Author and Editor Christina Henry de Tessan interviews Marc DeRoche about One Step Ahead:

1.      What compelled you to write this story?

It sounds funny, but this story sort of wrote itself.  I guess it’s a composite of the many books that I’ve read and loved over the years.  Growing up (for me, this was late 20s), I loved the stories of Patrick O’Brian.  Of course this book has nothing to do with the Napoleonic Wars, but that’s not really what those books are about either.  They’re about two friends trying to find their way and going about it very differently.  I guess if you take that and mix it up with my own spiritual journey (question everything), and love of travel, you get One Step Ahead.

2.      How did you first learn about the Kumbh Mela?

Just like Michael, I read about it in National Geographic.  There is also a mention of it in “Autobiography of a Yogi,” by Paramahansa Yogananda, which is one of my favorite books.  I named one of the characters in One Step Ahead from this book.  Can you figure out which one?  After this, I sort of became obsessed with it, ordering books, watching videos, and tracking it online.  There are actually pictures of it from space.  It was featured by National Geographic in 1921 and again in 2014 but here’s a short video on a show that they did. 

3.      Why did you decide to write a book that featured it?

Frankly, I didn’t put the idea of the journey of the two friends and the Kumbh Mela together right away.  I had this idea of two friends taking a journey.  A sailing trip?  Africa?  Then it occurred to me that my recent obsession with the Kumbh Mela might have a place…

4.      How do you think travel changes a person?

Anyone that has traveled out of their front door knows that things are not in your control.  The traffic jam, the line at the ticket counter, the TSA, and other travelers all have a way of getting in your way.  You have to just let go.  It’s a liberating experience if you can see where things take you.  My wife and I ended up out of gas in a rented Jeep in the Yucatan at the other end of a border guard’s gun when we tried to ask for help.  We still laugh about it but it puts things into perspective when people can’t handle a delayed flight.  We ended up begging $20 from a Mexican family. 

5.      What is your favorite place in the world?  The most surprising?

It’s probably surprising but it’s my home state of Michigan.  We have all four seasons and I just love the Great Lakes, the fall colors, the snowy winters, and the Midwestern manners.  Sometimes the best part about travelling is coming home.  I backpacked through Yosemite last year and this year, I’m just going to Michigan’s own Porcupine Mountains instead.  No people…