We were lucky to catch up with Thomas Thibeault recently and have shared our conversation below.
Thomas, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My purpose in writing is to expose injustice. I had experienced a grave injustice at work and had to sue my employer. The result was that I discovered, in a very personal manner, that injustice depends on the collusion of dependents in a hierarchy. Justice, therefore, demands that we fight the group bullying of those who perpetrate injustice.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started writing novels late in life, when I was sixty-three years old. I chose this genre because I am an avid reader and the novel is the most difficult form of telling a story. What is so special about novels is that they give us a real opportunity to engage with an event and wrestle with the meanings of those events. I had so many life experiences to draw on that there was no lack of material. You will see how varied those experiences were from the brief bio from my books, which is at the end of this section of the questionnaire.
The material of writing is sound combined with meaning, so every word is something we both hear and comprehend. In my writing, I have dealt with such subjects as a Civil War slave who stole a Confederate gunboat and escaped with his entire family. It is the story of Robert Smalls, a true hero, who actually existed. Robert’s life merits only a footnote or a passing reference in all of the standard works on the Civil War. He has been quite consciously forgotten. I decided to write about him mainly because he was forgotten. In the process of writing my other books it became clear that all of my characters are forgotten people who accomplished something in their lives which must be remembered. They are all people of great moral fibre and their stories are proof that ordinary people have extraordinary abilities. We just have to look closely and be willing to admire those who have been denied a voice.
Thomas Thibeault
Born in Canada, raised in Ireland, lives in the United States, Thomas has retired from a thirty
year teaching career which has taken him to Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and the Far East.
Half a century of wide reading, wider traveling, and concentrated thinking have provoked Thomas into writing. Those travels involved working as a deck hand, soldier, truck driver in Africa, art model in Ireland, train brakeman in Canada, and a tour guide at the pyramids.
Thomas brings a wealth of experience to writing which expresses our primal experiences. He lives in Western North Carolina with his wife, Anna, and their ten cats.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My three qualities are resilience, understanding, and humor. The many misfortunes that lurk in our lives unavoidable, mainly because they are unknown. How we deal with those attacks of bad fortune determine the impact of the attack. I grapple with the bad experiences and try to throttle some understanding from it. The main trick is to read about people who have had similar experiences and learn how they dealt with all those disappointments, betrayals, and depressing alternatives to happiness. It is of little use talking to other people, because our friends are as uncertain as we are about what is happening to us. That’s when the humor comes in. There is an old Irish saying that, “what the devil hates most of all is laughter.” That’s good advice. Summoning the sheer moxie to laugh at the devil is really what gets me through the difficult times.
Resilience is an interesting word. It comes from Latin and means “to leap back.” So hidden within the word is the advice to not only “bounce back” but also to “leap back into the fight.” Resilience is not patience, just putting up with it. To leap back into the fight demands that one be active. Sitting and bemoaning our fate is passive and just plain lazy.
The only advice I can give is that one develops a sense of humor and then writes down the jokes that swirl through your head. Those jokes will come in handy for the next time you meet your devils.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes, I am actively seeking work partners. I am looking for a literary agent who can negotiate the turbulent world of publishing. I can write, but I can not sell, so I am looking for someone with the business gene, the one that didn’t get into my DNA. Whoever that is must be able to work with me as an equal. S/he has to have the appreciation of my work which is essential to selling my books. Such people are rare because they have to be able to share their skills without ignoring the talents which I bring to the relationship. It’s like we are two parts of a jigsaw puzzle; the picture will never be complete if any of the parts are thrown away.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ridgetop-press.square.site/
Image Credits
Thomas Thibeault
