Todd Walton

Todd Walton was born in San Francisco on October 17, 1949. A thespian and athlete in high school, he took up the piano when he was sixteen. He attended the University of California at Santa Cruz from 1967-69. He was a transient laborer and musician from 1969-1971. Todd lived in Santa Cruz from 1971-74, where he made his living as a musician. Todd published his first short story in 1972 in the Santa Cruz weekly "Sundaz". He sold his first short story—"Willow"— in 1975 to "Cosmopolitan" magazine.

Published Fiction

After publishing several stories in "Cosmopolitan", "Seventeen", "Young Miss", and "Gallery", Doubleday published Todd's first novel "Inside Moves", which was made into a motion picture in 1980. The film, with a screenplay by Barry Levinson, was directed by Richard Donner and starred John Savage, David Morse, and Diana Scarwid, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Louise.

Todd’s second novel, "Forgotten Impulses", was published in 1980 by Simon and Schuster and was chosen by The New York Times as one of the best novels of that year. "Louie & Women" was published by Dutton in 1983, and "Night Train" was published by Mercury House in 1986. Bantam published Todd’s fifth novel, "Ruby & Spear", in 1996. Todd's fable "Of Water and Melons" was published by Red Wing Press in 1999. "Buddha In A Teacup: tales of enlightenment" was published through Lost Coast Press in 2008.

Published Non-Fiction

Open Body: Creating Your Own Yoga", was published by Avon in 1998. In May of 2000, Ten Speed Press published "The Writer's Path", a book of Todd's original writing exercises co-written with Mindy Toomay. Todd was a regular contributor to the "The Sacramento News & Review" from 1984-1995. He currently resides in Mendocino, California, and contributes commentaries and short stories to "The Anderson Valley Advertiser".

poken Word

Todd performs his short stories on three CDs: "I Steal My Bicycle" and other stories, ten stories from "Buddha In A Teacup", and "I Remember You".

Music

"When Light Is Your Garden", a CD of nine songs created by Todd and cellist Marcia Sloane.

Works In Progress

Todd’s novel "Under the Table Books" (with illustrations by the author) will be published in 2009, and "Big River Samba", a CD of Todd’s solo piano, will be released in late 2008.

Todd Walton's website: [http://underthetablebooks.com/]