Anthony “Tony” Drago was born in Camden, New Jersey and spent much of his early childhood at his paternal grandparents Italian grocery store. From a young age, his mother, Kaleria Palchikoff Drago, would tell him the captivating story of her journey from Russia to Japan and then to the United States. It created Tony’s foundation for his love of history—especially his family’s history—bringing him to write this book.
After retiring in 2006, Tony doubled down on his passions—flying his airplane, restoring his classic car, and traveling the world with his wife, Kathy. Tony and Kathy have been married for forty-five years. They have three adult children and enjoy spending their days on the beach in their hometown of Carmel, California with their eight grandchildren and dogs, Tug and Maggie. For more information about Kaleria and the book, visit http://www.survivinghiroshima.com.
Douglas Wellman was a television producer-director for 35 years, as well as dean of the film school at the University of Southern California. He currently lives in Southern Utah with his wife, Deborah, where he works as a chaplain at a local hospital when he isn’t busy writing books.
For more information on Doug and the books he has written, visit his website at http://www.douglaswellmanauthor.com.
As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books. Can you tell us how you got the idea to write your book?
ANTHONY DRAGO: This is the story of my family, which had a long history as members of the aristocracy in czarist Russia. During the Russian Civil War, those loyal to the czar were attacked by the Bolsheviks. My grandfather, Sergei Palchikoff, was an officer in the White Russian Army, but he and his troops were slowly pushed across Russia to the port of Vladivostok, where my grandfather and his colleagues hijacked a ship to take them to Japan. They lived peacefully there until the end of World War II, when the atomic bomb was dropped on their new home city of Hiroshima. My mother told me stories of my family from the time I was very young, and I have dreamed of writing this book for decades.
Can you give us an excerpt?
Although she couldn’t see, her hearing hadn’t been affected. The first sound she remembered hearing was David-half calling out, half crying-“Mom, mom, where are you? It’s so dark; I can’t see!” The dust was beginning to settle, and mom became conscious of movement across the room. It was David under a pile of rubble. She was suddenly aware that their house had fallen on them. The bomb obviously must have landed in their yard. It was lucky that David had just stepped into the house before the explosion; he would have been killed had he been outside. She heard another voice. “David, David, are you all right? God save my boy!” It was grandmother. At least three of them were still alive.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would that be?
DOUGLAS WELLMAN: Be brave! When I was young, I was too concerned with trying to write everything really well from the moment I put my first thought on paper. I put a lot of undo pressure on myself. I would tell my younger self to charge ahead and not worry if you don’t like the results. I know I’m going to rewrite anyway, so why worry at this point? The pressure stymies creativity. Just get started and keep going. You’re gonna fix it later anyway.
What would you say is one of your interesting writing quirks?
I can’t have a desk that faces a wall. When I was in college, I had a really unpleasant job with a desk that faced a wall. I decided then that I would never again stare at a wall. My writing chair is up against wall and I look across my desk at the expanse of my office. I have some awards from my days as a television producer, and they are on a shelf in front of me. If I ever have a moment of self-doubt, I look at them.
Do you hear from your readers? What do they say?
ANTHONY DRAGO: I have heard from some readers who received advance reading copies. All have told me that they really enjoyed the book and were impressed with the research that went into telling this remarkable story.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
DOUGLAS WELLMAN: The most difficult criticism for me to handle is when an editor, or someone else who has seen the pre-publication manuscript, suggests I cut something. I try to put a lot of context in the work, so the reader understands events outside the specific story, but there is a point where you can put in too much information and actually get in the way of the story. In this book, at my editor’s suggestion, I made cuts in the contextual information on the Pacific War. There reader will still see the story in light of world events without being burdened by too many details. Although I don’t particularly like cutting, I understand that it frequently makes for a more readable book.
What has been your best accomplishment?
ANTHONY DRAGO: The story of my family is very important to me. For over thirty years I have wanted to write this book and there is a huge sense of accomplishment with finally getting it done. My co-author, Douglas Wellman, was able to guide me and put everything in place.
Do you Google yourself?
ANTHONY DRAGO: Yes, and it’s fascinating to see how interest is growing in this book.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
DOUGLAS WELLMAN: I wrote an autobiography for a celebrity many years ago, and when I had it set up with a publisher, the celebrity’s son popped up and said he had power of attorney for his father, stepped in and made a lot of ridiculous demands. The publisher called me and told me the deal was off. I have just completed the first draft of a book about a Christian missionary in Thailand. I will finish that in the fall. As I work on that, I will be starting research on the story of a Polish Jewish woman who survived Nazi concentration camps. That story just came to me, so I have not started it.
Fun question – if you were princess or prince, what’s one thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?
DOUGLAS WELLMAN: I’d hire someone to follow me around and keep an eye on me so I would stop losing things.
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to your readers?
ANTHONY DRAGO: I would like to tell the readers that my mother wanted to tell her story in a positive, insightful way, without pulling any punches. She would want to impress upon the readers that people need to reach deep into themselves to find ways to survive the tragedies in their lives. They prevail by family, faith and the sheer will to overcome. Do not give up…believe in yourself.
From Russian nobility, the Palchikoffs barely escaped death at the hands of Bolshevik revolutionaries until Kaleria’s father, a White Russian officer, hijacked a ship to take them to safety in Hiroshima. Safety was short lived. Her father, a talented musician, established a new life for the family, but the outbreak of World War II created a cloud of suspicion that led to his imprisonment and years of deprivation for his family.
Then, on August 6, 1945, 22-year-old Kaleria was doing pre-breakfast chores when a blinding flash lit the sky over Hiroshima, Japan. A moment later, everything went black as the house collapsed on her and her family. Their world, and everyone else’s changed as the first atomic bomb was detonated over a city.
After the bombing, trapped in the center of previously unimagined devastation, Kaleria summoned her strength to come to the aid of bomb victims, treating the never-before seen effects of radiation. Fluent in English, Kaleria was soon recruited to work with General Douglas MacArthur’s occupation forces.
No comments:
Post a Comment