - Zimby Cox: Wally Was Not My Father
One of Enterprises top pilots. Zimby Cox bears a remarkable resembalance to a famous comedian and actor, but what he is best known for are his flying feats. He recalls several of his most dangerous flights while reminding anyone who asks him, he is not the son of Wally Cox!

4 - Bud Barclay: It Wasn't Always a Good Night, Tom
Tom's best friend and cohort, Bud, returns to Enterprise just as he and Tom are about to turn 50, but for a sad occasion. His marriage to Sandy Swift is strained and, after working for a civilian space agency for a dozen years, Tom needs his chum to stay and not just for a few days.


THE SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE

1 - Hank Sterling & Arv Hanson: Patterns and Models
Often confused as their jobs seem to be similar, Hank and Arv actually do very different things. It's just that they overlap a lot. While working on a project with Tom they finally devise a way for people to remember who does what. But, the project--a new one-man mini tank for the military--is almost torpedoed by a disgruntled General before it can get off the ground.

2 - Doc Simpson: Young Inventor Repair Guide
Doc Simpson has cleaned, stitched, stapled and patched Tom Swift up more times than he cares to remember. This book is filled with his memories of some of the major times when he could only wish that Tom came with some sort of an owner's and maintenance manual.

3 - Bashalli Prandit: All American (Pakistani) Girl
In the newest world of Tom Swift, his girlfriend is a beautiful girl whose family emigrated from Pakistan when she was just ten. Now, more American than Pakistani, she and Tom meet for the first time. As their relationship blossoms she must find ways to get her traditional father and older brother to accept that she isn't going to sit around and wait for them to arrange a marriage for her.

4 - Miss Trent: They Call Me 'Efficient'
Illoquacia Trent is the super efficient secretary to Tom and his father. She mans her desk outside of the large office they share and rules with an efficient "iron" fist. But, when a health scare hits her, she must make a decision to stay, keep it secret and fight it out or to do what is really best for her. Leave Enterprises. She finds some surprising allies among her coworkers.



ENTERPRISE EXTRAS

1 - Ken Horton: GeoSynchronicity
Starting day one of the Swift's Outpost in Space, Ken has been the commander up there. He looks back over some of the major incidents that have taken place during the giant space wheel's first two years, including the first death and the first time a woman was stationed there.

2 - Sandy Swift: Not Your Average Blonde
Sandy has just turned sixteen and is determoined to hold her parents to a number of promises they have made over the years. You know the ones. They start with "Once you turn sixteen..." Some are fairly standard--"You can date when..." and "No make-up until you turn..."--but a few are much more Swiftian than teenage girl-ish.

3 - Chow Winkler: Chow's Chuck Wagon
Chow has been cooking for Tom, his father and the exectuives at Enterprises since Tom turned sixteen. He came to Enterprises with a recipe file more than a thousand dishes long. Here, for th first time, is a short collection of some of his favorites like Rattlesnake Stew, Armadillo Fritters, amd even his meatless chili recipe.

4 - Phyllis Newton: Farewell Shopton!
In the original Tom Swift Jr. books, Phyllis was Tom's girlfriend. In the newest re-imagined world of Tom, she isn't there. Did she never exist? Actually, she did, it's just that she moved away from Shopton before she could do anything more than have a single dance with Tom. This is her story as she prepares to leave her little home town.


SWIFT & SURE

1 - Tom Sr & Tom Jr: That's My Boy
While still in school and just becomming a teen, young Tom begins working along side his father at Swift Enterprises. He has big ideas and now has access to an entirely new world of materials and experts. With each new thing he tries he makes his father more and more proud.

2 - Tom Swift: The Loch Carlopa Monster
His family and his girlfriend are all out of town, and Bud ends up in the hospital, so Tom is getting a bit bored. That is, until a strange duo approach him with a request to assist them in trying to locate a famed monster deep within the nearby lake. Tom's problem is that he's never heard of this monster.

3 - Tom Swift & Bud Barclay: Must Use Legs...
Bud brings a challenge to Tom. Help him build and operated a man-powered racing vehicle capable of traveling over roads, forest trails, sand. mud and even over water. The thing is that each vehicle must be only human-powered and must carry everything it needs for each stage of the three-day race.

4 - Chow Winkler: Chow's Chuck Wagon Redux
Chow's second book of recipes. This time he provides a few of his trail favorites and a lot of others that have been developed during his time working at Swift Enterprises. Sections include dishes with and without meat, sides and salads, desserts, and a couple drinks.

 

The Young Tom Swif tChronicles Volume One

ORDER THIS BOOK

The Young Tom Swift Chronicles #1 -- Everyone needs to get their start somewhere. Did you ever wonder how Tom Swift got his? Well, during World War II, and as a pre-teen, Tom yearned to invent something that would help win the war. And, even though his first major invention did just that, he could not be told about it for many years because the Government didn't trust a young boy.

He kept at it and came up with several other inventions in the next few years.

This is the first volume of stories about young Tom and the incredible inventions he came up with. The book includes:

- Young, Gifted and Swift

- Tom Swift Saves Christmas

- Tom Swift and His Solar Go-Kart

- Tom Swift and His Tumble Kite

- and the short story, Tom Swift: Eye'm Watching You!


MY HOLIDAY
GIFT TO YOU!

Tom Swift, son of the famous inventor, Tom Swift, has already had one major invention success and is looking for another one.

The Second World War has been over for only a few months, and Shopton is beginning to return to normal. With Christmas just around the corner, and icy temperatures enveloping the entire town, the only thing missing is snow. To Tom, a green yard is no holiday yard!

Tom is not alone. His little sister is sad that she can’t go sledding. Other children, and adults, are complaining about the lack of white stuff. Without snow, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. He takes it upon himself to come up with a solution to the town’s missing snow. Can he devise a way to save Christmas?

Please download (right-click and "save as") and enjoy this little holiday story. It is in both .EPUB format, so you will need to have a reader capable of using that type of document, and also in .PDF format.


As if my efforts aren't enough, you can take a look at all the books Scott Dickerson has either reimagined (that means improved and brought up to date) along with the half dozen or so brand new Tom Swift novels he has written in his TOM SWIFT LIVES! series.

And, soon, I hope to offer direct links to the works of the two other fan fiction authors, Michael and Jon.

Check back!



Most recent update: August 11, 2012
More updates coming... Whenever my lazy butt gets in gear.
So, bear with me... if you like that sort of thing.

Copyright ©1999-2012 Tom Hudson
Send comments to: WebMaster