The first book I wrote was a time travel romance. In 1989, time travel was not selling. All my book ideas then were time travels. But I set them all
aside and went on to write several other romance novels, figuring I would get
that first book published some day. Still mean to do that.
The trick with writing time travel is, of course, how to get
your characters back to the past, and if the plot calls for it, returned to the
present. Finding a fresh, believable approach takes some doing.
In my book, she returns to the present.
The first thing a writer must deal with once she has her
hero/heroine in the past is how they react. Are they horrified, thrilled,
scared? Most likely all three. But these reactions must be shown in a
believable way. By the same token, the writer must show the reaction of the
characters in the past to this strangely dressed invader into their world.
- Should the heroine admit where she came from? Is she believed?
- Does she try to return to the present or accept her new home?
- All these questions must be answered to the satisfaction of the reader.
Recently, I was asked to write a time travel novella for an
anthology entitled The Good, The Bad, and
The Ghostly. Historical western ghost stories. My hero, a ghost hunter,
travels to a location where he hopes to banish a ghost and winds up in the
past. Great fun to write. My particular story in this anthology is A Ride Through Time.
The anthology is
for sale on Amazon for $0.99. https://www.amazon.com/Good-Ghostly-Western-Romance-Historical-ebook/dp/B01KKVK9BI/.
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| CHARLENE RADDON |
Charlene Raddon is an award-winning author of historical romance
novels set in the American West, and a book cover designer who specializes in
historical covers.
15 comments:
Sarah, thank you for hosting me today. I love your header. If you want more blogs on time travel, I know other authors who'd be glad to jump in.
Thank you for hosting, Sarah. Love the look of your blog! I had the pleasure of working on this anthology with Char and the others. Char, you did such a good job hitting the points you made above. I thought Burke had a believable reaction to finding himself in the past. When I read your story both the past setting and the present setting felt so real, I felt I was right there. Well done! All the stories are so good and perfect for Halloween reading.
Hi Char and ladies of Romancing the Genres,
Thanks so much for hosting Char's story from The Good, The Bad and The Ghostly. We had a fun time collaborating and tying all the stories to one single thread...Psychic Investigations Agency (P.S.I.).
Char's story was unique and wildly entertaining (hint: I think readers will like it).
Thanks again, and we hope your follower will enjoy reading the stories as much as we enjoyed writing them,
~Keta~
Thanks, Keta and Patti, for dropping by. It was so fun working on this project with you both.
Char, as your fellow time travel writer in the anthology, I welcome reading about your method and thoughts on writing time travel, even though we took slightly different slants. Loved your story!
Thanks, Andi. Loved yours too.
You have me hooked, Char! Can't wait to read your story and the others. Thank you so much for Guesting here at RTG.
You're welcome, Sarah. Any time.
I loved your story, Char. Time-travel, when done well like in your story, is magical. Literally and figuratively. :-)
Thank you for the great guest post, Char! With the popularity of OUTLANDER, the timing moght be right to publish that first book. Sounds like a boatload of fun.
Thank you for the great guest post, Char! With the popularity of OUTLANDER, the timing moght be right to publish that first book. Sounds like a boatload of fun.
Thanks for dropping by, Courtney. I think you're right about the need to get my first book published. I plan to work on that soon.
Thank You for guesting with us Char. The anthology looks to be a very fun read. Were the other authors in the anthology western romance authors like you?
Enjoyed your post. It made me think abut all that goes into time travel to make it believable. Well done!
Thank you for guest posting on Romancing the Genres, Charlene. I'm so glad to see you here. =) Congratulations on the success of this anthology, ladies, and the ideal timing as Halloween and spooky stories are upon us.
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