A Voice for Independent Authors
― E.A. Bucchianeri
REVIEWING TODAY: PERSISTENCE, THEN PEACE BY TOM MACH
With a somewhat dreadful penchant for creating titles more suitable to his developmental background in market research and analysis, ad copy writing, and article production, Tom Mach writes a memoir devoted solely to his writing life called Persistence, Then Peace. And at first glance, this creation reads suspiciously like some kind of research project on a topic that is thorough in its devoted attention to the details – with exhaustive lists categorized and sorted – but including a concentrated lack of emotional involvement unusual in a memoir, other than annotated comments on how one can just imagine “the devastation that I felt.” As often as not, such observations are placed in little ad-copy type boxes which seem completely out of place in such a memoir, as do the representative but “fictional” photographs he appropriates to illustrate his book.
Coming at Persistence, Then Peace from a somewhat different angle, however, one appreciates the simple but confused honesty of Tom Mach the writer. Almost as if he were a created character in a novel – the kind of character who seems to be searching for himself through trial and error, with a kind of self-defined existence that begs for explanation. And then, one realizes that the title he has chosen is actually a perfect piece of ad copy about himself. This story is all about persistence. The kind of compulsive and disciplined approach to subject that defines someone on a mission. A mission to produce. A purpose just to write. Judging from the various accolades awarded to Tom Mach from the outside, his own inner judgements of his writing merits are often warranted, though he often treats them as simple bullet points to be listed. He has made of his life a writer’s life, and he rarely deviates from this theme, except to mention: oh yes he has a wife and kids, and he has experienced a personal transformation from psychic-believer toward a surrendering unto God, wherein lies the eventual peace that he has found.
Joel R. Dennstedt – Reviewer Author-Journalist-World Traveler
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In concert with the sentiment above, I share my professional reviews of books by Indie Authors. I am an official top reviewer for Readers’ Favorite, a highly-regarded and award-winning online review site. Adhering to their standards of professionalism, ethics, and formatting, I offer my life-affirming voice to a greatly deserving field: Indie Authors.