Thomas Inman

Tom Inman is a Virginian, a father of three, and a grandfather who—with a bit of luck—is charting out his next thirty years with a firm gaze on the age of 100. He is also a man whose wife, against all known laws of lease renewal, has stuck by him for forty-five years.

Now launching his final career as an author, Tom’s debut historical novel, Birdsong’s Law, grew out of years of meticulous land-patent reconstruction work in Virginia. By mapping out the colony’s earliest documents line by line, ridge by ridge, and ford by ford, he uncovered the profound, individual realities behind the historic year of 1619 and its aftermath.

Dedicated to cultural authenticity, Tom works alongside early American scholars and leaders of the Saponi and Nottoway communities to honor the intersecting paths of the African American and Native American ancestors who lived through the invention of early colonial racial boundaries. In recognition of this dedication, Chief Red Hawk Brown named him "Seeker of Knowledge." Furthermore, William & Mary anthropology scholars reviewed his extensive work and termed it "fascinating." To ensure this history is saved for generations to come, Tom is currently collaborating with the Library of Virginia to preserve his 3,040 hand-drawn patent maps and composites in a permanent archive for future scholarly and genealogical research.

Tom prefers to leave any dramatic backstory to the reader's imagination, keeping his daily life firmly within comfortable PG limits—and spending his time instead uncovering the deep, complex history of the Virginia soil he calls home.