Writing - especially Fiction. Reading (primarily 19th century British and Gothic, Arthurian, Spiritual and religious, history, philosophy), medieval history, genealogy, religion, spirituality, psychology, the Law of Attraction.
Music
Broadway - especially Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Victor Herbert, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Boublil & Schonberg
Soft Rock - especially 80s
Movies
Gone With the Wind, Camelot, Fight Club, Wuthering Heights (1939), The Wizard of Oz, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Kingdom of Heaven, Tarzan films (especially Johnny Weismuller), Phantom of the Opera, Remains of the Day, Howards End, Tristan and Isolde.
Television
Television is pretty much a wasteland. About the only thing I watch on it are movies, Masterpiece Theatre, The Office, and the news.
Books
Fiction - The Mists of Avalon, Gone With the Wind, Les Miserables, anything by Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, the Brontes, L. Frank Baum, Louisa May Alcott, Frances Burney, Mrs. Radcliffe, Samuel Richardson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Willa Cather, Helen Hooven Santmyer, Ayn Rand, Anne Tyler, Edgar Rice Burroughs, E.M. Forster, Anne Rice, and all Arthurian Fiction - medieval to modern, and some but not all of the books I've written
NonFiction - The Bible, Ask and It is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, The Closing of the Western Mind.
Heroes
Anyone who follows his or her dream despite what anyone else thinks.
"Find your Dream. Follow It. Tell Everyone Else to Buzz Off." - Abraham-Hicks
"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint' then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." - Vincent Van Gogh "If everything is under control, then you're going to slow." - Mario Andretti
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo,Michigan
Graduated: 2000
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Ph.D.
Major: British Literature - 19th century
Minor: Medieval literature
1995 to 2000
Northern Michigan University
Marquette,Michigan
Graduated: 1995
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Master's Degree
Major: English Literature
1993 to 1995
Northern Michigan University
Marquette,Michigan
Graduated: 1993
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Major: English
Minor: History
1989 to 1993
Gwinn High School
Gwinn,Michigan
Graduated: 1989
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Clubs: National Honor Society, French Club, Drama Club, Chorus, High School Bowl
I am the author of the Marquette Trilogy: Iron Pioneers, The Queen City, and Superior Heritage. The trilogy is a multi-generation saga ranging over 7 generations from 1849-1999 set in Upper Michigan. I introduce several families in the initial volume, who ultimately all intermarry until the hero of the third novel is descended from all the early pioneer families. The novels concentrate on roots, family, home, and wanting to leave home and the struggle to do so. It is a testament to courage and survival amid all odds, and the characters continually quest for the meaning of life and happiness.
NOVEL SUMMARIES:
IRON PIONEERS, The Marquette Trilogy: Book One: When iron ore is discovered in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the 1840s, newlyweds Gerald Henning and his beautiful socialite wife Clara travel from Boston to the little village of Marquette on the shores of Lake Superior. They and their companions, Irish and German immigrants, French Canadians, and fellow New Englanders face blizzards and near starvation, devastating fires and financial hardships. Yet these iron pioneers persevere until their wilderness village becomes integral to the Union cause in the Civil War and then a prosperous modern city. Meticulously researched, warmly written, and spanning half a century, Iron Pioneers is a testament to the spirit that forged America.
THE QUEEN CITY, The Marquette Trilogy: Book Two: During the first half of the twentieth century, Marquette grows into the Queen City of the North. Here is the tale of a small town undergoing change as its horses are replaced by streetcars and automobiles, and its pioneers are replaced by new generations who prosper despite two World Wars and the Great Depression. Margaret Dalrymple finds her Scottish prince, though he is neither Scottish nor a prince. Molly Bergmann becomes an inspiration to her grandchildren. Jacob Whitman’s children engage in a family feud. The Queen City’s residents marry, divorce, have children, die, break their hearts, go to war, gossip, blackmail, raise families, move away, and then return to Marquette. And always, always they are in love with the haunting land that is their home.
SUPERIOR HERITAGE, The Marquette Trilogy: Book Three: The Marquette Trilogy comes to a satisfying conclusion as it brings together characters and plots from the earlier novels and culminates with Marquette’s sesquicentennial celebrations in 1999. What happened to Madeleine Henning is finally revealed as secrets from the past shed light upon the present. Marquette’s residents struggle with a difficult local economy, yet remain optimistic for the future. The novel’s main character, John Vandelaare, is descended from all the early Marquette families in Iron Pioneers and The Queen City. While he cherishes his family’s past, he questions whether he should remain in his hometown. Then an event happens that will change his life forever.
NARROW LIVES: A Novel - Winner of the 2009 Reader Views Literary Award for Best Historical Fiction Narrow Lives is the story of those whose lives were affected by Lysander Blackmore, the sinister banker first introduced to readers in The Queen City. It is a novel that stands alone, yet readers of The Marquette Trilogy will be reacquainted with some familiar characters. Written as a collection of connected short stories, each told in first person by a different character, Narrow Lives depicts the influence one person has, even in death, upon others, and it explores the prisons of grief, loneliness, and fear self-created when people doubt their own worthiness.
THE ONLY THING THAT LASTS: A Novel
The Only Thing That Lasts is written as the autobiography of Robert O’Neill, the famous novelist first introduced in The Marquette Trilogy. As a young boy during World War I, Robert is forced to leave his South Carolina home to live in Marquette with his grandmother and aunt. He finds there a cold climate, but many warmhearted friends as he matures into adulthood and becomes a famous writer. The Only Thing That Lasts is a joyful, lighthearted, yet meaningful story of home and hearth.
Mr. Tichelaar says of this work, “I wanted to write an old-fashioned novel in the style of Louisa May Alcott or L. Frank Baum’s Aunt Jane’s Nieces, or even Marquette’s own Carroll Watson Rankin, whose Dandelion Cottage first made Marquette the setting for a novel. 'The Only Thing That Lasts' is the first novel I ever wrote.”
MY REVIEWS: My fans have referred to me as the James Michener of Upper Michigan and said that Iron Pioneers immortalizes Marquette the way Gone With the Wind immortalized the Old South.
Praise for IRON PIONEERS:
If you're the sort of person who likes a nice long novel with lots of things going on, this is the book for you. - Andrew Grgurich, The Mining Journal
Iron Pioneers is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Two thumbs way up. - Book.of.the. Moment
Praise for THE QUEEN CITY:
Tichelaar has a knack for creating characters that the reader connects with. You know you've just finished reading a good book when you have to stop and remind yourself that these aren't people who will be coming over for dinner later, or whom you'll bump into at the grocery store; but rather characters in a story. They're that real. - Book.of.the.Moment
“If you are from the U.P., ever visited the U.P., or have always wondered where the heck the U.P. is--grab these books, curl up somewhere comfy, and ENJOY!!” - Gretchen Green, UP Native
Praise for SUPERIOR HERITAGE:
"Customers have been raving about these historical novels." - Snowbound Books, Marquette, Michigan
“I am now and forever a huge Tyler Tichelaar fan. He's a man with a wonderful gift for story telling, and a knack for presenting historical facts in a way that can rival any great historical fiction author.” – Bethany Andrews, Book.of.the.Moment
Praise for NARROW LIVES:
“Narrow Lives is a must for its fresh format and unique approach to prose.” – Midwest Book Review
“Tyler R. Tichelaar's writing is rich and powerful.” – Reader Views
I'm also the owner of Superior Book Promotions. Contact me to review your book or help you with your editing and proofreading needs: www.superiorbookpromotions.com
Besides writing, I enjoy public speaking, meeting other writers, reading, genealogy, watching movies, being outdoors, hanging out with friends, drinking coke, eating pizza, listening to music, going for walks along magnificent Lake Superior, and traveling. Besides my international year long book tour I am planning (still in the works), I really want to go to Germany and the Netherlands.
Who I'd like to meet: Jesus, Moses, Joan of Arc, OPRAH!, Charles Dickens, Anne Tyler, St. Teresa of Avila, OPRAH!, Mother Teresa, Winston Churchill, FDR, OPRAH!, Princess Diana, Pope John Paul II, Norman Vincent Peale, OPRAH!, Suzie Ormond, Esther and Jerry Hicks, Abraham, Practicers of the Law of Attraction, OPRAH!, High Vibration Allowers, mystics, anyone with a good heart, Oh and did I mention OPRAH!.
Of course I loooved the Tony's! It is the single greatest night of the year. I thought Neil Patrick Harris did a fab job as "emcee." I honestly didn't think he would be "peppy" enough for the role. But his jokes were spot on, if a little more subdued than former hosts'. I loved his little song at the end.
Hair!!! I didn't know they had revived it. I must confess I really only keep up on British theatre. Loved the performances they did.
I wish Jane Fonda had won. She has a blog online now, and I follow her on twitter. She's so lovely.
My father really enjoyed the Billy Elliott number but I wasn't that impressed either. I'm much more a fan of older musicals, like "Hello, Dolly!" and "My Fair Lady", so the newer musicals (with the exception of "The Lion King") generally don't enthuse me. And don't even get me started on "Spring Awakening"!
I think Elton John was a bit miffed that he didn't get the award for score. He looked it a bit. I was surprised he didn't.
Angela Lansbury! What a lady. She probably did win the award because of who she is and admitted so much in her speech. There were some great people in the same boat with her.
Did you hear the BBC is doing an adaptation of Austen's "Emma"? Sandy Welch is the writer. In fact, she wrote it in the 90's and the BBC were going to do it then but then they found out that the movie version with Gwenyth Paltrow was coming out and they postponed it -- until now! Thought that might interest you. Something to check out whenever it is broadcast on PBS. Although more and more these shows are put on youtube as soon as they are broadcast in Britain.
Did I hear that someone was having a bday?????? Well, welcome to the club of "You Will be 40 in 2 years." I just finished your book. I was reading bits and pieces as time permitted. A four day weekend gave me the time to hit it hard. It was a good read. I will order the 2nd one from Amazon.
Happy Birthday to you (cha cha cha), Happy Birthday to you (cha cha cha), Happy Birthday Dear TYYYYYYLLLLERRRR... Happy Birthday to you!!!! AAAAAnd maaany mooooore. LOL Hope you have a great day Tyler!! Miss you SOOOO much!
Hi, stopping by to wish you the best for your upcoming birthday.
I've written a book of short plays and two books of poetry. One poetry book is of peace called “Aspire Peace” and I will donate all proceeds from sales of the book to charity, please add the site (click on the picture below) for this book and pass the peace along...
Need a script written? I am available to write scripts! Need a book adapted? Done that. Need a scripted based on a true story? Done that. On your comic book? I'd like to try that... Please contact me here... or at one.essential.moment(at) gmail.com
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So, what did you think about LITTLE DORRIT? Really the only quip I have about it is that the secret of Matthew Mcfadyn's parentage and Amy's was rather convoluted. I still don't quite understand it. And Amy was much too quick to forgive his "mother" when she gave her the letter, as though Amy had known all along. Andy Serkis was a bit too much with the french accent, and mannerisms. But overall I quite enjoyed the adaptation. Not as great as BLEAK HOUSE I would say, but quite touching.
Are you watching WALLANDER on Masterpiece Mystery?
Online Now!
