top of page

Casa Flamingo Literary Arts

Founded in 2003 by Tim O’Brien, Casa Flamingo Literary Arts is a boutique book publishing and wordsmithing entity, offering help and advice to those wanting to show off their inner literary genius. Since its founding, Tim has helped dozens to conceive, write, edit and get their stories in print. We have the expertise to support the individual objectives of all writers, whether the goal is to write a family or individual history as a keepsake, to write and publish a local history, or to finally get that idea for a novel out of one’s head onto paper. We have a friendly and capable network that can achieve it all at an affordable price. 

Tim Mug 2022 (3).JPG

Tim O'Brien

Author, Photo-Journalist

My Story

For more than five decades, Tim O'Brien has worked in the communications side of the entertainment industry chronicling the latest and greatest that theme parks, amusement parks and attractions, roadside attractions, circuses, carnivals and sideshows have to offer. An industry specialist and award winning photojournalist, Tim has had more than 5,000 articles and more than 3,000 photos published. He has visited more than 500 amusement parks and attractions in 29 countries and has ridden nearly 600 different roller coasters.

​

In 2003, Tim founded Casa Flamingo Literary Arts, a boutique book publishing company which creates and publishes his own work in addition to several other authors. To date, Tim has written and published 18 books, all still available on his web site, CasaFlamingoLiteraryArts.com, and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  

​

A proud graduate of The Ohio State University with a Master's degree in broadcast journalism/film production, Tim is an accomplished photographer and public speaker, having lectured extensively at industry seminars, schools, libraries, and various civic groups. He has appeared in more than a dozen theme park documentaries on the Travel Channel, The Discovery Channel and National Public Television.

​

For 10 years, Tim served as the national corporate spokesperson for Ripley Entertainment Inc. and had the privilege of showing off the company's 90-plus attractions throughout the world. During that time, he served as editor of the venerable Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon, and was producer and co-host of the Ripley Radio weekly broadcast creating more than 200 episodes over a five year period. Today he proudly holds the emeritus title of "Ambassador of Odd" with Ripley's Believe It or Not!

​

Prior to his position with Ripley Entertainment, Tim served 18 years as senior editor of Amusement Business, the world's leading business trade magazine for the amusement park, fair, carnival, and circus industries.

​

For his contribution to the international amusement industry, Tim was the first journalist to be inducted into the prestigious International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA) Hall of Fame in 2016, where he joins industry greats such as Walt Disney, Walter Knotts and PT Barnum.

​

Tim currently serves on the National Advisory Council of the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, CT; on the board of governors of the Applause Award which recognizes the world's top theme park; on the board of the Society for Commercial Archeology; and is the former chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee of the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions, of which he remains a member.

​

When not traveling, he splits his time between Nashville, Tennessee and Belgrade, Maine with his wife, Kathleen and their two cats, Simon and Garfunkel.

bottom of page