It wasn't until age 43 when author K.E. Semmel was first diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. He had been living with its impact most of his life.
"I've always wondered, ever since I was a kid, why I had these tics. Nobody else in my family had them," Semmel said during a visit to WBFO to discuss his novel "The Book of Losman."
"And so all along I always wondered why I had these tics. I had no idea why. This book, 'The Book of Losman,' allowed me to explore the 'why.'"
Like Semmel, the book's title character also has Tourette syndrome, a neurological condition that causes involuntary muscle movements. Earlier this year, he penned an essay on Tourette at the Huffington Post. It was viewed more than 725,000 times.
"Much of my life has been shaped around the tics. I've always been somebody who, for better or for worse, avoided being around a lot of people earlier on in my life and getting to know people," Semmel said.
While the character Losman shares some characteristics with the author, Semmel stresses the book is a "speculative novel" that followed its own, creative path.
"Writing is a joy. There's a lot of revision involved in writing. It still took me five years to write ("The Book of Losman") even though I wanted to write it much shorter than that. But, it was a lot of fun."
Semmel will read from "The Book of Losman" on Thursday, November 7 at 7 p.m. at Fitz Books & Waffles, 433 Ellicott Street in Buffalo.
