“I’ve had an interest in Mars since I was a little boy watching NASA and other countries race to explore, so I wanted to share that love with my son,” Baird said.
Baird became a writer when his son was born, for fun and to give Liam “a cool present when he was older”. While he always enjoyed writing in the Clinton public school system, he saw it as a means to an end — to get a good grade. He only thought about writing after immersing himself in science fiction and fantasy reading as an adult.
Although he thinks it would be “nice” to one day be a full-time writer, Baird looks back on an 18-year career as a mechanical engineer with a plastics company in Clinton and “loves technology too much and enjoys the balance that I currently have engineering and.” Write together.”
Baird holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree in management from Worcester State University.
He recently moved to Holden, but his heart (and job) is in Clinton.
He grew up in Clinton and lived in the city full-time through college, then returned and brought real estate to Main Street for a few years and is still in town almost every day for work.
“The reason I lived there so long past elementary school is mainly because of the small-town charm. I like that Clinton is quieter and far from the big cities like Worcester or Boston, but still close enough if you want that lifestyle,” he said.
Baird relies on the support of his wife Kristin, his son, and family and friends. Kristin is a teacher and has beta tested and edited every one of his stories, as have his father and stepbrother Tom, although they are not big fans of science fiction and fantasy.
Another book, a novella titled Eggs in Two Baskets, is set in a post-apocalyptic near future, primarily in central Massachusetts and then in outer space as the story progresses, and was written to help Baird deal with stress from of the early pandemic.
“It’s a little quirky,” he said.
Aside from short stories in anthologies (often about dragons), Baird is self-published. He said he was an unknown quantity in the competitive publishing world, so he decided to write the best books he could, hire professional editors and cover artists (and an illustrator for his children’s book), and try to establish his name while doing the Control of the book retains content, some of which has very sentimentally important elements.
However, he intends to approach traditional book publishers with a work-in-progress.
“Because it’s so easy to post and market yourself on the internet and social media, that means anyone can do it… it means there are loads of people out there trying to do the same as.” She. Your potential readers are then deluged with options to choose from, and it’s very easy to get lost in the mix,” he said.
Baird has “a long list of other story ideas”. He’s been writing a little over a book a year on average, and plans to keep up that pace for as long as possible.
“My urge to create comes from creating things that I can share with others. I like making something and hearing what other people think and then using that feedback to improve the next project,” he said. Toy or character I like making ‘stuff’.’
“Writing satisfies that itch and motivates me to bring my next idea to life and share it with the world,” Baird added.
He also enjoys hiking, video games, card games like Magic: The Gathering, painting miniatures like Warhammer, and the occasional role-playing game.
For anyone who dreams of becoming a writer, Baird recommends not getting bogged down in the logistics and just start. He said many libraries have writing clubs to seek criticism and advice from, and many authors are willing to talk shop online or in person.
Baird usually does comic-cons and book signings at local bookstores and said he usually sells very well in person, so COVID took a hit on his sales. He has run one event in 2020 and one in Autumn 2021 but has enthusiastically returned to conventions, exhibitions and bookstores this year.
Find Baird and his books and learn more at timbaird.us. In addition to physical books online and in local bookstores, e-books are available through Amazon and two novels are available as Audible audiobooks. He is also on Facebook, timbaird.author and on Twitter, .
