APPLEWOOD'S AUTHOR
Thomas (Tom) Collins began his career as a CPA with Price Waterhouse and later became one of the pioneer entrepreneurs of the information technology industry. When he retired from the commercial world, he began his third career as an author, writing about leadership and management and creating the mystery series, Mark Rollins Adventures. His works have won top awards at the Independent Press Awards and the NYC Big Book Awards.
When his son, Stephen, and his wife, Robin, purchased the historic bed and breakfast inn, Applewood Manor, Collins became interested in its history and the Asheville area. Stephen suggested that he write a series of stories for the inn’s website. That was the beginning of what is now called Stories from Applewood Manor, a task that the author thoroughly enjoys as he explained:
Asheville is an easy city to fall in love with. The more I write about it the more enamored I have become. Asheville is more than a place—it has a rich history filled with extraordinary people who shaped its unique diverse culture. It has its own mysteries and secrets, a robust fondness for art, music, and festivals and the list of things to do and see is impressive. I hope people will enjoy reading the Stories as much as I do writing them. In addition to reading them on this website, guests can have their own copy by purchasing the private edition book, Stories from Applewood Manor, printed exclusively for guests of the inn. Signed copies are also available from my website, www.TomCollinsAuthor.com.
Applewood Manor plays a pivotal role in Tom Collins’ new Mark Rollins Adventure, Treasure of the Diary. In the novel, three college students find an old Civil War diary. Their find sends them to the Western North Carolina mountains in search of a stash of stolen gold. And, of course, they pick Applewood Manor as the base for their search efforts. Things get dicey when the students discover that they are not the only ones after the gold.
Tom writes from his home in Franklin, Tennessee, where his characters come to life and frequent familiar places in the bucolic middle Tennessee landscape and the majestic mountains of Western North Carolina. His book Exploring Asheville—Its History, Attractions, Mysteries, Ghosts, and Tall Tales earned the top spot as the 2022 winner in the regional literature category at both the Independent Press Awards and the NYC Big Books Awards. Also winning in the Big Book Awards was his novel, Beyond Visual Range, as a 2022 Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction. You will find his books in your favorite neighborhood bookstore or online source, and they are available in print, digital, and audio formats.
MARK ROLLINS ADVENTURE SERIES:
- Mark Rollins’ New Career & the Women’s Health Club
- Mark Rollins and the Rainmaker
- Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer
- The Claret Murders, a Mark Rollins Adventure
- Diversion, a Mark Rollins Adventure
- Beyond Visual Range, a Mark Rollins Adventure
- Treasure of the Diary, a Mark Rollins Adventure
OTHER WORKS:
- The Language of Excellence
- Stories from Applewood (a private edition)
- Exploring Asheville—Its History, Attractions, Mysteries, Ghosts, and Tall Tales
- Marion Collins Remembers, Old Sayings and Lessons for Life
- My Journey, Alice Elsie Welch Collins
More About The Author's Books:
Guest rooms include reading copies of Tom Collins' books. Onsite purchase is available for the private edition, Stories from Applewood Manor, and a limited inventory of other books by the author. His book Exploring Asheville—Its History, Attractions, Mysteries, Ghosts, and Tall Tales earned the top spot as the 2022 winner in the regional literature category at both the Independent Press Awards and the NYC Big Books Awards. Also winning in the Big Book Awards was his novel, Beyond Visual Range, as a 2022 Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction. You will find his books in your favorite neighborhood bookstore or online source, and they are available in print, digital, and audio formats.
Mark Rollins Mystery Adventure Series:
Book #1—Mark Rollins’ New Career & the Woman’s Health Club:
Rollins becomes the owner of an exclusive club for very wealthy women of Nashville. An investment banker husband of one of the club members is reported missing. Rollins discovers that the money man is running for his life, and the hunters are close behind.
Book #2—Mark Rollins and the Rainmaker:
Drawing on the author’s thirty years of experience working with law firms, he opens the doors on a world of greed, lust, and crime. In the Rainmaker, someone wants to kill the law firm’s public face—its rainmaker.
Book #3—Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer:
In this book, a lawyer and rising political star dies in Nashville’s notorious Printer’s Alley with a bullet through his head!
Book #4—The Claret Murders:
The novel is the author’s third law firm mystery. In The Claret Murders, there is a devastating Nashville flood, a beautiful lawyer, a deadly secret, and a wine to die for.
Book #5—Diversion:
The term is used by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to denote the unlawful channeling of pharmaceuticals to the illicit marketplace. The opioid crisis fuels mystery and murder in Nashville and rural middle Tennessee.
Book #6—Beyond Visual Range:
This winner of the 2022 Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction at the NYC Big Book Awards is the story of two women drone pilots. They battle in outer space to defend their country from a rogue military element threatening to overthrow the government. One is a former fighter pilot who, after a crash, now flies from a wheelchair as a drone warrior.
Book #7—Treasure of the Diary:
Three college students find an old Civil War diary. Their find sends them to the Western North Carolina mountains in search of a stash of stolen gold.
Other Books and Works:
The Language of Excellence:
A guidebook for achieving sustained long-term business success, the book has been hailed as one of the best five books on the subject of leadership and management.
Stories from Applewood Manor:
This book is a private edition exclusively for guests of the historic inn. It includes stories about Applewood Manor and the city of Asheville, plus area attractions, mysteries, and myths.
Exploring Asheville—Its History, Attractions, Mysteries, Ghosts, and Tall Tales:
This winner of 2022 top award for regional literature at both the Independent Press Awards and the NYC Big Book Awards is the commercial version of selected Stories from Applewood Manor.
Marion Collins Remembers, Old Sayings and Lessons for Life:
This biographical pamphlet relates the life and lineage of the author’s father (grandfather of Applewood Manor owner, Stephen Collins) and includes his wit and wisdom as recorded over his adult life in a school notebook.
My Journey, Alice Elsie Welch Collins:
This audio biographical pamphlet retails the life story of the author’s mother (grandmother of Applewood Manor owner, Stephen Collins).
Tom Collins's Stories
Asheville has been called many things—weirdest, happiest, quirkiest place in America, Santa Fe of the East, New Age Capital of the World, Paris of the South, Beer City USA, Most Haunted, Sky City and others. It has many secrets, mysteries, and legends—some factual, some alleged, some exaggerated and some just plain lies.
