An Interview with Charles Roamer

I’m an old New Jersey native who retired from employment in 2012. Later that year I moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, where I found a great new home and base for my “roaming.” For decades, I’ve loved and have taken numerous long road trips, mainly by car and motorcycle. I thought a journey down the whole length of U.S. Highway 83 through the Great Plains states would be great material for a travel story, and I made the trip in the autumn of 2014 with my ’06 Toyota Corolla. I consider it one of three epic journeys of my lifetime.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The title came very easily because I love the word “odyssey,” which is just what I made traveling the 1,885-mile length of U.S. 83 from the Canadian to the Mexican border. And I like the slightly alliterative combination of “83 and “Odyssey” in the book’s main title.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

Seeing my literary creation materialized as my first book was uniquely exciting, and I even felt a temporary euphoria. I’m not a parent, but I think the feeling is somewhat like what a parent experiences with the birth of something precious that they created. Only creating a book is arduous — and making a baby is usually a lot of fun! That’s probably why there are a lot more parents than authors!

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I’ve always had a tendency to want to sculpt with words. In school, I always did well in English courses, though I don’t have a lot of formal education in the literary field and never took a creative writing course. I had a great English teacher my senior year in high school who liked and encouraged my writing, which is why I included him in the dedication in my book.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

After some college, I worked quite a variety of jobs before I found an unexpected niche in middle age as a paratransit driver for the elderly and disabled, which gave me a lot of satisfaction in helping people, besides having a sense of freedom from being on the road and not bound in an office or plant. One agency I worked for offered the golden carrot of a pension.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

Seeing my bucket list goal of publishing a book about one of my long road trips come to fruition, since I’d worked on a couple others I didn’t finish. I did, however, publish a couple magazine articles with travel subjects.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

If there were a good song I knew of about traveling U.S. 83 similar to the very well-known “Get your kicks on Route 66” — which is about a famous highway that for decades was U.S. 66 — that would be an obvious choice for a soundtrack. And I wish someone would write a catchy song about traveling 83 and also help make this fascinating highway better known.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

One of my messages is that the Great Plains region that U.S. 83 courses through is not as “flat and boring” as commonly believed, and that there is much beauty, fascinating history, and other attractions — besides a lot of nice, friendly people rooted in the region. I hope my book inspires some readers to want to make the same journey, or explore other old U.S. highways — many of which, like U.S. 83, are still largely two-lanes and a lot more interesting and relaxing to drive than the interstate expressways. I’d also like my story to encourage some readers to venture on the open road solo, like I did, which has its own rewards and doesn’t have to make you feel lonely. I envision a perfect reader as someone who appreciates a vicarious travel experience, and also likes a lot of interesting facts that I present about many places and people. I look very forward to interacting with readers through my email address in the book.

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

I’m now busy trying to promote my book in different ways, which is another kind of job for an author. I appreciate and need a long break from writing and editing. Though I have ideas for other travel stories, and even experimenting with fiction, I have no present plans to begin another project. I also need to catch up on a lot of reading!

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

Atmosphere really lived up to their goal of being “author-friendly.” Everyone I worked with was courteous, professional, and very attentive. I would tell other authors who want to publish not to give up on their dream if it is driving them enough. But after the initial excitement about becoming an author — especially for the first time — you realize more just how many other authors there are that you’re forced to compete with for readers. Today, there must be more books than ever published, and as difficult as writing a book usually is, plenty of people obviously do it.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.