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Susan B James
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Kailua Beach, HI and the Crab festival in Port Angeles WA. Yum!
Walter appreciated the Leis
In the past three weeks I traveled from the glorious beaches in Hawaii to the snow-topped Olympic Mountains in Port Angeles Washington. Between trips I stopped home in Los Angeles, played with my grandson and spent a day at the 2018 InDScribed conference. That's what my physical body did.
My mental travels were more extensive. I flashed between 1840 Victorian London and a country manor 1940 World War II England rereading the third draft of Lord Bryon's Daughter before I write the last part of the story.
I thought I had finished the story before my critique partners unanimously said "No." I have to take Ada back to 1840 and show how the time travel affected her life in a Victorian Society.
In 1840 Augusta Ada Bryron chafed against the restrictions of Victorian Society. The real Ada was so far ahead of her time that she invented the first computer language more than a century before there was a machine that could use it. Alan Turing, the hero of the film The Imitation Game, used Ada's work to further his own.
A main theme in my novel is how much women as a sex are underrated, So Ada has to go back and change because of what she experienced in 1940. Ada changed the world during her lifetime. But no one knew she had done it until the mid twentieth century.
The battle for a woman to be accepted as an intelligent being worthy of equal treatment isn't new. If you'd like to read a fictional account of Ada's journey, here's a link to the first chapter. https://susanbjames.blogspot.com/p/lord-byrons-daughter.html
Happy Reading
Posted by
Susan B James
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If you love time travel, you are one of my people. My first adventures in time travelling came with Robert Heinlein's A Door into Summer. Since then I have loved many time travel stories and discovered many methods of time travel.
From Doc Brown's Mr. Fusion Energy reactor set into a DeLorean in Back to the Future, to Jack Finney's Time and Again 'recreate the past method', to Lynn Kurland's time gates in her A Dance Through Time series, to Jude Deveraux's calls from the past. A Knight in Shining Armor and Legend.
I loved time travel so much I ended up writing one myself.
And that's when I discovered a very important truth: It doesn't matter how or where you send your protagonists. Your job as the author is to make your reader believe your way is possible.
I sent my two heroines back to London in 1969 by way of a virtual reality game.
I researched time travel theories. The scientific ones and the non-scientific.
My two favorites:
Time protection theory: You cannot change the past in in such a way that you would not be born. Time itself would prevent it.
Time probability Theory: Your travelling back sets up infinite timelines in
where your future is significantly changed.
In Time and Forever, I used both these theories.
Now I am writing another book in the Time and Forever world and I've run into a new set of problems. A series of events results in my protagonists disappearing from time. I have to reinsert them into the past in a way that the reader will believe possible. And I am having so much fun. My logic brain is getting a real workout. I'm weaving in and out of time like a demented Wookie. My constant prayer is please let this story work.
I'm giving away a copy of Time and Forever to celebrate making it two-thirds of the way through the fifth draft of Maybe This Time with my critique group. (Bless them!) You can read the first five chapters on the of Time and Forever on the Romances tab. (It ought to say My Books But I can't figure out how to change it.)
Blurb:
1969. Love was free, man walked on the moon, and Sherry and Lorena found the loves of their lives. Sherry shared a kiss that dreams were made of, with a stranger on the tube in London. And ran away. Lorena found the love of her life in Los Angeles and married him.
The present. Sherry’s a successful businesswoman with two grown sons. Lorena’s an actress on a popular sitcom. Sherry’s husband dumped her for a younger woman eighteen years ago. Lorena’s husband died of cancer.
Sherry wants a second chance at Love. Lorena doesn’t believe that’s possible. But when a glitch in a Virtual Reality Adventure game sends them back to the real 1969, anything can happen.
Enter below. You can use the Rafflecopter, or you can choose to leave a comment. Please use the Rafflecopter if you are new to this blog. That way I get your email so I can contact you if you win. I wish you all an amazing week full of problems solved.
Posted by
Susan B James
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Meet the delightful
genre-blending Anne B Cole who manages to combine teaching, parenting and
writing and still stay sane,
I read Anne’s first
book, Souls Entwined in May, 2014. Here’s my review: I've never read a book like this one. I
received a copy of Souls Entwined in return for a fair review. Two contemporary people, Sam and Gretta are sent back to entwine with the bodies of a kidnapped sailor, Lorenzo and a young Greek woman, Anya to solve the mystery of a generations old curse. Their adventure is a race against time to prevent Gretta from becoming the curse's next victim. Snapping back and forth between past and present, Sam and Gretta feel a growing commitment to each other. I look forward to reading the next installment in this adventure. A remarkable debut by Anne B. Cole.
This
year Anne and I were both Finalists in the RONE Awards for best time travel.
Neither of us won, but we were both thrilled with the honor.
Yes,
congratulations Susan for getting into finals! It was such an honor to be nominated for the
RONE. The winning and runner up authors in our category are simply amazing
writers with over 30 titles published between the two of them.
Anne lives in
Indiana with her husband and three teenage children. She teaches preschool and
makes time to run so she can eat ice cream and doughnuts.
Some people ask me how I get everything
done in my crammed days. I admit that I rarely watch television (unless it is
football season) and I multi task---right now I’m writing this interview, doing
two loads of laundry, and baking an apple pie.
I love firsts, so
tell me about the moment when a publisher told you they wanted to publish your
book.
In 2013, my critique partner submitted a
pitch of my book in a ‘pitch your mate’ blog contest. She had already submitted
her own pitch in the part of the contest where you submit your own work. We
both made it through the qualifying round and to the editors’ round. Soul Mate
Publishing offered a contract on my first novel, Souls Entwined through this contest. I admit…without my critique
partners I’d have never become published. When my publisher sent an email to me
accepting my book for contract I remember saying, “Oh my God!”…about ten times
in a row. My family surrounded me with questions like, “What happened?” and
“Who died?” It was a life changing moment because I went from dabbling in a
hobby of writing to becoming a novelist.
If it isn’t too
nosy. How about the first time you kissed your true love?
My true love is my husband of 23 years. We
started dating in high school when I was 16 and we dated for over seven years
before we married. Our first kiss was in his parent’s car after we went out and
played miniature golf with a group of friends. It was the perfect ending to a
teenage date--- simple, sweet, and the beginning of a love that will last a
lifetime. A beautiful first. Thank you.
Other than your own,
who are your favorite (heroes/heroines/writers) in your genre?
Diana Gabaldon’s books are amazing. As for
heroes and heroines---gotta side with Percy Jackson and Annabeth. My son and I
love to read Rick Riordan.
What is the most
exciting moment, so far, in your writing career?
Giving credit to my kids and husband for
their support and ideas for my writing was special. When I started to write the
acknowledgements for Souls Estranged I realized the book would not have been
possible without them.
What is your
favorite pastime, other than writing?
That’s easy…I run because I love to bake
and cook! Nothing is better than running five miles in order to justify eating
a slice of homemade apple pie. Both leave me feeling awesome.
6 to 8 strips of thick cut bacon, cooked
and crumbled
Chopped green onions (optional)
Ranch dressing (on the side to dip)
Place the chips on a jelly roll pan and
cover with cheese. (add more or less cheese if desired). Drizzle with BBQ
sauce. Toss on the crumbled bacon---again, add more or less as desired.
Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 5 to 7
minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve with ranch dressing.
That looks truly sinful!
Any advice for new
writers just starting out?
Write every day. (Every word you pen will
make you a better writer. Blogs, notes, emails, and of course your work in
progress counts.)
Read every day. I learn something about
writing every time I read.
What genre or
genres do you write?
I like to bend my genres. I enjoy combining supernatural
suspense, time travel, and sweet romance with a touch of magical realism.
"She fled to save him from the curse. Now she must
flee to save
herself."
SUMMARY
Back from their adventures inSouls Entwined, Sam Daggett
begins a new relationship with Gretta Dobbs, whose memories of their time
traveling experience have been erased. Determined to never leave her again, Sam
vows to help Gretta, despite the bad luck curse on her heirloom ring. Within
hours of their return, tragedy strikes. As Sam becomes the third victim of the
bad luck curse, Gretta’s memories of her time spent in the past begin to
return. Unable to remember more than snippets, she realizes that anyone close
to her is in grave danger. In order to keep Sam and her family safe, she flees
in the middle of the night. Finding the perfect summer job in the back hills of
Virginia, Gretta unknowingly crosses paths with a serial killer. With
guidance from their ancestral spirits, Roxana and Katarina, Sam desperately
attempts to find Gretta before the curse strikes again.
“Lunch is almost
ready. Here’s a list of Sam’s pre-surgery instructions.” Ruby handed the paper
to Gretta. “Tim and I both have to work tomorrow so you’ll need to keep him in
line.”
Sam heard the two
discussing the dos and don’ts prior to his operation, yet his mind registered
one thing.
Alone time
with Gretta.
Gretta
scrutinized the list. “What about this one?”
“Never mind,”
Ruby chortled.
Gretta walked
over to the kitchen and opened a drawer. Finding it empty, she smiled at Ruby.
“I could have cleaned the drawers.”
“What did you
say?” Ruby lifted a square of gooey lasagna from the pan.
“You crossed ‘clean
drawers’ off my list.” Gretta pointed to the paper.
“No, no dear. I
meant—”
“Ruby?” Sam
wasn’t sure how he knew what she was going to say, but he definitely didn’t
want her to continue.
“I crossed it
off, Sam. After I caught you two on the couch, I wrote a list for Tim. He will
make certain you have on clean—”
“Ruby!”
“Oh, hush
yourself and eat.” She handed them two heaping plates.
Gretta and Sam
slid into the chairs at the table. He dug into the steaming layers of pasta,
cheese, and sausage. After a minute of silence, Gretta’s grin caught his eye.
“Batman or
Spiderman?”
Sam laughed
before answering, “Hanes. Plain, white Hanes.” He peered sideways to Ruby and
lowered his voice. “Fifteen years ago, Spiderman.”
Gretta smirked, forking a hunk of pasta
dripping with cheese. “Spiderman?”
“Spiderman. What
about you? Cinderella or Snow White?” He watched her savor her food.
She wiped cheese
and sauce off her lips with one finger and licked it clean.“Cinderella.”
What’s your current
WIP?
I’m
currently writing the third and final book of The Souls Trilogy, Souls Endure. Here’s the hook---‘Without
faith, love may not exist. Without love, evil takes control.’ This book is
verbally contracted and about 75% written…I have so much to say about it….but
you’ll have to wait.
