Hello and welcome to my website.
I’m T.R.Todd, an award-winning author and former international journalist. I have written several books, which run the gamut from fiction, to non-fiction, to memoirs. I have also been known to collaborate on a film or two. If it’s a great story, I want to write it.
Speaking of great stories : my latest collaboration, Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History, published by Rowman & Littlefield, has taken the top spot at the 2023 International Book Awards in the Memoir/Biography category. This book has also been awarded “Best Memoir” from the Track and Field Writers of America.
While I am happy to win on a personal level, it is with complete humility that I tip my hat to the truly incredible Pauline Davis. You – and your story – deserve every bit of this recognition, and so much more
What’s next? In 2022, I decided to pause all other writing projects to focus exclusively on ghost writing. Some projects will be public, others will be private. Either way, I take enormous pride and pleasure in helping my clients share their stories with the world.
Keep an eye on this page for more news and updates!
With thanks,
T R Todd
‘Running Sideways’ takes 1st place in International Book Awards
The inspiring story of a girl who grew up in one of the poorest communities in The Bahamas and rose to capture a country’s heart along with two Olympic gold medals took first place in biography category in the International Book Awards. For the full story, click...
read moreT.R. Todd appears on Discovery’s Shark Week
Pigs of Paradise author T.R. Todd explains the history of the Exuma swimming pigs and how he first found out about this phenomenon. Watch now:...
read moreWorld Athletics partners with ‘Running Sideways’
For many young people from underprivileged backgrounds, athletics is a way out of poverty. On the tiny island of The Bahamas, at a time when the country was yet to find Olympic success, Pauline Davis – a young woman born and raised in the poor neighbourhood of Bain...
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‘Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track & Field History’
When Pauline Davis first began to run, it wasn’t with any thought of future Olympic glory. A product of the poor neighborhood of Bain Town in The Bahamas, she carried the family’s buckets every day to fetch fresh water—running sideways, sprinting barefoot from bullies, to get the buckets of water home without spilling. But when a seasoned track coach saw Pauline sprinting, he saw the heart of a champion.
In Running Sideways, Pauline Davis shares her inspiring story. Born and raised in the ghetto, Pauline fought through poverty, inequality, racism, and political machinations from her own country to beat the odds and become a two-time Olympic gold medalist, the first individual gold medalist in sprinting from the Caribbean, the first woman of color on the World Athletics council, and a central figure in the Russian anti-doping campaign. A casualty herself of the doping plague that hit track and field—she wouldn’t be awarded her individual gold medal until Marion Jones was infamously stripped of her medals for doping—Pauline dedicated her years on the World Athletics council to clean sport and fair play.
Running Sideways is a book about determination, faith, focus, and an incredible will to succeed. It’s about a trailblazer in women’s sports, not just in The Bahamas, not just in track and field, but on the global stage.
‘The Sandbox Diary’
Thomas Richards knew little of Abu Taqleed. But when the mysterious, oil-rich sheikhdom launches its first newspaper, enticing top journalists from around the world, the opportunity is too much to pass up for a journalist looking to make his mark. At a time when newspapers are dying, The Falcon promises prestige, seductive salaries and a western way of life.
Little does he know this illusion is about to unravel.
Surrounded by decadence, censorship and hypocrisy, he quickly becomes disenchanted with The Falcon. When a sheikh’s servant is tortured and killed in the desert, Thomas is forced to make a choice: does he embrace the illusion, or risk everything by chasing the scoop of a lifetime?
‘Pigs of Paradise: The Story of the World-Famous Swimming Pigs’
Now Available!
Skyhorse Publishing
In the middle of paradise, with billionaires and celebrities for neighbors, there is an island populated only by Swimming Pigs. There was a time when these animals were largely unknown to the world. It would not be a ruthless pirate, pioneering loyalists, a notorious drug kingpin, or the infamous Fyre Festival that would unveil Exuma to the world, but rather the most unlikely of creatures. Appearing in magazines, viral videos, newspapers, commercials, TV shows and countless selfies, the Swimming Pigs of Exuma are now a bucket list sensation and have been named one of the marvels of the universe.
But how did they reach this celebrity status? What made them so famous? And why, in February 2017, did so many of them die?
Pigs of Paradise is an unlikely story of humble beginnings and the swift rise to stardom. With interviews from historians, world-renowned ecologists, famous pig owners and boat captains, it thoughtfully considers not only what this phenomenon says about these animals but also about us.
‘The Man Behind the Bow Tie: Arthur Porter on Business, Politics and Intrigue’
Now Available!
Figure 1 Publishing
A revealing memoir of a fascinating and controversial medical doctor and the former spy watchdog of CSIS who is at the centre of the largest fraud investigation in Canadian history.
How does it feel to be deemed guilty before trial? To be held in a cutthroat Panamanian prison while suffering from terminal lung cancer? How does it feel to rise to the top of the medical and public arenas in your adopted country, only to crash miserably to earth under allegations of fraud and money-laundering?
In short: What is it like to be Dr. Arthur Porter?
There are few contemporary figures in Canada more intriguing and controversial than the former spy watchdog of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. A physician by trade, Porter, always in his iconic bow tie, has been described as intelligent, charismatic and relentless in his ambitions. Others have called him deceitful, manipulative and unscrupulous.
Pick up the e-book or hard copy here: http://www.amazon.ca/The-Man-Behind-Bow-Tie/dp/1927958121
‘Storm of Hate’
Now Available!
The Key Publishing House
Janna and Nate scratch and climb their way to the attic as the flood rises. The melancholy SWAT officer, Darren, barely hangs on as he tries to maintain a thin thread of order in the Louisiana Superdome. Ronald, the greedy developer trapped in the French Quarter, is fixated on money and the woman in the black fur coat. They could not be more estranged, more different, and yet their lives are about to collide.
Through its pounding, gritty, shifting narrative, Storm of Hate considers the weight of the past, the horror of the present, and the undying hope for the future. It explores humanity’s paradox—while meaning is shaped by others, we are all very much alone.
Pick up the e-Book or hard copy here: http://www.amazon.ca/Storm-Hate-Tales-Hurricane-Katrina/dp/1926780256
Why hire me?
I believe everyone has a story. Some stories are of public interest. Others are of personal interest. Writing a book about one’s life is an experience I think everyone can appreciate. It is an act of reflection, commemoration and legacy. The chronicling of life’s great thoughts and events is critical to how we learn and grow as a society, and as people.
I believe in the good stories. I believe in the stories that explore uncomfortable or controversial subjects. All stories are important.
If it’s the right fit, I want to write your story.
With a background in journalism and expertise in public relations, I know how to write with both flare and discretion. I know how to make your life’s history come alive.
But don’t just take my word for it. My latest collaboration, Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History,recently took home the top spot at the 2023 International Book Awards in the Memoir/Biography category. This book was also awarded “Best Memoir” from the Track and Field Writers of America.
Interested in learning more? Contact me for a complimentary chat to see if I am the right ghost writer for you.
