Interview With Author Geza Tatrallyay

 

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? Clearly, when a friend I made fencing internationally asks me to help him defect to Canada during the Olympic Games, this is a momentous event. I thought the story of this episode in my life should be circulated widely to showcase the bravery of the young man who decided to stay in the free west rather than go back to a Communist dictatorship.  

2. What exactly is it about — and who is it written for? The story is about my fencing career, culminating with the Montreal 1976 Olympics, where I was approached by a Romanian-Hungarian fencer to help him defect to Canada. I had become friends with this young man on the international fencing circuit, so when he asked me to help him stay in the free west, I was keen on doing everything I could. The book tells of Paul Szabo’s courage, at the age of 20, in making the decision to leave family, friends and everything behind in autocratic Romania to opt for a life of freedom and opportunity in Canada. As this is both a sports memoir and an escape story, the book is written for a wide audience, but particularly for younger adults interested in these worlds.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope that my readers will get an insight into both the ups and downs of the fiercely competitive sports world as well as into the dangers, and the courage and difficulty of making a life changing decision such as the one Paul had to make.  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? The title gets at both key aspects of the subject matter: the sport we were both engaged in, and Paul’s defection at the height of the Cold War. The cover design was suggested and picked by my publisher and is a picture of me fencing at the Olympics.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? Write about something you care deeply about, and don’t give up! Solutions to intractable problems / issues you encounter along the way can come when you least expect it.  

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?  People seem to have less time for traditional reading. However, more books seem to be out there, which means a decline in overall quality. There are fewer and fewer publishers, more and more books are self-published. New formats have emerged: e-books, audiobooks etc. The Fencers is just now being turned into an audiobook.  

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  As a memoir, the entire book is based on personal experiences. Since it is my third memoir, having written the first two helped.   

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?  My writing style is I think fluid, uncomplicated. Since I have written quite a few thrillers, I have influenced by thriller writers such as John Grisham and David Baldacci, but also some classical ones such as Graham Greene.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? I wanted to make sure that I did justice to the difficulties Paul had to overcome to make the decision to defect. Judging from his positive feedback, I think I succeeded.   

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? The book is particularly relevant now, given the situation in the Ukraine, and the Paris Olympics. But more than that, it is a universal story of man’s struggle to find freedom and opportunity, and beyond that, to excel in whatever endeavors they pursue.  

About The Author: Born in Budapest, Geza escaped from Hungary with his family in 1956, immigrating to Canada. He grew up in Toronto, obtained a BA from Harvard University in 1972, then as a Rhodes Scholar, attended Oxford University, completing his studies with a MSc from LSE in 1975. Geza was on the 1976 Canadian Olympic fencing team. He worked in government, international organizations, finance and as an environmental entrepreneur. Geza has Canadian citizenship, but now divides his time between Vermont and San Francisco. He has authored six published poetry collections, six novels, three memoirs, a short story collection and a children’s book, with two other books to be published in 2024. Please see fo0r more info: https://www.gezatatrallyay.com

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.