Welcome to T&R Independent Books where we are transforming writers into published authors.
The Founding of T&R Independent Books.
T&R Independent Books was founded in 2014 by R. Frederick and Teresa (Tess) Riddle. The purpose was to publish their books as an Indie Publisher. Below is information on R. Frederick and his late wife.
Before T&R.
R. Frederick Riddle began his writing career at the age of 60, but he had desired to write since his teenage years. Growing up, serving in the Navy, and then working all were solid experiences, but they limited his ability to pursue his chosen career.
In addition, he had to learn the skill of writing on his own. There was very little help available that he could afford, so he learned the hard way. But in 2003 he broke through and published his first book, Refuge: The Genesis Chronicles (no longer in print).
This book and a second book were later merged into one complete novel with added material and published as Perished: The World That Was. It became the foundation of his series The World That Was.
The First President
Tess (aka, Teresa) Riddle desired to write from an early age. But work, marriage, and caring for the household kept her from following her dream. But it was a desire put there by God and she trusted Him. In 2020 she was cleared of her second bout with cancer and was ready to turn her attention to writing.
2022 was a big year for Tess. In June she published:
- Talking with Tess: Walking with God (Talking with Tess is a series)
- Keys to Murder (a mystery novel featuring Rita Honeycutt, also a series)
- She began working on new books.
In 2023 Tess passed away due to complications from her earlier cancer treatments. Passing away in her sleep she literally went to sleep at home and woke up in heaven.
The Expansion of T&R Independent Books.
As mentioned earlier, T&R Independent Books was founded by Tess and R. Frederick in 2014. At that time only Mr. Riddle had books to sell, but they began looking forward to when she would become a published author.
Over those first years they were able to buy back the rights to most of the books authored by R. Frederick. In 2021 Tess publisher her first book, which was rewritten in 2022 and retitled to Keys to Murder, a mystery book featuring a teenage sleuth.
After her passing in 2023 the Lord led Mr. Riddle to expand his vision from personal publishing to offering his services to Christians not only as a bookstore but as the publisher of Christian books. This was a radical change for him as he now became Author, Publisher, Teacher, and Coach. But he embraced these changes and is now seeing the fruit of that change.
Feel free to explore T&R bookstore and the entire site. Take your time, check it out, and take advantage of the sales.
Below, are links to sources that will aid you in your research.
Helpful information
BLOG
R. Frederick Riddle’s blog has been around for a while and deals with literary issues, but also occasionally deals with current events.
STORE
T&R Independent Bookstore began in 2021. It has been focused on giving customers discount pricing on any of our products.
In 2022 the website moved to its new location and expanded its offerings. It now sells both print and digital products and plans to sell combinations of books.
PR REL
PRBlog is the home of T&R Independent Books press releases. PR Blog enables us to speak to the press about important events regarding our business. This is important because we actively improving and expanding what we offer.
These press releases are a good way to research the company’s history. As the store grows it is expected to use Press Releases more often to keep both the press and our customers updated. While not complete, it provides news from the earliest days until now.
You can reach T&R Independent Books at T&R for interviews and additional information.
R. Frederick Riddle lives in Port Charlotte, Florida where T&R is located and he is active in his church, Tri-City Baptist of Port Charlotte. They moved here from Michigan in 2008 to care for his wife’s mother and took care of her until she died in 2013. She had Alzheimer disease and was under 24/7 care from mid 2009 until her death. Instead of returning to Michigan we chose to stay in Florida and make T&R Independent Books are focus.
R. Frederick served in the U.S. Navy from 1964 to 1968 during the Vietnam War. After the war he worked for Western Electric and then Michigan Bell, which was part of Ameritech (now AT&T). T&R wasn’t founded until 2014 but R. Frederick was already laying the foundation.
