Thomas Swick‘s interest in travel was sparked long before he became travel editor of South Florida Sun-Sentinel. From his earliest trips from western New Jersey to visit his grandmother in central Pennsylvania, Swick appreciated travel.

In his last summer of college, he flew to London and landed a job. Next, he moved to Washington, D.C., followed by a voyage on Queen Elizabeth II to France, back to New Jersey, then to Warsaw, Greece, and back to Poland. Still barely out of college, Swick already traveled around the world. Impressed with his courage to travel so much at a young age, I used this as my starting point when I interviewed him for Talking Travel.

When he joined South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Swick established roots in southern Florida, where he still lives. His travels did not end, though. He also started writing books, which was my next topic.

Swick wrote four books and has several anthologies. What I like about his books is they are all unique. Rather than generic travel guides, each has a different focus.

His latest book, Falling into Place, is his most personal book. Three stories in one, Falling into Place covers 14 years of Swick’s life, a lot of which takes place in Poland. Swick previously wrote about Poland in Unquiet Days, but that book focused much more on the historical significance of the country.

Swick talked about all of this during our interview. His passion for travel started young and is stronger than ever.

Swick writes about travel because he enjoys it. He would still be traveling, with or without his profession. That comes through clearly when reading his works, and that makes it so much more enjoyable as a reader.

Talking Travel is an interview series on Global Traveler. Subscribe to the GT YouTube channel to be notified of all future interviews and other travel-related videos.

— John Wroblewski, online writer