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to Gerard and Clara Brandner. He comes from a large family, growing up
with five siblings, two brothers, and three sisters. Tom's father, Rod, now
deceased, was a prominent Baltimore City Homicide Detective. His
mother, Clara, resides in Dundalk, Maryland and visits North Carolina
several times throughout the year.
Tom attended the catholic schools of St. Anthony's and Mt. Carmel
during his elementary years, graduating from Kenwood Senior High in
1977. Tom earned an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts from Lenoir
Community College, located in Kinston, North Carolina in 1993. He
transferred to Mount Olive College to pursue a Bachelor of Science
Degree, which he achieved in 1996.
Tom met his wife Belinda in 1979, while working for W.W. Graingers in
Baltimore. They married in July of 1983. They moved to Florida for a
short period of time before settling in North Carolina in the winter of
eighty-five.
Tom and Belinda are blessed with two beautiful children, Thomas, 17 and
Ashley age 14. Both will be attending South Lenoir High School at the
start of the 2006 school year. Both children share many of their fathers
passions. Tom and Thomas are extreme football fans, with Tom being a
fan of the St. Louis Rams since early childhood, and Thomas adopting the
Philadelphia Eagles as his team. Ashley, not so much the sports fan,
enjoys other quality time with her father such as writing and drawing.
They spend countless hours laughing and enjoying each others company
in front of their computers. Ashley one day hopes to publish her own
childrens novel titled, "The Lord of All Imaginary Friends".
Tom has worked as an adjuster for a large insurance company for the
past eleven years. After many years of dabbling in short stories, Tom
got serious and devoted his energy to completing his first novel, The Rain.
He reflects back to his high school year book, where his English teacher
wrote, "Good Luck to a budding young author." Forty-something is still
young, isn't it?