The legendary Abacrombie Bed & Breakfast, located in heart of Baltimore, Maryland’s Cultural District, attracts a wide diversity of guests from all walks of life. Modeled loosely on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, innkeeper and owner of the Abacrombie, John L. Herman Jr., imparts the emotional stories of fourteen people who became stranded at the Inn during a spring blizzard, in his inspiring book “The Innkeeper Tales: Modern-Day Canterbury Tales to Entertain, Enlighten & Empower.” True accounts from a construction worker to a probation officer, a millionaire business man who lost it all to a baseball fanatic, and several more grace the pages of Herman’s book. Herman guarantees that every story in “The Innkeeper Tales” is true , and when brought together in this context, builds a strong testimonial about the commonality of people through the struggles and accomplishments we all face in life. “The lessons of redemption from each story inspire as well as entertain, and I think this is why the book so compelling” explains Herman

Interview with John L. Herman

Reader Views welcomes John L. Herman Jr., author of “The Innkeeper Tales: Modern-Day Canterbury Tales to Entertain, Enlighten & Empower.” John is being interviewed by Juanita Watson, Assistant Editor of Reader Views.

Juanita:  Thank you for talking with us today John.  We are interested in hearing more about your new book “The Innkeeper Tales: Modern-Day Canterbury Tales to Entertain, Enlighten & Empower.”  Would start by telling us what your book is about? 

John:  Well, Juanita, this book takes the reader through the lives of fourteen characters who have been stranded at the ABACROMBIE Bed & Breakfast in downtown Baltimore, which I own and operate.  Normally in a B & B people share a slice of their lives over breakfast with total strangers, unlike a more traditional hotel breakfast setting.  In this case the weather prevents them from leaving and the people share a long day where the tales they tell stretch out into longer segments of their lives.

The book takes you through triumphs, tragedies, laughter and heartache of real people.  The construction worker, probation officer, car builder, pilot, millionaire business man who lost it all, the baseball fanatic, house builder, and several more.  It is the fact that every story is true , and that the lessons of redemption from each telling inspire the reader while entertaining them that makes the book so compelling.

Juanita:  John, what inspired you to write your book?

John:  We have all had many chapters in our lives.  My children have always told me to write mine down for them.  Owning the Inn gave me the opportunity to share some of my stories with guests who enjoyed the morning conversations.  This book springs from the many shared stories.

Juanita:  Would you tell us about the highly-acclaimed Abacrombie Bed & Breakfast? Where is it, how long you’ve owned it, and its national recognition?

John:  The ABACROMBIE  is in the Cultural District of Baltimore and attracts professionals visiting the city, couples attending the symphony, students and parents for the local colleges, and people who just want to get away.  The Inn has recently been featured on the nationally acclaimed Tasty Travels on the Food Network, hosted by Rachael Ray.  Our family bought the Inn five years ago, although the 1890 five story building has been an Inn for the last twenty-five years.  Bon Apetit, Food and Wine, Saveur, Baltimore Magazine, and many newspapers have written up the Inn as Baltimore’s Best Bed and Breakfast, and Restaurant.

Juanita: John, you’ve owned over 20 companies throughout your career, and have been involved in the sale of more than 300 companies throughout America.  What drew you to owning a B&B, and would you comment on your personal interest in this type of business?

John: Our son is a highly acclaimed world class Chef.  He was at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, Florida and my wife and I decided to give him the chance to own his own restaurant.  He has become recognized on a national scale for his work here at the ABACROMBIE.  While I have enjoyed the guests we have met over the years, when the Chef moves on to other challenges, my wife and I will also move on to less stressful endeavors.

Juanita:  One of the unique B&B experiences that have patrons coming back for more is the camaraderie they discover with other guests, and the owners of the establishment.  What is your experience with this?  What is the “big secret”?

John: Having a beautiful room, elegantly furnished in period pieces, with lavish chandeliers, and yet full of modern amenities gives you the best of being in a hotel, with the charm of the past.  It makes people comfortable to be in a “house” and when they see other guests at breakfast they feel relaxed enough to share with each other, and as the Innkeeper, they always ask about our past.  The secret to this type of operation is to let them enjoy and not impose.

Juanita:  And then there is the “breakfast room.”  Would you tell us the significance of this particular room, and its importance to your book?

John:  In a Marriott at breakfast there is an artificial barrier between tables.  In our place the people sit together, start chatting on a superficial level.  Some stay several days and each new breakfast brings out more details of their lives as they become more comfortable with each other.  The book is written to show just how much you can learn about even a total stranger, when time permits them to “tell all.”

Juanita:  When was this fateful winter’s day in “The Innkeeper Tales,” and how many quests were stranded?

John:  The day is “mythical” as the stories have been compiled from many different breakfast sessions.  I took the liberty as the writer to use the setting of the Inn and the storm to let the characters elaborate on their chapter. And I am asked over and again about the truth of each one.  Stay to the end for proof that all are indeed true .

Juanita:  B&B’s typically cater to a diverse range of guests.  Would you tell us about some of the standouts that grace the pages of your book?

John:“Danny” is a driven man who at a young age builds a highly successful business that becomes franchised in 35 states and becomes a Publicly Traded company.  Sadly he weaves the tale about how the capital structure fails and the business collapses leaving his life in shambles.  “Ben” features a life of rebuilding things, like cars and boats.  “Randy” takes the reader through a long journey of inspiration as he travels the country working with many companies in trouble.  All of them reveal how each one overcame the obstacles we all face day-to-day and triumphed in the end.

Juanita:  What is the theme that ties all these stories together?

John:  That life happens to all of us.  And, that when we fall down we just have to get up.  The reader will enjoy being challenged to examine the struggles of their own lives while laughing and crying through the Chapters of The Innkeeper Tales.

Juanita: What do you think the act of telling these stories did for these people?  What was the power of this experience?

John:  To share with others what we have learned about ourselves.  Most people move through their experiences without spending too much time examining them.  These characters enjoy digging back into their past and letting the whole truth emerge, both good and bad, because they were proud of how they moved on from both the highs and the lows.

Juanita:  How is “The Innkeeper Tales” a learning experience for the reader?

John: There are so many life lessons and business lessons that there is something for everyone here.  Some just want to read a book to escape and be entertained.  They will love these people.  Others want to get more detail about a subject, and that is covered here in a number of different arenas.

Juanita: What do find most appealing about your role as Innkeeper?

John: Being the Innkeeper allows you to interact with people at their best.  They are away from home, and usually want to relax and are happy to be there.  Guests come from all over the globe and love to share a bit of themselves.  In the case of my being the Innkeeper it filled my need to find a format to express myself in this first book.

Juanita:  John, what is the underlying message of “The Innkeeper Tales”?

John:  The message is that life is wonderful if we let ourselves experience it fully.  That we should accept the down side because some of that is coming.  And that we all make our own “upside” by moving forward and not letting the challenge hold us back.

Juanita:  John, how can readers find out more about you and your book?

John:  Visit the website at www.TheInnkeeperTales.com and start a dialogue with me.  There are places on the website for questions and comments.  The readers can place their own reviews and see others recently posted.  I am making myself readily available to come speak to groups and share in person the journey that is The Innkeeper Tales.

Juanita: Thanks for talking with us today John.  We encourage readers to look for your book, “The Innkeeper Tales,” at local and online bookstores, as well as the Abacrombie Bed & Breakfast on their next visit to Baltimore.   Before we let you go, do you have any last thoughts for your readers today?

John:  Those who have read The Innkeeper Tales say it takes them through many emotions.  They love the stories and it makes them reflect on their own lives in a positive way.  Reading is not just a form of escape, but a place to enjoy being educated, and many readers enjoyed this as an “easy read” that did both.

Questions from the first book has inspired a second book coming out in April…look for HERMANISMS, Axioms for Business & Life, but first enjoy The Innkeeper Tales.