TWISTED BY THE WIND - A New Book

TWISTED BY THE WIND - A New Book

About This Book

Twisted by the Wind is a collection of stories and words of wisdom, with a fair amount of humor added. It chronicles a philosophical spirit developed on the plains of Oklahoma, the Arizona desert, Nashville, and the wine country of California, honed through a lifetime of entrepreneurial endeavors and adventures.


Tales of first flights, free meals in the park, car racing, life in a monastery, following a musical dream, and wisdom of the ages are all wrapped in a collection of quotes, short stories, poems, and personal revelations.

Designed to be a catalyst to spark readers' inspiration and creativity, you can open this book anywhere and find a fresh thought or idea to make life more enjoyable and to share with others.

What People are Saying About This Book


"Wonderful! Colorful and rich! Can't wait to read the next book!" - S. Pratt


"This is fun stuff, and anyone with a sense of humor, a down home upbringing and taste for wry is in for a treat." -R. Pope


"I love it!!!......Can't wait till you do a book tour..........!!!" -S. Greene


"The first scene would make a great movie opening!!!!" - K.Bishop


"The style is typical, understated, tom hays. I can hear you telling the stories." - G. Wilson


"Will trigger many fond memories in the hearts and minds of people who grew up where stories were told by people who knew the art of story telling" - L. Pope


"Charming!" - K.Edwards


"Now I know what I'm giving everyone for christmas." - M. Roth

Saturday, May 6, 2017

The Impossible Cure.

Tom Hays - StorytellerMy friend Ben used to watch old Lewis hobble along the sidewalk of the downtown square back in Enid, Oklahoma. Lewis always had his crutches, one under each arm, and he literally dragged his legs and feet along as he pivoted the crutches back and forth. He had gotten really good at it. Ben had seen him going along without missing a beat even when the streets and sidewalks were covered with a layer of ice.

     Ben never knew how Lewis became crippled, and he could not remember a time when Lewis was not using his crutches. His imagination led him down many paths: polio, a car wreck, thrown from a horse, a war injury, plane crash … Ben never knew. He had only heard it could not be fixed. Lewis would always be hopelessly crippled.  Ben had to admire his spirit, though. He’d often whistle as he swung himself along and nearly always had a smile to share when anyone passed him on the street.

     One evening, Ben was having a Coke with Uncle Charlie who was having something a little stronger. Uncle Charlie was himself a fixture in town: red close-cropped hair in a flat top, and a huge red handlebar mustache that he kept neatly waxed and curled up at the ends. Ben and Charlie were not really related, but Ben, along with everyone else, called him Uncle Charlie. Ben thought he was kind of like that strange uncle every family seemed to have.

     So, Uncle Charlie took a long drink of his adult beverage and ordered another one. Ben didn’t know how many he had finished before Ben got there, but Uncle Charlie did like to operate from a higher place than most people.

     “Hey, did I tell you what happened to Lewis?”

     Suddenly, Ben’s heart sank. Had something happened to Lewis? “No … what?”

     Uncle Charlie wiped the beer foam from the bottom of his mustache. “I saw him the other evening out at the big tent revival, you know, up there on that vacant lot at the north end of town. Some traveling preacher came into town and put up a big tent. The preacher claimed that God talks to him personally and tells him to travel around and spread His word. Says God gave him the power to heal just by placing his hands on people of faith, and all he asks of them is donations to keep him going. There were a lot of people there, and old Lewis was one of them.”

     “I never knew Lewis was particularly religious,”  Ben said, “and I thought he had long given up any thought of ever walking again.”

     “Well, Lewis was there nonetheless, a lot of people were, the place was packed. It was a warm night and the preacher was really wound up. I’m telling you, he had the people standing up and shouting out praises right along with him. And then he got to the healing part. Lewis was standing with a crutch under each arm yelling just about as loud as everyone else. The preacher spotted Lewis in the crowd and came right down off the little stage he’d set up and walked right over to him.” Uncle Charlie took another drink and continued.
     “That preacher had already taken off his coat, and he was sweating and swinging his arms around and practically shouting at the top of his lungs. He stopped directly in front of Lewis and slapped his right hand firmly down on the top of his head, almost knocking him over.

     “Do you believe?” the preacher shouted to Lewis. “Do you believe that the Lord God Almighty gave me the power to heal you?”

     “Lewis started shaking. The preacher asked the audience to join him in calling up the power. He pressed down harder on the top of Lewis’s head.”

     “If you truly believe that God gave me this power, you will be healed! You will walk again! I command you now, be healed!

     Uncle Charlie went on. “He took the crutch from under Lewis’s right arm, held it high in the air, and then tossed it into the crowd. The place went wild. Women and men were weeping and raising their arms and shouting praises. Lewis was staring straight ahead in disbelief.”

     “Then the preacher, with his hand still on Lewis’s head, again shouted, ‘God told me to heal you … be healed!’ and took the crutch from under Lewis’s left arm, held it in the air and threw it nearly to the back of the crowd in the tent. Again, the crowd went crazy, more so than before. It was truly a sight to see; I’ll never forget it as long as I live.” Uncle Charlie took another long drink of his beverage and then carefully wiped the foam from his mustache as before.

     Ben couldn’t wait any longer to hear the rest. “What happened next, Uncle Charlie?”


     Uncle Charlie gave the tip of his red mustache a little twist and turned right to Ben. “Well, Lewis fell on his ass. He’s crippled you know.”

From the book "Twisted by the Wind" by Tom Hays

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Story Two of a Trilogy entitled "316 East Boulevard - "Beulah's Curse"


"BEULAH'S CURSE"
A fiction noir novella by Tom Hays,

The Civil War had just begun. Young plantation slave Ahracee had a dream that one day he would be able to put down his hoe and shovel and do something more with his life. Ahracee thought to himself that watching, learning, picking up skills beyond the job he was assigned, and making himself more valuable as a human being, were the keys to success.

Ahracee’s young girlfriend Sheika supposed that one day she would convince Ahracee to marry her. But life sometimes takes strange turns.

Ahracee left the plantation to join the Union Army.  Enter Beulah, and her black magic. 

The first novella in the trilogy "316 East Boulevard" is titled "There Were Several Ladies Present". "Beulah's Curse" is the prequel to that story.


  • ISBN-10: 0692710469
  • ISBN-13: 978-0692710463
  • Click for more information  Beulah's Curse

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

NEW!! Novella by Tom Hays


A Fiction-Noir novella.   The date was August 22, 1968. The gathering was in the home of one Clarisse Jones, 316 East Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama. The imposing residence had been the scene of hundreds of these society luncheons over its long history. as the home of a long time pillar of Black society, Mrs. Christine Brown-Jones and, for that matter,  her family before her.   Now, however, the house was presided over by Mrs. Clarisse Jones, a very recent arrival. There were a lot of questions to be answered about the circumstances surrounding this change in occupancy of the house. Persistent rumors had certainly flamed the east Birmingham ladies’ interest in attending this “hot ticket” event.

More Info

Available in paperback or Kindle.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

NEW RELEASE!! BAIT - A Healthy Dose of Horror



VEGETARIAN? THERE ARE THOSE WHO WOULD PREY ON YOU! 

   BAIT - A Healthy Dose of Horror, a novella by Tom Hays, is a cautionary tale of two healthy, personable young women who, through their own naivety, willingly become the prey in a high stakes business of nutrition and… death!          Angela, a talented and beautiful blonde, and her room-mate and best friend Lacey, become easy targets in the hands of Robb, a handsome young businessman.

Will you be the next victim? Beware. You are what you eat. 

Thursday, January 8, 2015

File this in your library under "Business Opportunity"


Grape-Nuts are not really made from grape seeds are they? 

In fact, there are no parts from grapes in the cereal, and grapes don’t even have nuts, they have seeds.
  
So why would they claim that’s what they are? Nuts or grape seeds, either way they are not from grapes.

That’s false advertising in my book, and we have been eating them most of our lives under this purposeful false and misleading claim.

Anyone with me for a class action lawsuit?


Friday, August 15, 2014

SEEDS INTO THE WIND: One Thousand Days of Timeless Wisdom

Order NOW for your Christmas gifts!! 
  


NEW! From the author of Twisted By The WindSEEDS INTO THE WIND is a collection of over one thousand inspirational, motivational, witty and sometimes humorous quotations selected from “Here’s Your Pearl of the Day® from Tom Hays”, a daily “thought starter” email sent to subscribers and featured on selected websites for over fourteen years. The book features quotations from famous and infamous thinkers throughout history to the present day. Readers are encouraged to. each day. choose a random number between one and one thousand, look up that numbered quotation in the book and see what "Pearl of Wisdom" fate brings them that day.


List Price: $12.95   https://www.createspace.com/4878178 
5.5" x 8.5" (13.97 x 21.59 cm) 
Black & White on White paper
160 pages
Postwood Press
ISBN-13: 978-0692262467 (Custom)
ISBN-10: 0692262466
BISAC: Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy   

Thursday, September 12, 2013

¡¡Aprender Los Sonidos Del Inglés!!


Now ... for the first time!  Help for the Spanish-speaking child in the English language reading   environment!  Available on DVD.

Welcome to AHA! The English Language Sound Spectacular.  AHA! is a self-contained dual-language phonics enrichment program custom designed for native Spanish-speaking students.  Used in conjunction with Beginning English reading programs, it aids the child in unlocking English language sound-symbol relationships.  Used in conjunction with beginning Spanish reading programs, it teaches, in the language with which the 
child is most comfortable, the concept of decoding.

HIGH INTEREST FORMAT
High-interest, lavishly illustrated detective format helps the student solve the  mystery of English sounds and symbols via dual-language adventures including Sweet Thing and the Green Bean Beast, the Mighty Pie-in-the-Eye Sniper Caper, Mugs Money, the Truck-Driving  Duck Thug, the Case of the Vain Viper, and many others.
OVERVIEW
Lesson 1 - Long English Vowels
Lesson 2 - Short English Vowels
Lesson 3 - Consonants; with
                   special emphasis
                   on letters B,V,R,H,
                   and J, the most difficult
                   for Spanish speakers.

Order Aha! English Language Sound Spectacular at https://www.createspace.com/371449 or thru Amazon and other DVD sellers.


¡¡Aprender Los Sonidos Del Inglés!

Ahora ... por primera vez! Ayuda para el niño de habla española en el idioma Inglés entorno de lectura! Disponible en DVD.

Bienvenido a AHA! Espectacular El Idioma Inglés Sound. AHA! es un programa personalizado autónomo bilingüe fonética enriquecimiento diseñada para los estudiantes de habla española de origen. Utilizado junto con el comienzo de los programas de lectura en inglés, que ayuda al niño en el desbloqueo de inglés relaciones entre sonidos y símbolos. Utilizado junto con el comienzo de los programas de lectura en español, que enseña en el idioma con el que el niño se sienta más cómodo, el concepto de decodificación. 

GRAN FORMATO INTERÉS alto interés, formato detective profusamente ilustrado ayuda al estudiante a resolver el misterio de los sonidos y los símbolos en inglés a través de aventuras en dos idiomas como Sweet Thing y la bestia de la haba verde, el Poderoso Pie-en-el-ojo Francotirador Caper, tazas Dinero , el pato Thug Truck-Driving, el caso de la víbora Vain, y muchos otros.

PANORAMA
Lección 1 - Long Inglés Vocales Lección 2 - Short Inglés Vocales Lección 3 - Las consonantes, con especial énfasis en las letras B, V, R, H y J, el más difícil para los hispanohablantes.


Ordene Ajá! Idioma Inglés Sound Spectacular en https://www.createspace.com/371449 oa través de Amazon y otros vendedores de DVD.