La Jolla author publishes adventure tale with debut novel, ‘Tales of a Wanderer’

During the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many of us were confined to our homes, La Jolla resident Stefan Azimioara may have been on lockdown, but he wasn’t in isolation. He was accompanied by characters he had come up with in the past, and he gave them new life and developed their stories to create his debut novel, “Tales of a Wanderer: A Journey’s Start.”

“It was an idea at first and then I started investing more time. It got to be fleshed out and put on paper,” said Azimioara, a 2017 La Jolla High School graduate. “I started working on it in 2020, when I lost my job because my company downsized and I was in quarantine. During that time, I played a lot of video games and went down a lot of YouTube rabbit holes on historical topics that interested me. The concept of real-life stories, issues of diplomacy, mystery and adventure inspired me. I didn’t have a fully fleshed out idea, but I kept going and the story became more developed. I was constantly polishing the character arc and now I have fully realized where they go and who they meet.”

He set out to write the story of an exiled court magician whose travels lead him to friends, mentors and foes, joined by a young girl named Ravina who was the sole survivor of a ravaged town.

Ravina “has been taken along for the ride, but there is a plot point that ties her into the adventure a little later,” Azimioara said. “She has been taken from her home and is in a band of misfits and is learning along the way.”

The story “follows the magician’s adventures … but it’s less about the character and more about the setting and that he is thrust into an unfortunate situation and has to find a way to haphazardly get out of it,” he said.

“Once it was done, I wanted to share it,” Azimioara said.

“Tales of a Wanderer” was published in September by Dorrance Publishing Co. of Pittsburgh. Azimioara said the book is part of a series, with the sequel in development.

“Writing these stories is an art, and the thing about art is that it is never truly finished but always going to be added to,” he said. “It correlates my own life experiences in that a lot of people helped me, which I took for granted at the time. There is a thread of lessons from a mentor, father to son, teacher to student, etc.”

But rather than have a specific message or takeaway, “I want the reader to draw their own conclusions,” he said. “I don’t want them to feel any certain way, but maybe take on a different perspective and see things through the characters’ eyes and see what may influence their decisions.”

“Tales of a Wanderer” can be purchased through many online booksellers. ◆