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ABOUT: 01
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Teenage/Young Adult/New Adult Author
Journalist, Novelist, Short Story Writer, Poet
Prolific Child, Teen, and 20s Author: In this section, I'm going to cover my poetry and fiction written as a teenager and twenty-something. I began writing poetry as a child, but very little of that survives. I wrote my first little novel (10,000 words, I'd estimate) at age 11 but that was lost by age 13. In high school, I resumed seriously writing poetry, and by the time I wrapped up my poetry career around age 27, after twenty years, I had written nearly 500 poems. I was a published poet by age 18. I won recognition for an 'informal essay' in a Hartford, CT newspaper among other awards. I was a professional journalist (summer interne reporter) on the New Haven, CT newspaper for three summers, where I acquired a solid background in that field. Finally, at age 15 I started work on my first full novel, which I completed after many drafts as a sophomore (age 19) at the University of Connecticut (where I earned a B.A. in English with relateds in Classics, Languages, and History).
More Info Soon. I could write a book here, but I won't. I'm not interested in telling my own story. Rather, as an artist who creates poetry, fiction, and essays (etc.) I prefer to entertain and edify you (paraphrasing Aristotle's prescription in Poetics) with material I hope you'll find good to read. I will be back with more, soon, including links where you can read half of each book free (at my Galley City website.
It's the Bookstore Metaphor: you can sit all day in the bookstore and read (free). You just can't take the book home without paying for it. By halfway through, you'll know whether you like it enough to buy. On my sites, you are anonymous, just like at the mall. No tracking, no data, no cookies, not even a breath mint. The transaction is safe and secure, handled entirely by Amazon.com, where I've been an affiliate for over twenty years. I also call it Read-a-Latte. You buy the e-book for the price of a cup of coffee. The latte is gone in minutes, but the novel is yours forever. Best deal in town. Thanks, and happy reading. Oh, and please be kind; give it a massively positive (five star) review. I need your support. If you don't understand it or don't like it, no problem: easy money back and we all move on without a circus. After all, one person's lemon is another person's lemonade. [JTC]
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*NOTE: Moien is Luxemburgish for 'Hello.'
**NOTE: For easy usage, I often refer to myself as JTC (Jean-Thomas Cullen, my birth name; or John T. Cullen, my English language handle). It beats 'hey you' or 'hey me' or whatever.
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UNDER CONSTRUCTION. These pages will be cleaned up of redundancies etc. soon. JTC.
Youthful Author: In this section, I will tell about portions of my early writing career, which I date from starting to write poetry at seven, to my late twenties, when I returned to the U.S. from over five years of overseas service with the U.S. Army in Cold War Germany. By age thirty, I had been a published poet and professional journalist, plus I had written at least ten novels. I'm not here to tell about myself, except as it relates to my writing, and there are some interesting bits to tell. I'm in my seventies now, retired, still writing, locked down with the COVID19 pandemic, and as prolific as ever. I'll only hit the highlights about my early writing life (ages 7 to 30). So let's begin.
My Teen/Twenties Poetry. I wrote well over 400 poems by age 27, and as predicted by a university Literature prof, like most lyric poets I changed venues. I continued writing fiction as intently as ever, and put all of that poetic juice into those novels and short stories. More info on this shortly, including links where you can read at least a hundred of my poems
My Teenage Novel. I started it at age 15 and, after many drafts, finished my grand SF novel at 19 while a sophomore at the University of Connecticut. Like most of my poetry, the novel never saw publication in its day. In my later years, I have been unearthing dusty manuscripts, getting them typed, and publishing them through Clocktower Books (my San Diego small press indie publishing imprint). The title now is Summer Planets, and you can read it online at Galley City. OMore info soon. Note: it became the cornerstone of my Empire of Time SF series, in which I have written some six novels and a few short stories. I continue to develop the series, adding more novels and stories.
Romantic Affairs. This is by far the most complex and interesting body of work. I'll devote a number of pages in this section to discussing the two novels and a companion volume of poetry, plus a duet (novel and poems). To sum up briefly:
• On Saint Ronan Street is a romantic affair novel I wrote at age 27 while stationed in West Germany; it was an exercise in homesickness, loneliness, and nostalgia for the New Haven, CT university town where I came of age; made the rounds in New York City back then, some interest, but no contract.
• Cymbalist Poems is a collection from my teen/twens poetry that I write as being the work of my fictional protagonist in On Saint Ronan Street.
• 27duet (a book) is a duet as the title indicates, presenting both the novel and poetry just mentioned.
• Paris Affaire is where it all gets really interesting. As I unearthed the dusty manuscripts just mentioned, in my late sixties, I was able to get them into print. As I will relate in the pages of this section, I was motivated to clone On Saint Ronan Street (romantic story in a New England college town, some flavors of John Updike) and what I produced was a Paris novel that I am quite happy with. Long story (no pun intended) and I'll describe all this in more detail shortly.
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