Quinn, Thomas

views updated

Quinn, Thomas

PERSONAL: Born in Newark, NJ; married; wife's name Cathie; children: Sara, Tom. Education: Cornell University, degree (industrial and labor relations). Hobbies and other interests: Travel (particularly in Europe), listening to music, playing drums, reading.

ADDRESSES: Home—West Chester, PA. Office—Swiss Medica, Inc., 53 Younge St., 3rd Fl., Toronto, Ontario M5E 1J3, Canada. E-mail—tquinn@swissmedica.com.

CAREER: for Procter & Gamble, worked in sales and marketing positions in United States and United Kingdom for seventeen years; Irish Dairy Board, former division president; former vice president of sales for Warner-Lambert Consumer Healthcare and CIGNA Healthcare; currently executive vice president of Swiss Medica (pharmaceutical company).

WRITINGS:

The Lion of St. Mark: Book One of the Venetians (novel), Thomas Dunne (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Thomas Quinn was inspired to write his first novel, The Lion of St. Mark: Book One of the Venetians, after a trip to Venice, where he was struck by the remarkable history of that Italian city. His book seeks to portray the rich culture and affluence of ancient Venice, as well as the high level of patriotism that characterized the city, by focusing on the Ziani and Soranzo families. While the clans of Venice were often in bitter conflict with one another, they were always able to unite to fend off a common enemy, which in this story is the Ottoman Turks, who are seeking to advance their empire. The conflict culminates in an epic sea battle, which brings Quinn's knowledge of sea warfare into play.

Commenting on the book in Best Reviews, Harriet Klausner called it "an interesting look at a fifteenth century culture clash." Though she felt that it depicts the Ottoman-Venetian conflict in terms that are too black and white, Klausner credited the author with good use of real historical figures and events, and called the book "well written." Quinn "nicely captures" the ethics of Renaissance Italy, according to a Kirkus Reviews writer, who found the writing somewhat predictable, but noted that "Quinn has a good command of period history and accouterments: think Tom Clancy channeled for those thrilled by galleons and exploding minarets."