Thomas. J. Occhipinti

Thomas J. Occhipinti is a second generation, Italian (& Sicilian)-American, born and raised in the Northeastern Ohio steel town of Youngstown(Struthers). At the age of eight, he won an acoustic guitar and eight free lessons in a raffle. His late father, John, was a professional guitarist, who sat in with visiting big bands in the 1930's era, including Harpo Marx's Big Band. Tom's older sister, Janice, introduced him to the new Rock & Roll and Motown sounds of 1950's and 60's. Inspired by artists such as James Taylor, Carole King, Paul Simon, and the Beatles, Tom began writing and performing original songs in coffee houses through out the Midwest while attending Youngstown State University in the mid 1970's. While still in college, he published his first songs with Bourne Music Company in New York City, working with the late veteran songplugger, Dick Stone. Mr. Stone had formerly worked at Paramount Music with the legendary Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and many others. Tom's first cut at Bourne Music was in 1977 by an artist with the last name of "Stewart." After Tom's initial excitement, his publisher, Dick Stone, then informed him, that the artist was not "Rod" Stewart, but "Doc" Stewart, a singing dentist from Pittsburgh. WELCOME TO THE MUSIC BUSINESS! Following graduation from Youngstown State University later that fall, Tom and his wife, Anne, relocated to Nashville in January of 1979. He began writing with Tree International, and eventually such artists as Mickey Gilley, Ronnie McDowell, Donna Meade, and others recorded his songs. Additionally, his songs were also placed in the hit "FAME" Television Series and used as regional jingles. During this time, Tom also worked as a counselor with troubled youth. In 1989, Tom wrote, published, and licensed an original song, "Video Diary", with the PANASONIC CORPORATION, for in-house promotional use. He also co-produced the accompanying two-minute film with a New York based production company. During that time, he also wrote and licensed a second song, "All the Way," which inspired PANASONIC'S 1992 Olympic campaign. The televised commercial debuted during a Thanksgiving Football game in 1991, and was seen by an estimated 22 million viewers. Video Diary was later re-licensed to Panasonic in 2008-2010, for an internet campaign, featuring Tom's daughter, Emilia. In 1997, Tom taught Commercial Songwriting at MTSU. The experience was very positive and convinced him to combine his free-lance writing with teaching. He enrolled at TSU and earned a Master's Degree in Education in 2001. Currently, Tom is a free-lance writer/publisher, speaker, and a Reading/Writing teacher/consultant. Tom is married to Anne, a veteran schoolteacher, and they are parents to a daughter, Emilia, and a son, Joseph. Tools, A Personal Memoir, is his first published e-book & CD/Digital audiobook.
 Thomas. J. Occhipinti

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T'was the Night Before Christmas... 

 (With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, may he forgive my doggerel...)

...and all through the shop,
all we minions were working,
   until ready to drop.

The ebooks were flying,
the covers were spare,
The edits were crazy,
   with "one more thing I must share!"

We waited for Santa,
'Cuz we love old Saint Nick,
But Hitch made us work,
   Waving 'round an old stick!

So slave we all did,
And made all your books,
So that Hitch would say now,
   that we're off the hook.

Come today we're off,
to rest up our fingers,
Our hats we will doff,
   No books they do linger.

But we'll all be back,
Don't give it a thought,
for like all wage slaves,
   we're easily bought.

We'll be back on the fifth,
all eager and fresh,
All ready for you,
   after a well-deserved rest.

So Hitch wants to say,
very strongly and loud,
THANKS ALL YOU GUYS,
  you're the best type of crowd.

Indy and Len and Hitch and the gang,
will be back on the 5th,
to do books with a BANG!

In the meantime don't worry,
if you're in a hurry,
'cuz some poor guy got stuck
   sitting here like a duck.

Your emails we'll receive,
so no need to grieve.
We'll be a bit slow,
but we're raring to go.

Your books will be worked on,
your edits still made,
we're just resting a bit,
   before we all fade.

So please excuse the delays;
It won't be for days;
we'll jump on your queries,
   for your wondrous new series.

We waited for Santa,
'Cuz we love old St. Nick,
And sure 'nuff he came,
   It wasn't a trick.

And as he rode off,
into the night,
I could swear I heard Hitch yell,
   "That Edit's Not Right!"

~~~~~~~~~~

We'll be back on the morning of January 5th; we'll be here parttime between now and then, thanks.