On the Fifth Element

pinterest: tempus regina

Goodness, but you readers have a heap of questions!  I've enjoyed watching them flood in, and I'm trying to keep track of them in an orderly way so none fall through the cracks.  If I miss any, be sure to give me a sharp jab with the elbow.  (I'm particularly gratified to see the Assassin getting so much attention - though I still refuse a straight answer to any questions about his identity, his love-interest or -interests, who he works for, and probably his goal.  Which I think may have weeded out half the questions.  He will, however, be getting a post of his own soon with a few half-answers for you, so don't despair!)

I'm not taking the questions in chronological order, but I am trying to give them some sort of order and reply to the similar ones at once.  The most foundational seemed to be the question of time-travel, so I thought I would address those first and see if I could clear the matter up a little.

how does Regina travel back in time?

[kelsey]

My word.  I've never actually said.  Huh!  Anyhow, the time-traveling device in Tempus Regina is an object that looks like a pocket watch and which is "set" much as one might set a typical clock; apart from the perfection of the workmanship, there is at first glance nothing very remarkable about it.  Its history is explored in a little more detail within the scope of the story, of course.

I don't remember why I chose a pocket watch, except perhaps that I've always been fascinated with them.  There is something enchanting, something mysterious and magical, about the working of all those tiny gears for keeping track of time - even more mysterious and magical after reading a book like Longitude or watching, as I just did recently, as vivid a movie as Hugo.  It's astounding to see the lengths to which men have gone in order to chart the skies and the passing of time, amazing to just glance at their ingenuity in capturing something so vast.  And then to shrink all of that intricacy down to something the size of a pocket watch: that confounds me. 

re: the time-travel, do you adhere to any strict rules and/or address the cause-effect paradoxes involved, or in true Whovian fashion do you just use the concept and ignore the paradoxes until one of them happens to make a convenient plot hook?

[chewie]

You would ask this.  You would.

Short answer: Mostly I ignore.  It's so much easier.

Long answer: I can honestly say that since I don't watch Doctor Who, any similarities are both unintentional and very unfortunate.  At least there aren't any blue boxes involved.  I should probably take out the sonic screwdriver during the editing process, though...

There is a helpful graphic (which looks as though it might have been created by the XKCD guy, though I don't think it was) on Pinterest that outlines three theories of time travel.  Theory Number One is the Fixed Timeline, wherein the characters may travel back in time, but the future they leave remains unchanged and cannot be changed by their actions in the "past."  Their actions are already a part of history and cannot be finally altered.  Theory Number Two is the Dynamic Timeline, where the actions of characters who have gone back in time have definite effects on the future they've left.  Kill your grandmother, you die too.  That sort of jazz.  Theory Number Three is Multiverse and deals with parallel/alternate timelines, and I don't mess with that, so we'll leave it alone.

Tempus Regina is primarily a fixed timeline story, where actions are integrated, as it were, into history.  However, there is also tension between that and the possibility of a dynamic timeline, since certain characters cannot know how their actions will affect the future (or if the actions will have an effect at all).  Can a character die before being born?  If someone kills her own father, will she be destroying herself?  What's happening to Kay while Regina is gallivanting in the past?

Based on our own linear thinking, I don't believe time travel would be possible because of all the paradoxes it creates.  You're faced with one at every turn.  Time "travel" would have to be, not actual physical travel, but a mental ability to "see" all times without actually affecting them.  Even if you try to get around the linear idea (there are two competing theories presented in Tempus Regina, neither of which I actually adopt, though I would enjoy seeing readers duke it out over them), you would still only end up with some sort of cosmic pretzel as proposed in the extremely highbrow "Kate & Leopold." 

...so yes, for the most part I ignore.

Interview with J. Grace Pennington

pinterest

Today I have the honor of participating in Grace Pennington's blog tour, celebrating the release of her novel Firmament: Radialloy.  Grace has supported Scribbles and Ink Stains for quite a while, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to return the favor as her debut science fiction hits virtual shelves.  And what's more, Grace is also doing a giveaway of one copy of Radialloy!  To enter, just leave a comment with your email address.  Giveaway ends June 29, so don't miss the opportunity!

The year is 2320. Andi Lloyd is content with her life as the assistant to her adoptive father, a starship doctor, but her secure world turns upside down when she begins uncovering secrets from her past. When her father mysteriously starts losing his mind, she finds that she can no longer count on him to guide or help her. With mutiny breaking out on the ship, and two factions desperate for a valuable secret she holds, she must race to save her father and herself before time runs out.

the interview

1. To start off (as usual), could you tell readers a little about yourself? Short bio, extra-writing hobbies, cats, dogs, or fish? 

Hello, and thank you for having me! I’m a homeschool graduate, oldest of nine kids, living in the beautiful Texas Hill Country with my family. I love writing, obviously, but I also enjoy many other things—reading, watching films, playing piano and a little guitar and violin, playing with my siblings, chatting with friends, and riding my horse, Pioneer.

2. To what prime factors would you credit your writing, and how did you get started? Was it something you always saw yourself doing? 

Probably the biggest factor in my writing was reading and watching other stories. Every time I experience a great story, I feel a strong longing to create something just as beautiful. I started writing as soon as I realized I could, about age five. I knew then I wanted to be a writer, and I wrote prolifically until I was about fourteen, though I never finished anything. After that, I sort of gave up for awhile, and didn’t get back into it until I was nineteen. At that time, I finally got serious about writing, and finished several things

3. What would you say is your philosophy of writing, your way of looking at what it is you do? 

My first and foremost goal is to bring glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and serve others. Sometimes that means writing about God’s laws, sometimes it means demonstrating a virtue that mirrors His character, and other times it just means making someone laugh. But everything I write is weighed against that standard in one way or another.

4. Writers tend to have very different processes in the crafting of a story. Can you summarize yours, or does it change from one novel to the next? 

I’ve experimented with different things, but I do have a basic pattern I usually follow. I generally start with several things I have in mind—a first line, a bit of dialogue, a scene, a character, a relationship, a twist, an image—it could be anything. I freewrite until I have a general premise or idea of a plot that uses those things, and then I start writing the rough draft. I often plan as I write, taking a break to do some freewriting and plan the next couple of chapters. So I guess I’m sort of a cross between a panster and an outliner.
 
5. You primarily write science fiction, and Firmament: Radialloy falls in that genre. What sort of research and brain-storming goes into creating a story that takes place in such a different world? Are there things about sci-fi that you believe make it more difficult to write than other genres? 

It depends on what kind of sci-fi you are writing, I think. For instance, if you’re creating another planet, you have a lot of freedom to develop the setting, the rules, etc., depending on how scientifically accurate you want to be. If you’re writing it on Earth, on the other hand, you have to make sure you have not only science right, but you have to consider geography, realistic projections of future cultures (if you are setting your story in the future), and much more. And it can get more complicated—if you deal with time travel, for example, you have to work out the rules for that, and all the paradoxes that will result. So basically, science-fiction can be as difficult or simple as you make it, depending on the kinds of things your plot involves. My plots tend to be rather complicated and somewhat science-oriented, so they do require a fair amount of research, but not as much as very “hard” science-fiction, where there’s oftentimes more science than fiction.

6. Which sci-fi authors do you particularly enjoy, and which have had the most impact on your own writing?

Surprisingly, I haven’t read many sci-fi authors yet. One of the few I have read, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, gave me a lot of thoughts about humanity. But thus far I’ve been more influenced by sci-fi films and TV shows, especially the Star Trek series, and the films of Steven Spielberg.

7. If driven to choose, what would you say were the three main things that inspired Firmament: Radialloy, both in its planning stages and in the writing of it? 

Star Trek was one, since my series is very loosely patterned after those shows, and it was what got me very interested in sci-fi. But before that I was growing interested in sci-fi due to a talk given by Mr. Doug Phillips at the 2009 Christian Filmmakers Academy about science-fiction and why it was important for Christians. If I had to pick a third influence, it would be my readers—I had test readers both of the type who squeal over each chapter and beg for more, and of the type that pick every paragraph to pieces, and some in between. All of which are very necessary to me, because I crave feedback in order to keep going.

8. Without giving any spoilers (which are evil), can you tell us what it is you would most like your readers to take away from your debut novel? 

In many ways, this is an introduction. It tells us who everyone is, what their relationships are, and the way things are on a starship in the twenty-fourth century, so we can move on to the more complex themes and stories of later books. But it also stands as its own story, as Andi learns to grow and mature. I’d like my young readers to learn and grow with her, and for my older readers to perhaps remember a little of what they learned once, when they were trying to finish growing up.

9. If I’m not mistaken, Radialloy is the first in a series. Where do you intend to take your future books? Will they all be closely tied together, or loosely linked instead? 

Indeed it is the first in a series. There are eighteen books planned in all, and they are definitely tied together, some more closely than others. Some almost stand alone, while others are in clusters that could be categorized as a trilogy within the series, due to events and character arcs carrying over. But there is an ongoing arc for everyone, especially Andi, as she journeys from being a young lady to being a woman.

10. What project are you currently working on? 

 I have a few different projects in different stages right now. Never, a historical western mystery in the revision stage; Machiavellian, the third Firmament novel, in the drafting stage; and Chroma, a cyberpunk thriller in the outlining stage. It’s going to be a busy year, as I’m hoping to write a couple novels and get Never published, perhaps in November. We’ll see where God leads!

Thank you so much for having me on Scribbles and Ink Stains, Abigail!

Thank you for adding Scribbles to your blog tour!  I'm looking forward to reading Radialloy.

Radialloy is available for purchase through Amazon, where you can also find reviews.  If you would like to connect with Grace and stay updated on her other works, be sure to check out her website and blog, or follow her on Twitter (@jgracetheauthor).