Author of The WeddingThat Saved a Town

Kar-Ben Publishing

When did you start reading, and what did you like to read as a kid?

I started really becoming interested in reading when I was seven. I loved to read biographies and books about science.

When you were growing up did you have books in your home?

We always had a lot of books in the home both parents are avid readers. In Detroit where I grew up until 12 I fondly remember the bookmobile coming every Friday to our school. We did not have a library and I thought it was so cool to go up into this big "RV" and be able to check out books.

When did you think about becoming a writer? Was there someone who got you interested in writing?

I was fascinated with writing after I did a report about Mark Twain when I was in the fourth grade. I thought it was so cool that he had a pseudonym and was not known by his real name Samuel Langhorn Clemens that I decided to take on a pseudonym as well. Mine became Tyco Bass based upon a character in these science fiction stories about traveling to the "Mushroom Planet." Well I used this pseudonym through high school signing all my papers and art projects either Tyco Bass or just 'T.B.

"How do you write? Do you have a daily routine? What's good about it? What do you hate about it?

I write in the mornings after a good run. I try to get a certain amount of pages done every day, but if the muse is not there I do not force it. Because I work in other mediums (film, music, photography) sometimes focusing on something else for a few hours or even a few days will inspire me to write, give me new ideas.

Any particular story to tell concerning the writing of this book?

The story "The Wedding That Saved A Town" came from my ethnographic research I had been doing in Poland in the 1980s among the remnant Jewish communities. I had a particular interest in klezmer music - Yiddish instrumental folk music - and was searching for lost melodies and songs. One day I was in the town of Ropczyse in a home of an old Jewish man who had played klezmer before the war. He told me about this story of playing for an orphan bride and groom in a cemetery to help break the plague of cholera. At first I did not believe it but when I read about it in several sources then I realized it was true.

What some good advice that you've received concerning writing? What's some advice that you could offer young writers?

I think the most important thing is for a writer to have a deep passion for the subject/story he/she is writing about. Life is short why write about something that does not give you pleasure. I would also say that if you can write about something that personally happened to you or to someone you know this can help make the story resonate even louder because if is a part of you. Lastly when those days come and you just can not write, you just are staring at a blank computer screen, the muse is not with you then take a break. Do not force yourself to write a specific amount of words everyday unless you can without too much consternation. When you have a great story to tell it will just spring forth naturally.

How did you find the publisher for this book? What has your experience as a publisher been like?

I knew of Kar-Ben since my daughter owns a few of their books and I like what they published. I sent them the story and then we moved on from there. My experience with Kar-Ben has only been positive.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working on a story about two boys, eleven years old, one is Roma (Gypsy) and the other is Jewish. The story takes place in Slovakia.

What are you reading?

"And They All Sang" by Studs Terkel.