A Picture Paints 70,000 words by Janet Raye Stevens

Story ideas can come from anywhere, a dream, a memory, a random comment overheard in a coffee shop. As for my romantic WWII-set time travel, Beryl Blue, Time Cop, the idea came from this picture I found in an antiques shop.

A good time was had by all!

Now, it’s no secret I’m a World War II history buff, so when I saw that picture, I had to buy it (two dollars!). My first thought was, what would it be like to be there with these guys? Well, no, that was my second thought, my first thought was, these happy fellas are totally pickled.

 

A lot of other questions cropped up, but since there’s no identifying info on the back of this 5x7, those questions are still unanswered. Where was this photo taken? Who were these guys? Were they friends meeting up one last time before they were shipped out? Or just a bunch of guys on leave who grabbed an open chair at the local bar and met some new friends?

 

Another not-so-secret thing about me is I'm obsessed with the time travel genre. I love to read, watch movies and TV shows, and especially write time travel (and especially, especially if it’s set in WWII). So, seeing this picture, a time travel story popped into my mind: What would happen if a contemporary woman, a feisty librarian, perhaps, time traveled into this world, and fell for one of these guys?

 

Interesting idea, but it needed more depth.

 

What if she’s plucked out of her own time by a cop from the future, who sends her to 1943 with

a mission to protect the soldier she falls for? And what if the cop from the future tells her a time traveling assassin is after the soldier she falls for and her job is to stop the bad guy by killing him, or the future is toast? Now we’re talking!

 

And so, Beryl Blue, Time Cop, a time travel adventure, was born (or written, rather).

Her mission: Save the soldier, save the future…even if she loses her heart

 It took me a while to get going. There were a lot of who, what, where, and especially why questions to answer before the story came together. Beryl's backstory got complicated. So did her love life. That picture of a group of GIs gathered around a tiny table in a nightclub became a pivotal scene. A wicked funny, romantic, but bittersweet scene that set the tone for the rest of book.

 

You can check out Beryl’s story here: Beryl Blue, Time Cop.

 

And here’s a bonus sneak peek at the cover of the second book in the Beryl Blue series. It’s July 1946, the war is over, and Beryl is once again hurtled across time to save the man she loves in, It’s Been A Long, Long Time. 

Coming Soon!

Thanks so much for spending time with me today – I love hearing from readers, so feel free to drop me a line or sign up for my newsletter at https://janetrayestevens.com/!

 

Meet author Janet Raye Stevens – mom, reader, tea-drinker (okay, tea guzzler), and weaver of smart, stealthily romantic tales. A Daphne du Maurier award and Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award winner, Janet writes mystery, time travel, paranormal, and the occasional Christmas romance with humor, heart, and lots of kissing.

 

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Book cover design: Elizabeth Turner Stokes

Author photo: Tim Rice Photography