Time Travel discussion
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Time's Twisted Arrow
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TIMEBOUND (formely known as TIME'S TWISTED ARROW): General Discussion
Thank you!! I'll use the Cinnamon Dolce latte to fuel a late afternoon writing session :) As for the future works in the series, it's still a little up in the air as to whether I'll be going with just Kindle initially. There are pros and cons, either way, especially for the novella. But either way, I'll definitely send you a copy!
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I was thoroughly engaged with Kate's character, her adventures and romance. Her love interests were splendid characters if a little too swoony at times and i very much charmed to the 8 year old kid later in the story. In fact I loved all the main characters including Daphne the dog.
The narrative of the first person protagonist was a joy, lovely flow spiced with humour and a natural modern teenage girl train of though. A very likeable and gutsy heroine to route and sympahtise for.
The romance elements was sweet and drove the passion and emotional dilemmas in our heroine's save the world mission. I can imagine screaming teenagers splitting up between a Kiernan and Trey camp with requests for one of them to take their shirt off regularly.
The time travel mechanics was highly highly entertaining but ultimately falls over itself with its complexity leading to a few inconsistencies/flaws. Ill give examples later for scrutiny :) It reminds me of Looper but its not as tight. However this is compensated for a visceral pace and sense of fun and thrills.
I felt the danger thrills were signposted a bit too much. Give early clues is fine but dont keep repeating them, so that the reader should expect it to come, let the reader long forget that particular danger and then unleash it for bigger impact.
There are unanswered questions and a sense of a bigger story arc that needs to be continued. If there are going to be sequels and I hope there will be then i am signed up for it!
Ill post up a review shortly, not sure if this it it, im typing this on my phone and im on a holiday break in south england. no internet either so havent hsf a chance to read the posts on this thread yet.
But i give this 4 stars. Its ambitious in the time travel mechanics even though its not all that tight, the charming love triangle , and a well executed ingenious page turning plot.
Well done Rysa, please give us more adventures of Kate!
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An interesting book. The different timelines and Cyrist religion concept are over the usual level for YA and this is good. With YA marketing teenagers are kept to read "easy" books. I compared the book with Hunger Games before. Time Arrow is better written and without the many week points I found in the second part of HG. But Time Arrow is missing the element that makes HG a best seller: the appeal Catniss has to young readers, mostly girls. The start of HG is everything, the warm shoulder of the young sister, the bread history and especially the sacrifice for her family. For the young readers it is enough, doesn't matter how good or bad the rest is they want Catniss to win.
Kate is likeable, but enough to lure YA. The book is somehow in the middle between YA and adult reading.
Tej wrote: "So one of the time travel anomolies that I mentioned was this:[spoilers removed]"
Your fill-in is completely correct, Tej -- Kate mentions that she kept seeing dozens of blue lights after she hits her head in the struggle (view spoiler) An earlier version went into more detail on that point, but I scrubbed it. Maybe I shouldn't have -- but I'm glad to see that seasoned time travel readers fill in the blanks correctly. :) This is something I may pick up on in the novella, as well.
Thanks for the great feedback, Tealc (Love your user name, btw!) I'm glad you enjoyed Time's Twisted Arrow. Being at the nexus of YA and adult is one thing that several of my adult readers have noted -- and I'm okay with that, since it can be a plus and a minus. I definitely agree that most of YA is aimed at those who want a low-concept, character-driven quick read. There is a small cluster of works in the genre, however, that rise above that and they give me hope. The feedback from my teen readers (especially the awesome Goodreads group over at YA Heroines) has been very positive, largely because they seem to like the fact that Kate can take care of herself for the most part and they like the romance elements. (One told me I need to make banners so they can declare "Team Trey" or "Team Kiernan" -- something I hadn't really expected!)
You've actually made very similar points to the ones my husband made when he read the book. He ticked off several reasons why it wasn't mass-market and Hunger Games was one of the books he noted. I considered the points he made, but finally decided I had to go with the book in my head. While I'd obviously love to have a hot best-seller (as would any writer) I have to admit that the Twitter and Facebook posts by some fans of Hunger Games suggest that I'd just as soon not have them in my fan base. Maybe it will catch on with the thinking teens -- and if it helps create a few more who are willing to think deeply, then I'm a happy camper. ;)
Tealc wrote: "An interesting book. The different timelines and Cyrist religion concept are over the usual level for YA and this is good. With YA marketing teenagers are kept to read "easy" books.
I compared the..."
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That's unexpected. But you did set up a story that has 2 love interests to cheer for (like Hunger Games, Matched, etc.) So you definitely have one of the elements that fan girls tend to go for.
I suppose that the only way you could have appealed to the fight-for-the-family tear-jerk-a-holic would be to have Kate
No need to compare this book to other titles whether HG or any other YA series. This book works on its own, it does give you the slight element of romance in the first (or so) half of the book and in that portion the pace is also slow. But in the next half the book really picks up the pace and in the last few chapter the tone of the book goes really dark and a bit anxious where it touches the horror genre. Plz plz no "Team Trey" or "Team Kiernan", I feel like bashing my head against the wall even when i am writing these "teams" (or maybe coz i have a severe headache atm).
I don't know what was is the element that book is missing which is preventing it to becoming a huge seller (may be just massive marketing) but i think when the main genre of your book is TIME-TRAVEL then there's a pretty good chance that it won't appeal to teen girls and et cetera's. Atleast that is my observation.
I really think this books crosses so many genres and would appeal to so many audiences that with the right marketign it could be a huge best seller. with many of these types of series the hype doesn't really start until after a few books have been released adn it picks up more and more fans alongs the way, but for myself personally, I loved this story!
I think teens are coming around to the time travel thing -- probably aided by the success of the Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier. Fluffy, but still fun. I'm inclined to agree on the "teams" thing -- although teen readers have a way of doing these things on their own. I think the wisest course is to just step back and let them chatter on their own when that discussion starts!
As for the marketing, I'm hoping Heather is right. That's one area where the agented, big-publishing house writers have a clear advantage. I've had to tell myself to stop worrying about marketing Time's Twisted Arrow and focus on getting the next works out there. There are quite a few series I've waited to read until they were *finished* simply because I hate to have to wait between installments, and the tween readers in my house are even worse in that regard.
And with that, I should get back to it :)
Rysa wrote: 'stop worrying about marketing'Rysa, ever thought of making an audiobook of your work?
Youtube takes them, a chapter at a Time.
Just another option.
I have definitely considered that, Howard - although I'd looked mostly at Audible, which has a decent program for indie authors. The YouTube might be an easier way to tackle that beast, however. It will definitely have to wait until allergy season is over, however, unless I want Kate to sound like a cross between Demi Moore and Harvey Fierstein. And after fighting with my recording equipment to get decent audio for this video (a marketing tool aimed at middle and high school teachers and students) out earlier this week, I think I'd need to invest in a microphone upgrade before I embark on any additional recording projects.Howard wrote: "Rysa wrote: 'stop worrying about marketing'
Rysa, ever thought of making an audiobook of your work?
Youtube takes them, a chapter at a Time.
Just another option."
Rysa said: 'after fighting with my recording equipment'Rysa, several years ago I tried to read my 1st book, but having my mic plugged into my computer poised problems in that the thing would buzz or sometimes it sounded like I was in a cave & later, like I was at the beach, etc.
Last year I got a handheld job that I read the 2nd Epic Fable into & then I just plugged it into my computer to edit.
Much better.
That's definitely good to know, Howard. Thanks! I'd settle for the "in the cave" sound most days -- my key challenge is editing out the parts where the kids talked, the dog barked, etc. ;) Howard wrote: "Rysa said: 'after fighting with my recording equipment'
Rysa, several years ago I tried to read my 1st book, but having my mic plugged into my computer poised problems in that the thing would buzz..."
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Just got some really good news, fellow time travelers :) Time's Twisted Arrow made the ABNA semifinals. There were a few negatives in my PW review yesterday, which led me to believe it was the end of the line, so I'm still a bit in shock. And even if it *had* been the end, I was very happy with the last two lines of the review: Her story reads like a mash-up of Jack Finney’s "Time and Again" and Erik Larson’s "The Devil in the White City." In the end, this novel works as a contemporary, sexed-up tribute to one of those great old Heinlein juveniles from the 1950s. And the reviewer's comment that "Kate is the Katniss Everdeen of time travel" is going into heavy Twitter rotation :)
Thanks so much for all of the supportive comments in this thread. The competition gets really stiff from here on out, but even if I don't make it any further this could draw some good attention from the Publisher's Weekly review.
Now -- I need to climb down off of cloud nine and get back to grading so that I can carve out a few days this week for writing!
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Time's Twisted Arrow made the ABNA semifinals. There were a few negatives in my PW review yesterday, which led me to believe it was the e..."
How bizarre that she gave such glowing comparisons and then ended up giving it a bad review. Sometimes it has less to do with the book itself than the reader's personal biases. But those are some great quotes!
Rysa wrote: "Just got some really good news, fellow time travelers :) Time's Twisted Arrow made the ABNA semifinals. There were a few negatives in my PW review yesterday, which led me to believe it was the e..."
Congrats! Well deserved, Rysa! So happy for you!! *happy dance*
It wasn't a *bad* review, Amy -- just a note that Kate adapts a bit too quickly to becoming an action heroine and that it was confusing at times. But I was on the Amazon chat board (where a bunch of us gathered to nervously await results and helping each other decipher reviews) and there were some YA authors who posted reviews that were glowing. And none of them wound up in the semi-finalists, so apparently I landed a reviewer who graded high, but added in a few areas for improvement.And now that I think about it, there may be some logic in it. The semifinalist reviews are posted on the Publisher's Weekly website. So this review will be going out to libraries, etc. Someone else on the boards noted yesterday that negatives in the review didn't necessarily mean you were out of the running -- but I didn't pay attention. Writers can be a pessimistic lot. :)
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Time's Twisted Arrow made the ABNA semifinals. There were a few negatives in my PW review yesterday, which led me to believe it was the e..."
Awesome news Rysa, well deserved. I dont subscribe to PW so I cant see the review but criticisms should be either ignored or taken as constructive feedback that could further develop your future writing, so look at it as if they're doing you a favour. If their reviews are not constructive and spitefully damning, to hell with them, you know you have your fans, and everyone has different tastes.
I just realised I havent actually wrote my review, although I sort of it reviewed it on this thread, I'll do that shortly, completely forgot, sorry.
No rush at all on the review, Tej -- as someone who is behind on several reviews, I understand completely. And I don't subscribe to PW either -- at $249 a year, it's way too rich for an indie author's blood. :) Hoping they'll have it on the main freebie page for at least a day or two -- but until then, here's what the reviewer had to say, in full:
This inventive science fiction adventure asks the dramatic question: what do you do when you’re a normal 16-year-old girl attending a private school in Washington, D.C., you find out that your grandmother is actually a time-traveling historian from the future (the 23rd century, to be precise), and she sends you into the past (the Chicago Exposition in 1893, to be exact) in order to stop your grandfather (also from the future) from changing history by creating a new religion, the Cyrists? Prudence Katherine Pierce-Keller (just call her Kate) has to be a quick study in order to enter the family business -- time travel. Her adventures in trying to stop the cult’s temporal shift take her across alternate time lines and involve her with past and future versions of the people in her life. Confusing? At times. But also nonstop fun as Kate races to restore her basic reality. Along the way, she falls for a boy, Trey Coleman, and hopes that he will still be around after she fiddles with history. Kate is the Katniss Everdeen of time travel, even though this means that she adapts a little too quickly to being an action heroine. Her story reads like a mash-up of Jack Finney’s "Time and Again" and Erik Larson’s "The Devil in the White City." In the end, this novel works as a contemporary, sexed-up tribute to one of those great old Heinlein juveniles from the 1950s.
Awesome news Rysa, and fully deserved-crossing my fingers for you and sending good thoughts! I haven't read Time and Again or The Devil in the While City, so I can't comment if I agree with the comparison or not, but definitley see Kate as the Katniss of time travel.
Heather wrote: "Awesome news Rysa, and fully deserved-crossing my fingers for you and sending good thoughts! I haven't read Time and Again or The Devil in the While City, so I can't comment if I agree with the com..."Thanks, Heather! I read Time and Again ages ago, but The Devil in the White City is incredible. It's history that reads like fiction and was one of the first books I read about the Chicago World's Fair. So having that one in the review made me a happy camper.
My challenge is making it through the next week or so until they announce the finalists. I'm ready for the suspense to be done, even it means it's all over and I have to drown my sorrows in a pint (or two) of Ben & Jerry's... :)
Rysa-I voted for your book on the Amazon Breakthrough writer award, but it was listed as "Timebound" is that an alternate title?
Thanks, Heather!! I was just coming on here to announce the news :)Yes -- they've convinced me to do a title change. And I'll be getting a bright shiny new cover in a few weeks. Whatever the outcome of the Grand Prize contest, the new edition will come out under the Skyscape imprint sometime in October.
I've known since the 6th -- but the contract specified that I couldn't say anything until the official press release. Longest two weeks in history.
Thanks again for the vote!
A huge thank you to everyone who voted for Timebound in the ABNA contest. The results were announced on Saturday night and Timebound is the grand prize winner! Everyone at Amazon Publishing is phenomenal and I now know for certain that my book couldn't be in better hands. And for those of you who were asking when the next in the series will be out -- the answer is sooner, since I can now do less teaching and more writing :) Thanks again for your help -- it is deeply appreciated!
My Time Fistula shows a good Future.Carry on.
Congratulations! Rysa- I am still getting used to the new title. Looking forward to the next installment.
Thanks, Bill & Howard. And I think there's a good Future for the entire time travel sub-genre. This is two years in a row that ABNA grand prize winners have been time travel books. Oh, if any of you get out to Seattle, the EMP museum exhibits Icons of Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds are a must-see. I was in geek nirvana - a Dalek, a bat'leth, Robbie the Robot, and the Six-Fingered Man's six-fingered glove (to name just a few) all under one roof. And the Women Who Rock exhibit was pretty cool, too :)
Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!Well deserved, and so freakin' happy for you!
Hope you don't mind I bragged about your awesome achievement on my FB page. :) :) xoxo
Heather wrote: "Congratulations! Rysa- I am still getting used to the new title. Looking forward to the next installment."Thanks, Heather! Yeah -- it's taken a bit of getting used to, but I think the sparkly ABNA trophy with Timebound on it will help me remember :) And fortunately, that was really the only major change between this version and Time's Twisted Arrow, aside from a few clarifications of the "timey, wimey, wibbly, wobbly" stuff to make the developmental editors head hurt less!
They've expressed interest in the follow up books, so hopefully the novella will be out in a reasonably short time after Timebound hits the shelves and I'll be plugging away at book 2, as well!
E.B. wrote: "Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!Well deserved, and so freakin' happy for you!
Hope you don't mind I bragged about your awesome achievement on my FB page. :) :) xoxo"
Mind??? I'll be tweeting it. You can take the author of the indie (at least temporarily) but you can't take the indie out of the author. ;)
Congrats! I loved the book and it deserved to win!
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Congrats, Rysa. An honor that is well deserved. I'm glad we got to discover this book before it became a nationwide phenomenon. Don't forget us when you are famous.
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Your novel was thoroughly enjoyable and certainly would appeal to a very large demographic with your 3 excellent main protagonists, potential love triangle arc, time travel, and a badass grandmother (old and young).
Actually more I think about it, the more I realise how your series has all the attractive ingredients to be a hit series. I'll be honest, I didnt think of your book having that kind of potential but with it winning the Amazon contest, I'm wondering why...and now on reflection I can see its full potential.
Well done!
Can I ask if you have a set number of books in mind, do you know your ending for it? Or will you go with the flow and see how it pans out?
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http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Ki...
Wow-that is fantastic! I hope it takes off like wildfire!
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Thanks, everyone! It's been a truly crazy couple of months, with a couple of marketing delays and other things that pushed back the debut. The scary thing for me is that my kids have now seen Timebound as high as #5 (briefly) so now that it's down to #12 they keep nagging me to *do something* to make sure it doesn't fall any further. Wouldn't every author love to know that magic trick?And Tej, I missed your question earlier. There's definitely an end point--I had to map out the route to it in the synopsis I gave to the publisher for the rest of the series. Book 2 will be out October 2014--the publisher wants it in about six weeks, so that's what you guys haven't seen much of me lately.
The final book is supposed to come out September 2015, with two novellas (maybe three) squeezed in the middle.
There's also a "shopping agreement" with a producer (think sparkly vampires) that will be announced soon, and interest from a couple of studios. Odds are it will go nowhere--very few of these things do-- but I'm keeping my fingers crossed since I have two sets of college tuition to pay in a few years. :)
Thanks *so* much for all of the support from this group! I'm looking forward to a brief lull in a couple of months so that I can chat on Goodreads again...
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I suppose I joined the group right after your book was chosen as the group read. I will have to pick it up just to bump your number up...Do Something...I will do my part.
I saw an ad right here in Goodreads for your book and it made me chuckle that they used Twisting Imaginination Just reminded me of the original title.
Again congrats on making the big time. Best of luck.
Thanks, Lincoln! I have reminders of the old title in my office--including a twisted, Dali-esque clock that my oldest son bought me. I think they were right about the time change in terms of marketing, but I still have a sentimental attachment to the old one as well, since we fought in the indie trenches together.I'll believe it's the "big time" if the second book in the series does well or the movie people actual sign checks and not just shopping agreements. Until then, we're thinking of this as a fun rollercoaster ride--my fifteen minutes of semi-fame :)
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Really enjoyed the book and the World's Fair was a fun setting to use. Makes me wish I could visit one. The religious element with the Cyrists was a very believable source of villainy. I agree with the comment Amy left about how Saul made good use of his ability to appear to his congregation through time. I loved that idea. Very clever.
I had one question about the resolution. (view spoiler) Rysa, what is your interpretation of where all that action and those memories go when they get erased? I guess that's a tough question. People get erased all through the book but that scene in particular made me wonder because they knew it was coming. It was almost as if nothing they did during those weeks mattered. It would be fun to see a character in that situation using it to their advantage and acting out, maybe stuffing their faces with cake like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. I just found it interesting. So much fun could be had with a few weeks where you would essentially get a do over. You wouldn't remember it. But Kate would. Maybe she could relay results of experiments. Kiernan obviously endorsed do-overs, but it would be interesting to see it happen in a fun way as opposed to a life-threatening scenario. Any chance of that in future books?
So glad that you enjoyed Timebound, Nathan! Good question -- hopefully the info inside and below the tags helps sort it out. (view spoiler)I love Groundhog Day, but it might be more helpful to think of these less as "do-overs" like Bill Murray had (which I agree would be a lot of fun) and more as distinct timelines. Those who are under the protection of a medallion are a constant. The question remains, however, as to whether those who aren't protected are even the same people, or just a version of those people existing in an alternate reality.
There will be a lot more of the dual timelines in both the books and novellas. Unfortunately, the long-term effects of too-many do-overs, especially when they involve encountering yourself, aren't much fun. Prudence is living proof--and that's all I'll say on that front :)
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Wow, Debbie - I had no idea it hit number 3. The highest I'd seen is four. Just crossing my fingers that it holds on in the top 100 for a few weeks after the promo is over!And Nathan, I'm also curious to see how things turn out! I always start out knowing where the story is going but my characters have a way of hijacking things in midstream and running off in a different direction. ;)
I started this one in 2013 and finished it today in 2014! I downloaded it to my kindle when it was called "Time's Twisted Arrow" and was reluctant to read it right away. Sorry I chose to wait! This was a fun read and am looking forward to the next installment. I also liked the historical aspect of the story. I read The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America in 2013 and so this book was a cool fictional aspect of that era. I'd like to address question 1 about "changing the time line." I'm in the Schrodinger's Cat camp that time is more like a tree or bush than like a straight arrow. Whenever something happens there is a branch created and so I don't think that you can change the timeline. Anyway, happy new year everyone!
Time Travel
Books mentioned in this topic
Time's Edge (other topics)Time Burned (other topics)
Time Rift (other topics)
Time's Echo (other topics)
The Devil in the White City (other topics)
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No need to thank me for "my" gift. although i'll be very thankful to you if you can send me the next part's copy after its release. (that's ofcourse if you are going to release it for kindle with waiting period for the epub)