Before becoming a sexagenarian, author Thom Thomas has successfully published his debut novel derived from Charles Dickens’ \"A Christmas Carol,\" titled \"…give or take a pebble.\" This book, which is the beginning of a four-book chronicle, tells the story of Dr. Joshua Krump, a man who survives poverty, tragedies and deaths to complete his medical education and become a surgeon. Now, he releases the second book in the series, titled \"...give or take a shilling.\" Thomas has always had a creative mind and recalls writing his first unpublished book way back in seventh grade. With that same childlike imagination, he continued to wonder, explore and eventually penned the possible futures of Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim in his new novel. Thomas also introduces other interesting characters like the descendants of both the Cratchits and Fred Stewart (Scrooge’s nephew). Thomas’ endearing story about true love and deep friendships is set against the backdrop of mid-19th century London, where the working class greatly struggle with their dreams and their stark realities. It is here that the surgeon and apothecary Joshua Krump, Rudy, an up and coming street thug, and Belinda Cratchit who is in love with Krump, play out their roles to deliver a compelling story and message. Breathing more color and life into Dickens’ characters to reveal their strengths and weaknesses, and highlighting the grit of London’s working class, Thomas has given an impressive personal touch to a classic tale. \"...give or take a shilling.\" is yet another memorable tale that ingeniously uses intrigue and murder, twists and turns, heroes and villains, to depict how true love and deep friendships can survive even the worst of circumstances. For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com. About the Author Thom Thomas was born in rural Clearfield County, Pa., in 1950. After attending Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he had a 35-year career in manufacturing management. Back in seventh grade, he started his first book: \"S.E.X. the X.\" It was a spy story with such memorable chapter titles as: \"Unchain me Melanie and Come Into my Parlor Said the Villain to the Spy.\" By the way, S.E.X. the X stood for Sir Elbert Xenon the Tenth. He has no clue where those few pages are hidden. While in manufacturing, he helped author a process manual, wrote business plans, job descriptions, and articles for the plant paper. Then at age 59, he began to write his first novel. Source: PRWEB