Prayers and Well Wishes for Tom Piccirilli

I was all set to write a lighthearted piece of fluff this morning. An ode to the end of summer and the great beach-party-skin movies. With the redoubtable Hardbodies as the main subject. Then I heard something awful and all the lightness went out of the day.


Tom Piccirilli is a writer of noir, horror, westerns, literary, poetry, and pretty much any other genre you can conceive of. He's the type who confounds publishers who like their writers to work in one easily pigeonholed genre. He's also the type who delights readers who are above such restrictive boundaries.

I can't quite remember the first time I read or even heard of Tom. Surely it was in a magazine or anthology. But before long his name was appearing everywhere. Tom has always been as amazingly prolific as he is unpredictable.

Lately Tom has found a nice niche for himself in writing suspense-crime for the mass market. His Bantam publications have received universal acclaim. Tom never quit the small press through, and he continues to work with the best of the independent publishers.

But then there is Tom the man. I know him mostly from interaction on message boards and email, but I've met him in person, too. We've been friends a long time.

I banned someone from the Horror Drive-In message boards a while back. This individual had been pissing a lot of people off, and I was on the fence about doing something about it. When Pic (as Tom's friends often call him) sent me a message saying that he was leaving after being insulted by the troll in question, that was the deciding factor for me.

Not only is Tom a wonderful writer and a good friend, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of cinema. Genre and exploitation stuff, certainly, but really all types of movies. Tom's passion for film is the equal of anyone I've ever met.

Oh yeah. The bad news I referred to at the beginning of this piece. I heard that Tom is about to undergo brain surgery. I hoped, prayed, that it was one of those idiotic internet rumors that we hear from time to time. No, unfortunately, it's true. Tom Piccirilli is a very sick man.

So if you are the praying type, please say a few words for Tom and his wife, Michele. I heard something about a drive to raise some money for his plight. When I know something more about it, I'll let you know. I'm not a rich man, but I will donate something.

I am unsure of Tom's standing with health insurance, but writers tend to be woefully remiss in that area. It's tough for people in that trade.

In the meantime, not only for Tom, but for yourself, please consider buying one of Tom's many books. I could provide links, but I'm sure you can do an Amazon or B&N search. You won't go wrong with anything under his byline, but my personal favorites are Headstone City, The Cold Spot, November Mourns, The Cold Spot, and one that is out of print, Shards.

Tom is tough. You can see it in his writing and you can see it when you talk to him. But he has a hell of a fight ahead of him. Let's please show that we, the community, are behind him 100%. Buy a book or two. Throw in some money when the donation drive begins. Say some prayers and send out positive energy. The guy is going to need all the help he can get.