The tenth of 13 children, T. J. McFadden has been a tank commander, military journalist, deck seaman, technical writer, game designer and newspaper reporter. A Sergeant in the National Guard, he joined the Navy in 1990 just in time to take part in Desert Shield. Tim grew up in the countryside of northeast Ohio and earned a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from the University of Akron. Using his lifelong interest in military history and wargaming, Tim has written two published wargames, as well as the novels "Formosa Straits" and "Landing Party". He currently lives in Canton, Ohio, with his wife Helena and their two sons, while he works on various novels (including a sequel to LANDING PARTY) and screenplay projects.
Read an exclusive interview with DiskUs author T.J. McFadden
Where do you live?
Canton, Ohio
Where can fans write to you?
What inspired you to write your books?
Current events inspired FORMOSA STRAITS. I've always been a person who asked "what if.." and with all the news about China, "What if China invaded Taiwan tomorrow" kept occuring to me. As I studied the situation, I realized that there was a lot of human dramatic potential caught up in this, as well as some unique situations for a military history buff like myself.
LANDING PARTY, on the other hand, was inspired by my ship's passage thru the suez canal in the early days of Desert Shield. Here we were, a cruiser, a destroyer and an aircraft carrier, cruising thru the middle of the desert on the suez canal, and we had quite a few doubts about which side our egyptian hosts wanted to be on. As I was standing watch (ahead of us the USS EISENHOWER or "IKE", had it's decks quite literally hanging over the sides of the canal) and I wondered "what if we had to put ashore a landing party of armed sailors-say if we were stuck in the canal by an iraqui air attack? And it grew from there, mostly composed in my head while I was standing lookout watches.
What's your writer day like?
I typically wake up, get my oldest son fed and dressed for school (first grade) by which time my youngest son is ready for his bottle. I drop off my oldest son at school, then come home, brew a fresh pot of coffee, go up to my attic office and log on to the internet for an hour or so. Then I work on my writing for a couple of hours. After that, my youngest son is ready for his next diaper change and bottle, and I have to turn my attention to errands and maintaining our house and yard. In the evenings, I go to my day job as a safety officer at a small midwestern college. It's funny, but now that I have the writing space I've always dreamed of, I have more claims on my time than ever before.
Tell us about your family.
I have a wife, Helena, who I met while I was in the Navy, and two sons, Valen and TJ. I'm originally from a big Catholic family, (tenth of 13 kids) but I think we'll stick with just the two boys- don't know how my mom and dad ever did it.
We're a biracial couple- she's black and I'm white- but to be honest, our marriage isn't much different than any other marriage. Our experiences did give me some great material for a screenplay I'm trying to sell.
Do you have pets?
Pets: three amazingly tough goldfish
What are your hobbies?
Jeez, where do I begin? Writing, first and foremost.Travel, military history, wargaming, painting lead miniatures for wargames, book collecting, politics, ecological systems, movies, the theater (not really enough time for that but I wish there were)AND I'm trying my hand at the occasional bit of carpentry.
What do you enjoy doing in your leisure time?
I love to read, to take long road trips, go to museums, aquariums and historical sights (all hobbies I share with my wife) and to wargame in good old fashioned AD&D (the old version with the covers that scared moms all across america during the 1980s)- Helena & I don't share that particular hobby.
Who are your favorite authors?
Tom Clancy and Stephen King. I love Tom's ability to weave together disparate plot threads and current situations, while I wish I had King's gift for characterization.
What is your all-time favorite book?
ALL time favorite? Youch. Can't say- I have too many all time favorites. Among them are "The Winds of War", "Easter Day 1941", "The Stand", "Red Storm Rising" and Bruce Catton's "Grant Moves South"
What's your favorite movie?
Star Wars
What's your favorite place?
My attic office, where I have slowly built up my collection of research books, Enya tapes, computer & lots of other neat stuff.
Where would you like to visit, a place you've never visited before?
I'd love to visit the Imperial War Museum in London, England.
What's your favorite music?
New Age music like Enya & Van Gelis
Anything else you'd like to tell us?
I have big hopes for selling my screenplays someday. I've co-written three scripts with Sandra Mackey of Colorado (two movies and one science fiction TV script) and I'm working on others. My biggest dream is to be able to support my family by my writing (haven't hit that point yet)
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