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83 ODYSSEY—AN ADVENTURE DOWN THE SPINE OF AMERICA ON U.S. HIGHWAY 83 received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Charles Roamer.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
My book’s name is 83 ODYSSEY—AN ADVENTURE DOWN THE SPINE OF AMERICA ON U.S. HIGHWAY 83, and it was launched on June 1, 2024.
What’s the book’s first line?
My opening line is: “I’ve had a long love for long road trips and a fascination with roads themselves—especially the old U.S. highways, also known as U.S. routes and federal highways.” I wanted to immediately refer to the type if highway I made my “odyssey” on.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
It’s a first-person narrative of what I consider one of three epic road trips I’ve made in my lifetime. U.S. 83 is a fascinating, old, largely two-lane highway that runs 1885 miles from the Canadian to the Mexican border through all the Great Plains states and what I consider “the Spine of
America.” Though this region is commonly considered to be “flat and boring,” I found its landscapes to be very diverse, with much beauty. And there’s a lot of interesting towns and history, friendly people, surprising attractions—which all gave me a great story to tell.
Besides describing my personal adventure traveling the border to border highway, the book contains a lot of what I consider interesting basic facts about the places, people, and terrain of the Plains region, based on the research I did.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I’ve long wanted to write a book about one of my long road trip adventures. When I happened to notice U.S. 83 when looking at a map back in 2010, and read a chapter about traveling it in a great guidebook not too long afterwards, I became set on making the journey and writing about
it. The journey was made in the autumn of 2014, but I tried to write something that would not appear too dated.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
I think those who like good travel stories should check out my book because it’s not just about me–although some of my quirky habits like frequently sleeping in my ’06 Toyota Corolla add interest to the story, I think It’s just as much about the deep hinterland of America that readers can
get a different and more positive impression of and learn a lot more about. I wanted to educate with basic facts as much as entertain and amuse.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I’ve always liked working with words, did well in English courses, and had thoughts about being a writer in my teens. In my mid-twenties I started a book about the first epic road trip I made on a motorcycle around the U.S. during the Bicentennial year. However, I never finished it,
partly because queries I made to publishers were discouraging.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
83 ODYSSEY… is the first book I’ve completed and was fortunate enough to publish.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
When I’m not writing I’m also fortunate enough to be retired—but from employment, not work, as I like to say. “Retirement” made it much easier to work on my book with all the free time. Now that it’s complete I’m busy with the job of promoting it, and engaging in my other obligations
and interests—like outdoor recreation, some political activism, and reading. Of course, “roaming” America’s interesting roads remains one of my strong interests.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
Right now I need a long break from writing and am not sure about future projects, though I have ideas for other travel stories and even experimenting with fiction When working on the book, I found it difficult to follow a regular routine like many writers do. But it often amounted to
many hours a day at different times—often late because of my habit of being a night owl.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
I think the best part of being an indie author is that it first of all enabled me to find a great publisher (Atmosphere Press) much faster than going the traditional route, which might never have succeeded. Then there’s the autonomy you have with your book as an indie, and the opportunity
to make a much higher percentage in royalties. But there is that obvious downside of having to make an investment, and being a lot more on your own when it comes to marketing your book, I understand, though, that today even traditional publishers expect their authors to play more of
a role in marketing.
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