Welcome
Original Watercolour by Barbara Paleczny SSND
Thank you for visiting. This website presents background about my books and the people who helped along the way.
Summary for new visitors
The Tale of Indigo. Cover illustration by Barbara Paleczny
I published my first book, The Tale of Indigo, in November 2022. I would describe it as literary poetry. I quickly followed that first book with my debut novel, A Life on Water, in 2023. In November, 2024, I released A Bill to Pay, a two-act play.
A Bill to Pay. Cover illustration by Barbara Paleczny
Update for new visitors
This year, I released a second edition of A Life on Water with a new title, Breath of the Adamastor.
A Life on Water (the first edition) featured this view of Lisbon from the Rio Tejo, illustrated by Helen Doner.
The new cover illustration was created by Suzanne Paleczny. The text layout was done by the author using GIMP software.
The new title reflects the deeper mythic and environmental layers at the story’s core. Breath of the Adamastor captures both the mood and the thematic focus more accurately, inviting new readers while offering a refined experience for those returning to the story. I look forward to hearing your comments.
Switching to the new title in the copy on this website will take some time. Rest assured that the story itself didn’t change much. The first chapter has a new opening and the transitions within Chapter One flow more smoothly.
This brings us up-to-date—well, almost.
Newest Addition to this website: PRESS ROOM
Professional materials for book industry partners
To assist you in your roles as journalists, booksellers, librarians, educators, reviewers, podcasters, and leaders of book clubs and reading groups, Cavalarico Books provides the information you need to discuss, sell, teach, review, and acquire our books.
Our collaborative information includes press releases, backgrounders, synopses, authour bios, high-res photos of book covers, metadata sheets, educational resources such as a Q&A, and discussion information to assist with articles, acquisition decisions, programming, and professional partnerships.
See Press Room on the top navigation bar.
Our ‘virtual’
bookstore
is open
Screen capture of the feature on books.by/timothy-paleczny
You can order Tim’s trade paperbacks directly from our 'virtual' bookstore
print-on-demand
6x9-inch (152 x 229 mm) softcover format only
delivered to your door
For an update of outlets where you can pick up your copies of Tim’s books, see Distribution.
Readers’ Comments
The overall effect
is excellent
“The characters are strong, the dialogue is well written and the story is excellent. The various storylines are built carefully and each is engaging. You feel that you know the characters. As they start to connect and weave together the overall effect is excellent.”
Mark Skalin
reviewing A Life on Water
More Graham Greene than James Bond, but more charm and warmth than either of them
“I’m a sucker for wartime shenanigans and science, so this was great for me, with spying and marine biology against the backdrop of WW2 Portugal, plus walk on parts for Ian Fleming and Kim Philby. The characters all came off the page. Pulling off multiple viewpoints and timelines is tricky but worked. The story weaves together a cast of characters as a nuanced way into the humanity and morality of the hard moral choices forced by wartime, more Graham Greene than James Bond, but more charm and warmth than either of them.”
Matthew Hurst
reviewing A Life on Water
A wonderful tale
of historical fiction
Set during the 1930s and 1940s in Portugal, A Life on Water is “full of detail, complex characters, and really interesting factual info concerning the activities of neutral countries during the war, the involvement of the church, etc. that is not well known … [and what] really stands out for me about your writing is how visual it is. You create a strong image of the time and place. I hope you are planning to write it as a screenplay. The imagery is magical, especially of the village and religious events. It would make a fantastic Netflix series.”
Suzanne Paleczny
Whitehorse