Tom is a retired journalist, having served as a reporter, copy editor and managing editor for two Ohio newspapers and as a copy editor and wire editor for a newspaper in Northern New York. He also served as an intelligence traffic analyst in the United States Marine Corps from 1973 to 1986. His duty stations included Japan, Spain, North Carolina and at the National Security Agency. His retirement provided the opportunity to create his first novella, The Day the World Changed, set against the backdrop of a global recession.