What sparked the idea for your time travel novel?
A common question people have!
In general, any idea I have for a longer work (or even a piece of flash fiction) usually starts with an image or a specific event.
First, here is a little about my complete at 93,000 words project, THE PECULIAR CRAFT OF SHADOW REPAIR, a science fantasy novel.
When motorcycle mechanic and stunt trainer, Maude “Ma” Brubaker, suspects a Shadow Weaver infection—a tiny creature that forces time travel and disappearing limbs—she must learn how to control it, stop bullshitting about why she isn’t there for her loved ones, and gain forgiveness or remain at the whim of her Weaver consumed by guilt and isolation while fading into the shadows.
Back to how I came up with the idea for this particular novel. A little over ten years ago I went on a road trip through Twin Falls, Idaho. We drove to Arizona to visit family from Oregon. At some point during the trip we stopped off at the Snake River Canyon after traversing the bridge to cross into town. We had lunch on a bench overlooking the canyon when I noticed a tall concrete marker about 75 feet away. Curious, I walked over with my dog and read the now worn-off text on the post. There was a faded photo of Evel Knieval, a famous daredevil from the 70s. He wore his usual white leathers with blue stripes and white stars decorating it. Someone I remembered from my childhood, though I missed his jump over the Snake River canyon by a few years. I wasn’t even born when he jumped it.
I pulled up memories I had of the time when I’d seen news channels discussing Evel Knieval and I swear, if it isn’t a false memory, I saw at least one of Evel’s jumps somewhere in the U.S. in real-time on TV. The showmanship and drama surrounding the event was at once laughable and intriguing. This person could actually die, or at least get badly injured. Why was this such a big deal? This was my line of thinking and then the seed of my novel began to form. A young girl intrigued by a family member’s motorcycle obsession grew into a young woman stunt rider who vanished But why did she vanish from everyone’s lives? Time travel. And on it went until the real story solidified.
Oftentimes, the ideas are jumbling around in my brain for years. I’ll take notes and look back on them months or even a year later and pick out the pieces that fit. The way human minds work is fascinating.
Supplemental materials
View the botched jump over the Snake River Canyon
View the successful jump on Kings Island (farthest successful jump at 133 ft in 1975)
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