As the new year begins, I thought it was a fit time to officially welcome the new subscribers who have joined Pageturning in the last few weeks. Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Thomas Salerno and I’m a children’s author, freelance writer, and podcaster born and raised on Long Island, New York. I have contributed chapters for two nonfiction anthologies for children and families, Tolkien & Faith and The Christbearer, both published by Voyage Comics. My essays on faith, spirituality, and popular culture appear regularly on Catholic blogs such as Word on Fire and Busted Halo. I am a regular host and panelist on several podcasts produced by the StarQuest Network (SQPN).
I’ve been writing professionally for nearly four years, but I’ve been an avid storyteller all my life. Besides my passion for books and movies, I have a keen interest in the natural sciences, particularly paleontology and archaeology. I graduated from Stony Brook University (SUNY) with a BA in anthropology in 2015 and I was working as a biological anthropology intern at the American Museum of Natural History in 2020 when the COVID19 pandemic left me unemployed.
Since then, I’ve been developing my creative talents as a writer and audio presenter, but I would love to return to museum science if I ever get the chance. In the meantime, I have found another, very different calling — writing children’s books!
In May 2023 my first children’s manuscript (a middle grade nonfiction title) was accepted by a small Catholic publisher! The book is slated to appear in 2025. I also just finished drafting a second book (also middle grade nonfiction) which I plan to pitch at the Catholic Writers Guild online conference early this year. I have plans for several other children’s books and I’m currently working with a book coach to outline my first novel: a teen/young adult fantasy adventure.
I truly believe that, for me, writing for kids is a genuine vocation — I’ve never been happier with any other kind of work! Pageturning exists to give you a window into my creative world. I produce a monthly update/roundup post called The Pageturning Report bringing you links to my latest essays and podcasts, as well as brief updates about my books. I plan to make children’s publishing a greater focus of this newsletter in the year to come. There will be semi-regular reviews of children’s books and comics. I’d also love to interview other children’s book authors and learn more about their stories and their process.
I also have some exciting plans to reward paid subscribers! For the first quarter of this year I’ll be posting weekly progress reports on my fantasy novel as well as other neat behind-the-scenes posts about worldbuilding (and maybe even some early drafts of scenes and chapters)! If you love Tolkienian high fantasy, please consider upgrading to the paid tier. I’d love to have you join me on my novel-writing adventure.
I also write occasional spiritual reflections under the title Duc in Altum (Latin for “Put out into the deep” — cf. Luke 5:4). These will always remain free-to-read for all subscribers.
There is also a podcast for this newsletter called The Perilous Realms, where I discuss fantasy and science fiction storytelling. Unfortunately, I had to put the podcast on hiatus last year due to other commitments. Hopefully I can relaunch the show in 2024. In the meantime, you can still listen to the episodes I have up, which include a couple of very insightful interviews.
Thank you for joining me on this Substack journey. Please feel free to leave a comment below and introduce yourself. I’d love to get to know my subscribers better and even form a community around this little newsletter.
Thank you again for subscribing to Pageturning. May God bless you this year and always!
Thanks for the welcome and sharing more about your work history with us! Did your experience working in museum science influence your middle grade nonfiction book? :)