by Jack Krost [JKrost@aol.com]

Look for Robert Wayne in Venice When He’s Not in Oakhurst

Robert Wayne loves to amble about the piazzas of Venice.

He loves to wander through London and visit the many spots where royals have left their mark on the city over the centuries.

He loves to explore Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Rome, Florence, Paris, Berlin and many other cities in Europe.

He loves it so much, in fact, that several years ago, he began writing his own series of travel books and accompanying compact disks about Europe.

The Oakhurst resident now has two book and CD sets out, "Venice in Context" and "Royal London in Context." They've been published through the Independent Publishers Group, and copies are available at the Creative Spirit gallery in Oakhurst village. But Wayne is looking for a major publisher to get his travel books on shelves in book stores throughout the country.

He feels he offers a unique concept that many other travel books do not: his compact disks serve as a private tour guide. You can advance the disk to different tracks to hear about different locations in each city. You can listen on the spot about the site you're visiting. The books, with bright color pictures, offer more detail and also help to get you around the city.

"It sort of came to me as an epiphany, when I was on a very mediocre tour in Venice," he says. "Why not have your own personal guide that you can bring with you? It's like the audio guides you sometimes get in museums, but on a city-wide scale."

Wayne is planning to devote his next books to Florence and Paris. You can learn more about his books on his web site, www.europeincontext.com.

You might have seen Wayne at Oakhurst's International Arts and Music Festival in October. He was set up in the afternoon at the Literary Arts Tent, where he displayed his books and showed some of his many photographs to festival goers.

Wayne grew up in Oakhurst and has lived most of his life here. He currently lives in a house on East Lake Drive with his partner, Mark Bishop. His sister, JoAnna, lives nearby on Oakview Road with her husband, Johnny Braswell, who recently retired from Intown Autocare.

At one point in the early 1980s, Wayne lived in the historic "Castle House" on Fayetteville Road. (See an article about the Castle House in the History section of Oakhurst's web site, www.oakhurstga.org.)

"Of all the places in the world I've been to, I don't know anyplace I'd rather live than Oakhurst," he says. "It has a warm, family feeling to it, and it has its own little piazza. Just about everyone knows your name, and if they don't, at least they know the name of your dog!"

The central square in Harmony Park reminds Wayne of how many European neighborhoods are laid out. The square serves as a gathering place, something that's rare in American cities.

Although he loves to travel and write, Wayne pays the bills through his full-time job as an attorney. He has a general practice in downtown Decatur.

Wayne's other passionate hobby is performing on stage. He earned a degree in music performance from the University of Georgia, and in the mid-1980s, he moved to New York City to try a career in the theater. He did manage to get work, but like other people who've tried, found it was a constant struggle.

"I didn't like being poor. And when you find work, you have to travel with your show on the road. It's a difficult lifestyle," he says.

But after returning to Oakhurst, he became involved in local theater companies and now does several performances each year. Currently, he's getting ready to play a key part, the role of Sancho, in "Man of La Mancha" at the Atlanta Lyric Theater.

He's also performed at the Fox Theater, Onstage Atlanta, Southern Fried Productions, the Theater of the Stars, Other Choice Productions, the DeKalb Music Theater and Decatur's Neighborhood Playhouse.

In between performing and practicing law, he travels as much as possible.

"My friends joke that I only practice enough law to pay for my next trip," he says.

As he travels, he looks for stories to tell in his books. "Often there are great stories about the artists and the musicians and the rulers that bring a location to life. History really is about people," he says.

"Venice in Context" was Wayne's first book, and it has received several awards. At Book Expo America in 2003, ForeWord Magazine gave it a gold medal for best new travel guide published in the independent press. "Venice in Context" also received a silver medal in the Publishers Marketing Association's Ben Franklin Awards.
"Royal London in Context" has just been released.

Each book comes with two CDs. They're narrated by Joel Goddard, a longtime friend of Wayne's who formerly was the announcer for Dateline NBC and currently is the announcer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Goddard "has such a deep, rich voice, he could make the phone book sound interesting," Wayne says.

Of course, when Wayne isn't traveling, or writing about traveling, he loves to talk about traveling. So if you run into him, be sure to ask about his trips. He has more than a few stories to tell.