Welcome aboard the site of Tom Powers: retired officer of the United States Navy, university professor, and actor, director and producer of audiobooks.  I call this site “Loomings” from the first chapter of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.  Life has been a series of adventures, and like all good sailors, I enjoy telling tales of courage, integrity and mystery.

The opening lines of Moby Dick constitute, in my opinion, the finest curtain-raiser in English literature:

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago —  never mind how long precisely — having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off — then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.

I will gradually be developing this site further, with links to my work as actor and producer.

COMING SOON: Information about the exciting adventures of Davis MacDonald’s mystery thriller The Island: A Mystery Novel set on Catalina Island, which I had the good fortune to narrate.

So, welcome aboard, pull up a chair, and join me for a yarn!

Tom Powers

Tom Powers is the nom de plume of William T. Ditewig, Ph.D.  Bill is a retired Navy Commander, having served for twenty-two years on active duty.  He and his family have lived in all sorts of places over the years, from Cyprus to Guam, Hawaii to Maine, California to Washington, DC and Okinawa to Texas.  He served in submarines, on surface ships, submarines and shore stations as a special duty officer in Cryptology.

In addition to a BA in Philosophy, an MA in Education and another MA in Pastoral Theology, Bill has the Ph.D. in Theology from the Catholic University of America and has taught in a number of institutions around the country and is most recently teaching at the University of South Florida, the Pontifical College Josephinum and Chaminade University of Honolulu.  He is the author, co-author or contributor to a number of books on Theology.

In addition to writing his own books, Bill enjoys narrating and producing audiobooks based on the works of other authors.  To distinguish his own writing from that of others, Bill has adopted as his nom de plume the name of his maternal grandfather, Tom Powers.  In this small way, he hopes to honor his beloved grandfather’s memory.

This is a contact page with some basic contact information and a contact form.