Author’s book tour - by boat - starts today in Troy
TROY. N. Y. » One local author is embarking on a book tour by boat to celebrate his autobiographical “Coming of Age on the Hudson.”
The book — fully titled, “Coming of Age on the Hudson: In Which I Make Several Attempts to Float from Albany to Manhattan Between 2006 and 2010, and in the Process, Become a Citizen and a Man” — tells of Trombley’s obsession with this goal, and how through its pursuit, he transitioned into adulthood.
Trombley intended the book to be an anatomy of his generation.
“It follows several characters as they mature from
college kids with ennui to successful adults,” he said in a press release. “In the first volume I am working as a house- painter and truck stop bartender, for example, while the second volume discusses my analytical work for the State Assembly.”
The 33- year- old Albany resident, originally from New Baltimore, is holding a book tour in the communities of the Hudson Valley between Aug. 31 and Sept. 12, kicking off in the Collar City.
The book tour will begin at 4 p. m. on Thursday at Riverfront Park in downtown Troy, where Trombley will be aboard his homemade craft called, That’s Life. The wind- powered boat is 15- feet long by 8- feet wide. It floats on two canoes and is powered by tides, a rowing station, and two windmills that power a bank of four batteries attached to an electric trolling motor. The boat’s top speed is 4 miles per hour.
Trombley, who frequently sports a fedora cocked back on his head while steering the vessel, said he chose the name because he likes the line in the Frank Sinatra song: “You’re riding high in April, and shot down in May / but I know I’m gonna change my tune, when I’m back on top in June.”
After setting sail in Troy, Trombley plans to continue his book tour with a 7 p. m. stop on Thursday at The Barge restaurant in Albany. Here, he has cordially invited anyone who is interested in seeing his boat or buying a copy of his book.
The author’s first signing, in conjunction with Boating on the Hudson magazine, will take place from 4 to 8 p. m. on Friday at Yanni’s Too restaurant in Coeymans.
The book tour will continue in Athens on Saturday and Nyack on Sunday then Ravena and other locations along the Hudson.
The book comes in two volumes, totaling 956 pages, at $ 30.
Trombley says he decided on a boat- driven book tour because the book is almost entirely set within the Hudson Valley.
However, he will also be travelling inland to make appearances while the boat remains docked.
“I’m going to be on and off the boat, but I think it is important to use my vessel because the novel is based on building boats and exploring the Hudson,” he said in the release. “Besides, I have two weeks off of work and I love the river: the fresh air and the material history covered in weeds and vines all down the valley. It’s been five years since I’ve gotten to experience the Hudson beneath a sugar- spill of stars on a moonless night, or explore the remains of a dilapidated aqueduct hidden in the foliage. Much of the book is about passing the shoreline at 2 miles an hour, and I’m nostalgic for that.”
More information on the book tour and Trombley’s adventures in boat construction is available online at DallasTrombley.com.