Where Ideas Come From - We're Not in Kansas

I hadn’t attempted a spec fiction story before, but I had what I thought was a great opening scene I wanted to use. I’m a subscriber to Archaeology magazine and have an interest in such topics. This combination became “We’re not in Kansas,” a story about a single woman who is trying to track down an archaeological mystery. She wants to sneak away on her own using her vacation time. To compound her problems I dumped her reluctant teenage daughter on her. Now we can play with the feuding mother-daughter effect.

As usual I was not certain where I was going with this. I discovered one problem with the near-future setting; it is difficult to stay ahead of the rapid advance of technology. I eventually gave up and just pressed on. What the story turned into is an adventure thriller with an assortment of villains.

Science is not my strong suit. As a result this story became what I would describe as light science fiction. The ending leaves room for more but I always like to wrap up a new novel with most loose ends neatly tied. That way the reader is satisfied, and if the publisher wants more, I can usually oblige.

Next time, something completely different, a what-if spec fiction, the “Toltec” series.