Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher and Editor of Bookpleasures.com is honored to have as our guest, Stuart F. Tower, author of The Wayfarers.

Author: Stuart F. Tower

ISBN: 1932211020

Good day Stuart and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm:

Stuart, please tell our readers a little bit about your personal and professional background and what motivated you to write The Wayfarers?

Stuart:

Norman, my long-ago college studies, both undergraduate and graduate, were in the field of Education, Educational Psychology and Social Sciences (mainly history). Since 1983 I've had four books published, and in many ways writing and lecturing have always been a vital part of my life.

As stated in the Author's Foreword to The Wayfarers, I first came across the classic book by Professor Irving Howe, “World of our Fathers”, in the late 70's. In this comprehensive treatise of the American immigration experience, Howe briefly (two pages) relates the little known exciting saga of the young Jewish fusgeyers of Romania. I was so impressed with the drama of this story of heroism and sheer courage that I decided then and there that it was begging to be told in detail.

Since the archives were comparatively thin on the subject, when I felt ready to write it several years later I concluded that it would have to be a fictionalized treatment, blended with actual historic events and characters. Hence, The Wayfarers, the story of Romania's Jewish fusgeyers, they who went by foot.

Norm:

What kind of research did you do to write this book?
 
Stuart:

There were three phases to the enormous amount of research undergone to produce The Wayfarers. The first was quite disappointing. I pored through the better known books on Jewish history, including Abram Sachar's “History of the Jews”, The Jewish Encyclopedia, “The Jewish Caravan”, edited by Leo Schwarz, Chaim Potok's “Wanderings”, and I spent countless hours at the magnificent Beverly Hills Public Library, the library at The University of Judaism in L.A., going through lesser know editions. I came up close to blank. There was little or absolutely nothing written in the subject. For example, widely-heralded Sachar included one line in mention of the fusgeyer phenomenon. There was no internet to refer to in the earlier days of my research, and when I went on line in the mid- 90's, I found little mention anywhere.

The second phase brought me to various Jewish agencies. YIVO (the Jewish Scientific Research in New York proved to be some help, and from that source I uncovered some reference to the fusgeyers, mainly through a Yiddish language document written in 1915, by an actual fusgeyer by the name of Jacob Finkelstein. Only one serious draw back...Finkelstein only walked through Romania, as did his comrades, opting to take the train to Hamburg from that point, whereas most contingents walked all the way across 1500 miles of a dangerous Europe to reach the ports on the North Sea. They were protesting and demonstrating against the horrendous treatment by King Carol of Romania and felt it necessary to carry their protest throughout Europe.

The third phase took place when I was wrapping up my book on holocaust survivors who remained in Eastern Europe instead of emigrating to Israel or the West. (It was called “Withered Roots: The Remnants of Eastern European Jewry”, Isaac Nathan Publishing, 1994). This fascinated me for years, and in 1983, I embarked on several interview treks to that region when it was all behind the Iron Curtain. Talk about difficult travel! During my interviews in several Romanian provinces, I began to also ask if anyone had heard of family members who had long ago emigrated to the West by foot.

This, too, provided some minimal but important insight, particularly into 19^th and early 20^th century Romanian Jewish history. All in all, my decision to write a novel based on documented historical fact still stood, and solidified by the late 90's when I began to outline The Wayfarers. It had to be historical fiction. Imagination tempered by fact.... no less, no more.

Norm:

Why do you feel that this was an important book for you to write and for all of us to read at this time?

Stuart:

Firstly, Norm, as I've said, it was a story that had never been properly told, and I was compelled to bring it out into the light of day.

Secondly, even though the fusgeyer movement took place a century ago, it had become perhaps more timely than ever before. Today, when people are scattering all over this troubled planet, escaping tyranny, seeking refuge, pursuing freedom, a better life and a chance to live in peace, and when human rights are being challenged by those in power on every continent, the example featured in The Wayfarers should stand out as a shining beacon of light. I would hope so.

Finally, above all, it is a long overdue tribute of gratitude to all of our hardy ancestors, whether they came form Russia, Poland, Romania or Hungary..Scandinavia, Africa, South and Central America, the Middle East or the Far East....whether they were Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Hindu, Muslim or Buddhists. We are the fortunate beneficiaries, but do we appreciate their heroics? Perhaps not enough. There but for the grace of God....!

I have diligently tried to convey these messages whenever and wherever I have spoken. To date, that amounts to 79 venues throughout the USA, Canada and Romania.... A mission, if you will.

Norm:

What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges?

Stuart:

Most of the challenges and obstacles seemed to come after the manuscript was written...at least the first draft anyway....the publisher who published my three previous books was no longer in the business, and I liked them very much. Therefore, I had to find a new publisher and this is never very easy, particularly with a 600-page historical novel. My lovely wife was my sounding board and I read every word to her as we went along. I felt that this was tantamount to a first light pass at editing.

My first agent just didn't really understand the story and tried to put it into narrow niche as she contacted publishers. Finally, after receiving some initial rejects from some of the big boys in New York, she came back and said: “Stu, one of the reasons were not having some immediate success is simply this....your book is a historical novel, and as such, it cries for some steamy sex scenes.” I was flabbergasted and annoyed. The fact is I had some very subtle scenes (PG-rated) as I'm sure you recall, Norm. I fired that agent, found another and ended up with an excellent mid-sized independent in Florida, Lighthouse Press.

 The publisher and I got along famously, and the assigned editor was a charmer., only wanted to throttle her once...and she later admitted that there was more than one “spat” where she was ready to tell me to take the long hike to nowhere. We ended up friends and I would recommend her to anyone...Molly Kalkstein, of The P ink Eraser.

Norm:

How much real-life did you put into The Wayfarers? Is there much “you” in there?

Stuart:

Yes, indeed, there is canopy covering the book where I tried to constantly introduce real-life situations.....that is stories of people and events that I knew of and in which I participated and could translate into elements of the fusgeyer story. Is there much of me? I suppose so. Remember, the story takes place in 1904, with flash-forwards and backwards to 2000.

Audiences always venture a guess as to which character I am in the book. Let's leave it that way...yes, I'm there. I'll give you a hint-it has to do with pen and ink! I also use the story as a forum for some of my beliefs, issues, politics, causes, etc. Why not? It is part of that glorious “poetic license”.... that's why writing fiction is so much fun!

Norm:

Did you initially have a hard time fleshing out characters?

Stuart:

Not at all. I simply added characters where each would be an integral part of the story and important to the particular scene. For example: I needed authentically Yiddish names, .most of which I remembered from my childhood days in Quincy, Massachusetts.

I have used friends, relatives, children's and grandchildren's names throughout the book. Many novelists do this as you know. Many of the characters are fashioned after people I have known throughout my life. (Haven't been sued yet!)...and several characters are historically correct and blended into the fiction. For example, here again, I wanted to give Theodor Herzl a sense of humor since he has always been presented as a broken-hearted, somber young gentleman (he died at age 44) with a one-track idea and dream. I developed the Franz Kafka character as a strange young college student in Prague who happens upon a few of the fusgeyers and of all people, I introduce Buffalo Bill Cody (William Frederick Cody), more popular in Europe than he had been in America. There are, as you know, several other so-called “real characters”....

Norm:

You include some very detailed dialogues in the book. Where did that dialogue come from?

Stuart:

Imagination, Norm, imagination. I tried to feel that I personally was present in each scene, each trial and tribulation, each moment of fear, happiness, sadness, and joy. After the 1500 miles, I was surely exhausted! Being a lifelong speaker who never shuts up for very long, the dialogue rolled off my tongue and onto the printed page. For every scene, I played all the roles...great way to invent dialogue that is as close to real life as possible. Look at it as the epitome of today's Reality TV!

Norm:

How did you celebrate the completion of your book?

Stuart:

By starting on Branko!

The Wayfarers was launched at The 23^rd Annual Conference of Jewish Genealogical Societies in Washington DC, where I was one of 8 invited guest authors. But all along, I was thinking about the follow-up novel- Branko, a novel, in praise of a good man's journey through life's adventure. It is the gripping story of one of the key members of the Birlad fusgeyer contingent, Branko Horvitch, ex-Sergeant-Major in the Austro-Hungarian military, who became the vaunted “Security Chief”.

Norm:

What is next for Stuart Tower?

Stuart:

I am putting the finishing touches on Branko, and also very much involved with the planned feature film on The Wayfarers. With any luck and the necessary dollars, we hope to begin shooting in Romania early next spring. Wild anticipation rules!

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Stuart:

Your questions have covered everything in my estimation. Thank you for the interview, Norm!

Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future writing projects.

The above interview was conducted by: NORM GOLDMAN:  Editor & Publisher of Bookpleasures.  Here are more of  Norm Goldman's Reviews       

To read Norm's Review of The Wayfarers CLICK HERE