Thomas C. Renzi

Someone once said that, even while many of us may think our lives are dull, every life, reviewed from beginning to end, can serve as the basis of an interesting novel. As I look back on my own range of experiences, I can't help but agree with that observation. As a boy, I was always good in math and thought I would pursue a career in electrical engineering. Attending the University of Buffalo, however, I learned there were more dimensions to the field than geometric formulas and algebraic equations. I almost flunked out. Luckily, I was an enthusiastic musician, a drummer, and I slid over to the music program. (From my experience as a drum instructor, I've written a series of method books on drumming.These are available on my Web site www.tomrenzidrum-and-film-books.com)

Music took me on the road and then to Las Vegas where I played tennis by day and drummed in the casinos by night. In the meantime, I developed an avid interest in reading and writing and decided to return to UB to get a doctorate in English. I've taught writing, reading, film, and literature courses at Buffalo State College. I am enamored with film and have written several books on film adaptation--CORNELL WOOLRICH FROM PULP NOIR TO FILM NOIR (McFarland, 2006), H.G. WELLS: SIX SCIENTIFIC ROMANCES ADAPTED FOR FILM (Scarecrow Press, 1992), and JULES VERNE ON FILM (McFarland, 1998), these last two reprinted in paperback in 2004. I've also written the book SCREWBALL COMEDY AND FILM NOIR, comparing what first appears to be two disparate genres. Through Kindle Publishing, I've published two books for Amazon, NEIGHBORHOOD STORIES and WRITING LIKE THE DICKENS. I live in a suburb of Buffalo, playing my drums every day, making some ambitious attempts at fiction writing, discouraging deer and rabbits from eating my shrubbery, and spending time with my beautiful wife Deborah and my remarkable son Matt.