Tom Reppert's Blog
May 18, 2018
TV Drama Timeless falls down a rabbit hole
With great disappointment, I watched last Sunday’s final episode of the NBC drama Timeless, fairly certain it won’t be renewed for a third season. Despite being average at best, it’s the only time travel drama on network TV we got. Outlander is on Starz and sometimes ages pass between seasons and Dr. Who also on BBCA.
Timeless started well enough last year when the main female character came back from her first trip into the past and her sister no longer existed and her mother no longer suffered from a terminal illness. Good time travel stuff. But the flaw in the ointment was the length of time given to each trip. 42 minutes. The amount of story time in an hour on commercial TV. That’s not enough to flesh out an excursion into a dramatic moment of history such as the Alamo, or the Civil War and Lincoln. 42 minutes! It would have been far better to go with stories that spread over two or three episodes, even ten like the best cable shows.
With their characters, an accomplished modern woman, a Seal Team member, and a black scientist, think of the possibilities for a multi-episode story in the Civil War.
But not to be. Instead, one episode per point in history and worse: the show took its main conflict from this cockamamie secret Rittenhouse conspiracy. Not from time or the past. Any writer or reader of Time Travel could have told the show runners that the conflict characters find in past and how they deal with it is what makes this genre compelling.
As an example, if the time travelers int Timeless went back to 1350 England in the midst of the Plague, the show runners would have our heroes chasing after Rittenhouse baddies or being chased by them. Maybe a character would momentarily pause, glance around and say, “Oh, look at all the sick people.” Then chase some more modern baddies.
The characters are just wearing period costumes. The past is secondary.
I’ve written two fairly well-received time travel novels, Assassin 13 and The Far Journey. My attempt was to take the primary conflict from the situations in the past. That to me is what time travel is about. Sadly, Timeless didn’t see it that way. It joins a large graveyard of failed time travel dramas that never seemed to learn that lesson. Now, to see new episodes of the show, you must find your own time machine and travel into the past.
Tom Reppert
Tomreppertauthor.com
Timeless started well enough last year when the main female character came back from her first trip into the past and her sister no longer existed and her mother no longer suffered from a terminal illness. Good time travel stuff. But the flaw in the ointment was the length of time given to each trip. 42 minutes. The amount of story time in an hour on commercial TV. That’s not enough to flesh out an excursion into a dramatic moment of history such as the Alamo, or the Civil War and Lincoln. 42 minutes! It would have been far better to go with stories that spread over two or three episodes, even ten like the best cable shows.
With their characters, an accomplished modern woman, a Seal Team member, and a black scientist, think of the possibilities for a multi-episode story in the Civil War.
But not to be. Instead, one episode per point in history and worse: the show took its main conflict from this cockamamie secret Rittenhouse conspiracy. Not from time or the past. Any writer or reader of Time Travel could have told the show runners that the conflict characters find in past and how they deal with it is what makes this genre compelling.
As an example, if the time travelers int Timeless went back to 1350 England in the midst of the Plague, the show runners would have our heroes chasing after Rittenhouse baddies or being chased by them. Maybe a character would momentarily pause, glance around and say, “Oh, look at all the sick people.” Then chase some more modern baddies.
The characters are just wearing period costumes. The past is secondary.
I’ve written two fairly well-received time travel novels, Assassin 13 and The Far Journey. My attempt was to take the primary conflict from the situations in the past. That to me is what time travel is about. Sadly, Timeless didn’t see it that way. It joins a large graveyard of failed time travel dramas that never seemed to learn that lesson. Now, to see new episodes of the show, you must find your own time machine and travel into the past.
Tom Reppert
Tomreppertauthor.com
March 26, 2018
Book Launch Tour Winners Announced!
Thank you to everyone that helped me with my first online book launch tour, entered the giveaway, and downloaded ASSASSIN 13! I'm especially grateful to the bloggers and reviewers that were a part of it! (Be sure to visit them from the links below!)
ASSASSIN 13 ranked #5 in the Kindle Store for Sci-Fi Time Travel, and ranked #6 in the Kindle Store for Historical Thriller! Wow!
Now, for the winners of the signed hard copies of Assassin 13 and $5 Amazon Giftcard....
D
R
U
M
R
O
L
L
.
.
.
.
.
AMBER B. - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13!
MICHAEL B. - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13 & THE $5 Amazon Giftcard
AMBER S. - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13!
ENRIQUE H. - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13!
BN100 - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13!
Please be sure to check your email inboxes for details!
Check out ASSASSIN 13 if you haven't already! Add it to your Goodreads to-read list or grab your copy on Amazon!
ASSASSIN 13
http://amzn.to/2tU1zYn
THESE BLOGGERS ROCK! Be sure to check them out!
The Tattooed Book Geek
The Faerie Review
Christopher Schmitz
OD Book Reviews
The Reading Nook
Thrice Read Books
Library of Erana
EG Moore Freelance and Fiction
Rebecca Waddell
Joyful Antidotes
ASSASSIN 13 ranked #5 in the Kindle Store for Sci-Fi Time Travel, and ranked #6 in the Kindle Store for Historical Thriller! Wow!
Now, for the winners of the signed hard copies of Assassin 13 and $5 Amazon Giftcard....
D
R
U
M
R
O
L
L
.
.
.
.
.
AMBER B. - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13!
MICHAEL B. - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13 & THE $5 Amazon Giftcard
AMBER S. - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13!
ENRIQUE H. - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13!
BN100 - Signed hard copy of ASSASSIN 13!
Please be sure to check your email inboxes for details!
Check out ASSASSIN 13 if you haven't already! Add it to your Goodreads to-read list or grab your copy on Amazon!
ASSASSIN 13
http://amzn.to/2tU1zYn
THESE BLOGGERS ROCK! Be sure to check them out!
The Tattooed Book Geek
The Faerie Review
Christopher Schmitz
OD Book Reviews
The Reading Nook
Thrice Read Books
Library of Erana
EG Moore Freelance and Fiction
Rebecca Waddell
Joyful Antidotes
March 15, 2018
ASSASSIN 13 Book Launch Blog Tour *Start Here*
It's the big day! Assassin 13 is officially out in the world!
Thank you so much to those that have given feedback, reviews, participated in my blog tour, edited my manuscript, and encouraged me. This is my best novel yet!
Go to the following places to ENTER TO WIN an Amazon giftcard or one of 5 signed hard-copies of ASSASSIN 13!
The Tattooed Book Geek
The Faerie Review
Christopher Schmitz
OD Book Reviews
The Reading Nook
Thrice Read Books
Library of Erana
Navigating Worlds
EG Moore Freelance and Fiction
Rebecca Waddell
Joyful Antidotes
Click to Tweet: Get your FREE copy of ASSASSIN 13 by @repptom MARCH 16! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... #timetravel #scifi #ontheporch #hollywood #dystopian #readers Please RT!
Click to Tweet: Check out reviews on @Repptom #dystopian #timetravel ASSASSIN 13 & get FREE COPY https://ctt.ec/7oJ51+ #ontheporch PLS RT
Thank you so much to those that have given feedback, reviews, participated in my blog tour, edited my manuscript, and encouraged me. This is my best novel yet!
Go to the following places to ENTER TO WIN an Amazon giftcard or one of 5 signed hard-copies of ASSASSIN 13!
The Tattooed Book Geek
The Faerie Review
Christopher Schmitz
OD Book Reviews
The Reading Nook
Thrice Read Books
Library of Erana
Navigating Worlds
EG Moore Freelance and Fiction
Rebecca Waddell
Joyful Antidotes
Click to Tweet: Get your FREE copy of ASSASSIN 13 by @repptom MARCH 16! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... #timetravel #scifi #ontheporch #hollywood #dystopian #readers Please RT!
Click to Tweet: Check out reviews on @Repptom #dystopian #timetravel ASSASSIN 13 & get FREE COPY https://ctt.ec/7oJ51+ #ontheporch PLS RT
March 6, 2018
[Announcement] ASSASSIN 13 Launches March 15th!
Can it really be only nine more days until my latest masterpiece, ASSASSIN 13, makes its debut? Wow. I am damn proud of this accomplishment.
I had so much fun researching prohibition Hollywood, the gangland wars of Los Angeles during that time, and imagining the dystopian world Lauren travels from. Reading about heroines with an edge helped me shape her character. Check out my "edgy-women-mc" book shelf to see which authors inspired this book.
The reviews are coming in and I hope to have more by the launch (shameless plug: let me know if you'd like to do one or be part of the launch blog post.) Pre-ordering is available now on Amazon, and the book cover was approved for the hard copy books. Of course, make sure to stop back by on launch day, March 15th, for a Rafflecopter giveaway!
Book trailers... well, ask me anything on my author profile. That was a learning experience.
Ciao!
~Tom R.
I had so much fun researching prohibition Hollywood, the gangland wars of Los Angeles during that time, and imagining the dystopian world Lauren travels from. Reading about heroines with an edge helped me shape her character. Check out my "edgy-women-mc" book shelf to see which authors inspired this book.
The reviews are coming in and I hope to have more by the launch (shameless plug: let me know if you'd like to do one or be part of the launch blog post.) Pre-ordering is available now on Amazon, and the book cover was approved for the hard copy books. Of course, make sure to stop back by on launch day, March 15th, for a Rafflecopter giveaway!
Book trailers... well, ask me anything on my author profile. That was a learning experience.
Ciao!
~Tom R.
February 7, 2018
Check out my new Goodreads group!
I just created a new group for all readers to connect to writers in North Idaho and Spokane. Everyone is welcome!
Please join us for lively discussion, to find new books to read, tell us what you're reading, word games, and meet some great people all around.
This is an effort to make the world more aware of how many authors and how much diversity we have in this area, and for local authors to understand what readers want to read.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
See you there!
-Tom R.
Please join us for lively discussion, to find new books to read, tell us what you're reading, word games, and meet some great people all around.
This is an effort to make the world more aware of how many authors and how much diversity we have in this area, and for local authors to understand what readers want to read.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
See you there!
-Tom R.
November 28, 2017
Check out latest reviews!
Starting the end of 2017 and into 2018, I am going to start reviewing all the edgy female characters I've been reading about in the hopes of creating my own to add to the list. When I started the journey of writing novels, I thought edgy meant grit and cuss, but I'm realizing that edgy characters can have strength in many ways. I'm exploring this more with each novel that I write, and I hope my readers enjoy the journey with me.
Edgy according to Webster: "having a bold, provocative, or unconventional quality" or "full of tension." Yeah, my novels have some of that.
Being bold doesn't mean beating the crud out of other characters or mutilating the bad guy. It means having courage and daring and strength either internally or externally as their tense situations allow. WOW! I'm learning so much as I read.Red SparrowRed SparrowRed Sparrow
What do you consider an edgy female character? What are some of your favorites? I'd love to add them to my "to-read" list.
Edgy according to Webster: "having a bold, provocative, or unconventional quality" or "full of tension." Yeah, my novels have some of that.
Being bold doesn't mean beating the crud out of other characters or mutilating the bad guy. It means having courage and daring and strength either internally or externally as their tense situations allow. WOW! I'm learning so much as I read.Red SparrowRed SparrowRed Sparrow
What do you consider an edgy female character? What are some of your favorites? I'd love to add them to my "to-read" list.
January 26, 2014
Edgy Women Characters
In the slow process of my building an author's page on Goodreads, one of the suggested bytes of information was "who are your influnces?" That line from "The Committments." Well, over a lifetime, there are many but the first that come to mind are the authors of novels with characters that deeply moved and fascinated me.
The first is Lonesome Dove. For me, the single best novel I've ever read. But although there are strong and edgy women characters in it, this is Gus's and Call's book.
The other two favorite novels I will mention, indeed, have edgy female characters, women in some way or many ways who are out of the norm, not only of the average person but the average main character. Both novels are, in fact, trilogies, The Hunger Games and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and, boy, do they have edgy women main characters.
Lizbeth Salander is anti-social, unfriendly and not one to suffer fools kindly. But she is also brilliant, the best computer hacker around and a young woman of courage who will not back down.
Then comes the now famous Katniss Everdeen. She too is not the warm, cuddly type. At first she cares only deeply about her own people, the ones she loves. She is not exactly anti-social but she sure isn't social either. A lethal hunter, once she had a lynx tag-along companion in the woods. But since the little beastie kept scaring off the animals she was hunting, she killed it, skinned it and sold the meat and fur. That's Katniss.
It's this edginess (I'm sure there's a better word to describe these two) that makes these female characters fascinating and makes you want to read what happens to them. They are people in real life, especially Salander, with whom you would likely be very uncomfortable associating, but in fictional worlds you want them as boon companions.
The point of all this is the type main character I am trying to create, women or men with that same edginess but also with that ability to fascinate. Now how to do that, that's the quesrion. We can only just plug away at our craft, eh what?
The first is Lonesome Dove. For me, the single best novel I've ever read. But although there are strong and edgy women characters in it, this is Gus's and Call's book.
The other two favorite novels I will mention, indeed, have edgy female characters, women in some way or many ways who are out of the norm, not only of the average person but the average main character. Both novels are, in fact, trilogies, The Hunger Games and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and, boy, do they have edgy women main characters.
Lizbeth Salander is anti-social, unfriendly and not one to suffer fools kindly. But she is also brilliant, the best computer hacker around and a young woman of courage who will not back down.
Then comes the now famous Katniss Everdeen. She too is not the warm, cuddly type. At first she cares only deeply about her own people, the ones she loves. She is not exactly anti-social but she sure isn't social either. A lethal hunter, once she had a lynx tag-along companion in the woods. But since the little beastie kept scaring off the animals she was hunting, she killed it, skinned it and sold the meat and fur. That's Katniss.
It's this edginess (I'm sure there's a better word to describe these two) that makes these female characters fascinating and makes you want to read what happens to them. They are people in real life, especially Salander, with whom you would likely be very uncomfortable associating, but in fictional worlds you want them as boon companions.
The point of all this is the type main character I am trying to create, women or men with that same edginess but also with that ability to fascinate. Now how to do that, that's the quesrion. We can only just plug away at our craft, eh what?
