
DJ O’Toole
DJ was born in Philadelphia and grew up in northern Indiana. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and lived in Indianapolis until June of 2023. He now resides in Ontario, Canada with his wife and two dogs.
He spent over 20 years toiling in the mines of the engineering community before discovering his love of writing. Surrounded by math geeks and scientists, DJ did his best to fit in and not let his creativity show. Nothing alarms the engineering community like creativity. They fear change and anything with a curve.

TIDINGS
The Absolutely True Story of Christmas (As Far As I Know)
The Backstory…


It was born from a nine-hour drive to Canada on Christmas Day several years ago to visit his girlfriend (now wife). DJ spent the time listening to a variety of Christmas music and concentrating on the lyrics. Did I mention it was nine hours? Of nothing but Christmas songs? When considering the different scenarios presented in the songs, things like shepherds being visited in the fields by angels and Mary finding out she was to have God’s son, DJ kept asking out loud (to no one, he was driving alone) “How did that conversation go?” The question haunted him until he began writing out his own humorous take on these events. It grew into what is now over 300 pages of the usually funny and sometimes frightening things that happened to Mary and Joseph on the way to Bethlehem.
This is not a book about religion, it’s a book about people put into circumstances out of their control. It’s a book about friendship. And it’s a book about a crazy king who has no intention of allowing anyone to take his throne. DJ tries to maintain the respect the subject deserves, but if having angels drop F-bombs is offensive to you, it may not be for you.
Writing Awards

- 2nd Runner up – The Earl Conn Memorial Write-Off Contest (2019 Midwest Writers Workshop)
- Award Winner (out of more than 6000 entries) – The 2019 Short Short Story Competition (Writer’s Digest Magazine)
Contests and Conferences
DJ is actively working to improve his craft, which is a good thing because he has lots of room for improvement.
Upcoming Writer’s Conferences Scheduled:
None Scheduled
Past conferences he attended:
2022 Midwest Writers Workshop – July, 2022
2020 Writer’s Digest Annual Conference – November, 2020
2020 Midwest Writers Workshop- Agent Fest Online – November, 2020
2020 Midwest Writers Workshop Virtual Conference – July, 2020
2019 Writer’s Digest Annual Conference – August, 2019
2019 Midwest Writers Workshop Conference – July, 2019
2019 Writing Workshop of Chicago – June, 2019