An Interview with author Scott Morro

In 2006, local author Scott Morro took a little local history, a dash of The Goonies, and a bit of Back to the Future and blended it all together into a clever young adults book called The Cross Over. In the book, our beloved Indian Tower becomes a time machine, shooting a group of kids back to Nazareth 1746 where they befriend a young Whitefield House resident and try to get back home. We caught up with Scott and he humored us with an e-mail interview and shared some cool pictures of The Tower.




Weird Nazareth: What inspired you to choose Nazareth, and in particular the Indian Tower, as the setting for this book?

Scott Morro: Well, Nazareth is a hotbed of paranormal activity, so it made perfect sense to… Actually, I grew up in Nazareth [on Spring Street] near Pep’s Place and Santo’s Market. I went to Nazareth High School and lived there my whole life until I got married and moved to Bethlehem. The Indian Tower is a place my friends and I used to visit as kids. We’d climb the tower and watch the races [at the Nazareth Speedway] with binoculars. You could only see 3 turns, but it was free and we liked it. Plus, I always thought the place was creepy [&] cool. Just something about it, ya know… The idea for the book came about when my family and I were visiting the Holy Family cemetery on Father’s Day a few years back. My youngest son, Ryan, who was 4 at the time, pointed up to the tower from the cemetery and said, “What’s that, daddy?” He and my oldest son sprinted for the tower and we began to look around. I explained what it was and some of the history I knew. My family got back in the car, but I stayed and began taking a closer look at the tower, the monument and the plaques nearby. The idea for the book formed as I was standing there. I went to the library and did some research and I spent time at the Whitefield House reading and researching as well. A former curator there, Mark Turdo, photo-copied a diary written by a girl who stayed at the [Whitefiled House] during the time period I was going to write about and that was a big help. After reading the diary and going over my notes, I sat with my laptop and wrote. About 7 weeks later I was finished with the initial draft. Then it was on to edit and make some changes before sending it off to my publisher.

WN: It seems you had been aware of the existence of time travel for some time. Why did it take you so long to reveal it to the world?

SM: Drunken stupor from too many cans of Guinness…Abducted by aliens at Potts Doggie Shop on Broad Street…I seriously don’t know. I’ve used time travel in two other young adult novels, one out now (What’s Brewing in Boston) and one currently being shopped to publishers (The Moravian Enigma). [What’s Brewing in Boston] takes two brothers back in time to assist with the Boston Tea Party, while [The Moravian Enigma] is a scavenger hunt/National Treasure/DaVinci Code type book set in Nazareth and Bethlehem, where the main character and his best friend search for treasure buried by George Washington during the American Revolution. How’d ya like the shameless plug for my other stuff??? I love the idea of time travel and would love to experience it myself. As much as I’m a sports freak (Go Yankees), I love history too. There’s something cool about how you can weave fact and fiction and, in essence, take that journey just like your characters have in the books.

WN: If the Indian Tower were still a functioning time machine, where and when would you travel to, given the chance?

SM: Wow…good question! Do I have to choose just one place? I’d go back to New York and Nazareth of the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s to see Yankees greats of the past play and to see what life was like for my parents and grandparents. I’d travel to Baltimore of the 1830’s and 1840’s so I could meet Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favorite writers. Maybe we could hook up and write a creepy time travel story together…I’d go to Iowa and do that “Field of Dreams” corn-thing and see where the ball-players go…I’d go to Ford’s Theater and sit in the crowd with Abe Lincoln the night he was shot. Maybe stop John Wilkes Booth if I was feeling brave enough…Too many more to mention…

WN: Our readers are interested in the unusual and quirky side of the Nazareth. Having grown up there, what are some of the odd things that you remember about the town?

SM: I remember hearing about ghosts and creepy shit going on at Black Rock near the pool. I remember hearing scary stories about ghosts at Gracedale…AND I actually experienced some “stuff” while I worked there a few years when I was going to college. I also remember hearing about a murder of two kids, twins I think, in the 1950’s. I’ve actually started to do research for a book on that event. Other than that, not much…But I’d loved to hear what you and your readers have to share…

WN: Are you doing any writing right now?

SM: Aside from the answers to these questions, ya mean??? I’m working on three projects at the moment: I’m working on a young adult book about bullying in a middle school. Originally it was titled ECLIPSE, but since that Stephanie Meyer chick, ya know, the one who wrote the TWILIGHT series, stole that title already, I re-named it RAY OF SUNSHINE, based on a character’s nickname. I’m working on another [young adult] novel about a young man who goes off to Iraq and writes letters back and forth with a cousin of his here in America. There’s still LOTS to do with that one. My wife’s been after me to do an A to Z book about Nazareth and, as I said above, I’m really interested in doing an adult book about the murder of those twins…I mean adult as in “for adults,” not with porn and that type of “adult.” So far, though, the internet has been a bust when it comes to unearthing info on the case. I think I’m headed back to the library and to search micro film. I think it took place in the 1950’s and the kids were named Schaffer or Shafer…something like that. I believe they were abducted near Mitchell Avenue, by high school and their bodies were found in Black Rock. Again, I could have my facts jumbled, but I remember it being a bid deal. My dad, who works at the Post Office, brought it up to me recently and talked about it as a book idea. I loved it! I just need to get the research stared and start writing. Who knows, maybe I’ll solve the thing and CSI: Nazareth will be born…

WN: Thanks, Scott!

Scott’s author website is http://www.publishedauthors.net/scottmorro/index.html. You can see photos, read samples of his books, and find lots of information. He says he is available for school visits and lectures and says you can e-mail him at morro23@rcn.com

You can buy Scott’s books at Amazon.com or check the “links” section of his website. You can also check the Nazareth Memorial Library.