6 Important Writerly Questions with Sam Pasternack
Walker!
The newest book from Humorist Books is one of our best yet, and best ever. Yeah! It’s Walker, the hilarious, moving, and picaresque road trip-style story of Walker Dilettante. In this novel, the sheltered, modern-day descendent and biggest fan of 19th century long-distance pedestrian Preston Dilettante takes it upon himself to literally follow in his forebearer’s footsteps and hoof it across the whole damn country with little more than a bindle full of homemade cereal and his Instagram-savvy cousin, Ria. Why? Well, why not, but really, he wants to reunite his far-flung relatives and take their photo with Preston’s walkin’ boot, before his beloved Grandpappy walks off this Earth forever.
The quite original and delightful Walker sprung forth fully-formed from the mind of comedy writer, TV producer, and Russell Crowe doppleganger Sam Pasternack. He submitted to our gauntlet of questions — read on to see what he has to say for himself. Also, if you’re in the NYC area on September 4, go say hi to Sam and buy Walker and attend his electrifying Walker launch event at The Mysterious Bookshop.
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1. Who are you? What are you doing here?
Sam Pasternack, 6’0, auditioning for the role of “author of Walker.”
2. Since “Where do you get your ideas?” is a terrible question, what made you want to write this book?
Where do I get my ideas? What a great question! Walker came about when my brother Jesse told me about Pedestrianism, a form of competitive long-distance walking that was popular in the Civil War era. I’ve always loved learning about sports subcultures that have gone out of style over the years. Once I started imagining the modern-day descendants of the most famous pedestrians, Walker’s story came into focus.
3. How did you keep writing this book?
I loved every moment I spent getting lost in the world of Walker. No matter what was going on in my life each day – whether I was traveling, working, picketing during the 2023 WGA/SAG strike, or playing in a marching band – I always knew that I could come back to Walker’s journey, that I could go somewhere with Walker and Ria. It was a grounding force, the backbeat of this last year for me. It was such a joy to feel that way while building out this world, and I hope readers can lose themselves in the story just like I did.
Sam!
4. Who is this book for, anyway?
Do you like road novels? Conspiracies? Family histories? Mysteries? Little ditties about crossing state lines? Imaginary histories of small towns? Easily excitable characters who love discovering aspects of our world they never knew existed? Well, then Walker is for you.
5. Any darlings you had to kill?
Some ideas evolved as I was writing, so fortunately I feel like any characters or stories that needed to change did change for the better. Most of those changes involved making sure I was properly adhering to the geography of the United States and what would be a logical walking route. So, because of that, there’s no trips to New Orleans or Tuba City, Arizona for Walker. At least not yet.
6. What are you working on now?
I’ve been working on some musical projects, some animated projects, some screenplays and pilots, and I’m just starting to figure out my next novel. I definitely have more to explore in the world of Walker, but right now I’m playing around with something new. And now that I’ve finished writing this book about people who walk across the country, I finally have more time to go on walks myself. I’m sticking to quick jaunts around my neighborhood, but if pedestrianism ever makes a comeback, I’ll be ready.
