Thomas Thorpe
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thomas Thorpe writes in nineteenth century genre, but has a background in space exploration. Tom's father was injured at Beau Wood in France during World War I and homesteaded in Minnesota before moving his family to California in 1949. The family settled in North Hollywood and Tom began a lifelong interest in astronomy. 

Tom avidly read science fiction in the dawn era of space exploration during the late fifties. After securing Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles, he worked at Eastman Kodak (Lunar Orbiter), Manned Spacecraft Center and Lowell observatory before landing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. There, he experienced the defining moments of the Mariner, Viking and Surveyor spacecraft Mars expeditions. He supervised implementation of the Mars Global Surveyor, and remained its Project Manager through most of its ten-year operations life at Mars. He has published over fifty science journal articles on topics of Mars photometry and teaches astronomy at Glendale College. 

During this period, be began the second endeavor of writing historical fiction concerning the adventures of the Darmon family and mysteries set worldwide within the first half of the nineteenth century. The 1830's were a turbulent time in many countries. Nations struggled with self-government, having just emerged from colonialism or repressive monarchies. America, Greece, Brazil, Canada, and France were attempting democracies with unprecedented freedoms. Tensions flared between the royal traditionalists and the young radicals who tried to free themselves from the economic repression of landowners that dates back to feudalist middle ages. As a result, conspiracies abounded within governments and murders were common. 

PortTown Publishing published Tom's first four novels of the series, These paperbacks are carried by most major bookstores (Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon, etc.). Two subsequent novels in the series: Desperate Crossing and Without Redemption, will be released by a new publisher in the near future.  

Three titles (The Forth Contention, The Patriote Proposition and Night Wind to Bahia) have also been written as screenplays of genres action/suspense, mystery/thrillers set in authentic historical periods of Quebec, France, America, England, Brazil, Russia and India.  Tom has consulted with Zena Dell Schroeder, veteran producer and Barbara Nicolosi, director of Promenade Pictures. Other interests include photography and historical research.