Mel Made My Life Hard

When Mel (Out of Time) makes her jump into the past, she caused me a lot of problems I didn’t see coming.

I mean, I had the internet. Research would be easy, right? 

Yeah.

There was a lot of information I was able to get, a lot of it from World War II veterans who had been there and done that (except the time travel). 

But it’s the small details that I tripped over. Things like:

* What was it like to move around a blacked-out country? How did you get inside or out of a building without revealing light?

* What was it like—weather, terrain, etc—in France when my characters get shot down there? 

* How did the crew of a B-17 relieve themselves during those long, cold flights? 

Well, you get the idea. My guys helped a lot with the minor details, including the relieving issue (they had a tube they could use, but they didn’t like it because it was so cold, they froze to it, so they “adapted.” If you really want to know, ask in the comments.)

I learned that black-out curtains for doorways were a double set up. You’d enter, pass through one set of curtains. Make sure they were closed tightly, then open the next set and you’re inside. Oh, and be sure you closed those behind you!

The weather, terrain—all the details I wanted so much—I never did find exactly what I wanted. I had general ideas, then I realized they had to travel at night, so I used that. Lol 

With some exceptions, I was able to immerse myself in the past settings, and I will confess I took literary license from time to time because I was writing a novel, not a history book.

The present day setting was much easier to manage, since I lived in the present. Lol 

I used my grandmother’s house for Mel’s house (as best I could remember it!) and that was fun and poignant, since I had so many happy memories from being there with my grandma. 

I ended up with a box of materials, most of which never made it into the novel. But I learned a lot, it was a wonderful book to write, and I was thrilled I managed to write it, because it pushed my skills to the limit. 

It’s now been 18 years since Out of Time released and to celebrate that milestone I’m giving the book something it never had! A hardcover! To make it happen, I turned to Kickstarter!

But why Kickstarter, you may ask? Kickstarter allows me to offer these exclusive items directly to you, my valued readers. The Kickstarter launches tomorrow, June 13th! Make sure you don’t miss the launch by hopping over to click the “follow this project” button!

Do you like time travel novels? Did you like this blog post? If you did, please share it with a friend or on your social media!

Perilously yours,

Pauline