ONE RED THREAD- January 2015

[Lincoln, Temporal Jester]

I think regional histories and even climates can become a character in certain novels. Even in fiction I feel like Hogwarts with its mysteries and history becomes its own character in the Harry Potter universe.

In relation to One Red Thread I think the atmosphere of the book would be changed, simply lacking the lazy hot afternoon on the porch mentality that exists in the South...

As opposed to a hot sticky afternoon in Nevada, or even New York City.

[Ernie]

Amy wrote: "Sorry I didn't see your comment earlier, Lincoln. It's been a busy couple of weeks. I don't see Ernie's writing style to be anything like Finney's. Finney is tongue-in-cheek humor while Ernie's wr..."

Before we move on, I wanted to post a couple of my favorite lines that to me summed up a lot of what the book is about:

"This business of seeing the past, it could really be quite wonderful when it wasn’t so freaking horrible."

"If anyone was going to untangle this mess, it would have to be someone who’d lived it. Or whose family had created it."

OK. Now, next question....

[Nathan, First Tiger]

Ernie,
One question I have that perhaps I missed the answer to in my reading was: How is it that Sheila accepts Eddy's traveling in time so easily? It's mentioned at one point that she just knew. I am not at the end yet so perhaps that is yet to be explained, but it has been a point of confusion for me.

[Tom]

Nathan wrote: "Ernie,
One question I have that perhaps I missed the answer to in my reading was: How is it that Sheila accepts Eddy's traveling in time so easily? It's mentioned at one point that she just knew. ..."

How far through it are you? If you're more than half way into it and I remember correctly, (view spoiler)[we learn that she had done it herself even before she had met Eddy. (hide spoiler)]

[Nathan, First Tiger]

Ah. Thanks, Tom. That makes more sense.

[Tom]

Nathan wrote: "Ah. Thanks, Tom. That makes more sense."

It also explains her intolerance for it.

[Ernie]

Yes that's right. Plus the MO of their relationship is that they do whatever they can to avoid direct conflict. See Page 26: "Our indirect, punch-pulling style of sparring had kept the peace for years.." (view spoiler)[ So even when Sheila disapproves (because she has been there, as Tom correctly points out), she's going to do whatever she can to avoid voicing her disapproval until she doesn't have any choice. (hide spoiler)]

[Paul]

That doesn't explain why Sheila, Libby, and Tim blame Eddy for everything that goes wrong, when they're all (view spoiler)[ inexplicably Time Travelers themselves. Is this something they learned in Architects school? And if it's so easy to Time Travel simply by observing and imagining, intentionally or not, (hide spoiler)] why aren't all of us doing it?

I think Eddy needs new friends and should ask his wife to refrain from flipping him off. They're all extremely high maintenance. But keep Ike the cat!

I enjoyed reading Ernie's boldly original book, but there are these lingering questions . . . I'm still pondering.

[Ernie]

Paul wrote: "That doesn't explain why Sheila, Libby, and Tim blame Eddy for everything that goes wrong, when they're all [spoilers removed] why aren't all of us doing it?

I think Eddy needs new friends and sh..."

(view spoiler)[ I've had two people recently - one in a book club reading/discussion of the book and one in a bookstore reading ask me if I've time traveled - and the woman in the bookstore said she'd done it (she was a yoga teacher and said she'd had the experience during meditation). So maybe we all can. I think it's sort of like achieving enlightenment that way - magical, mystical, spiritual. But Sheila and Tim have learned how to control their travels - and they're upset that Eddy either could not or (more likely) would not stop his. (hide spoiler)]. Now for those who have finished: (view spoiler)[ Until Sheila and Tim need Eddy's help to try to save Libby. They're still not happy about it, but they have no choice now but to let him do -- even beg him to do -- what he can do. (hide spoiler)]

I agree about Ike. I love that little guy. He's my Greek Chorus - walking around watching and wondering what stupid things these humans will do next. If only he could talk, I'm sure everyone would get an earful.

[Nathan, First Tiger]

Reading Question 3

What are your thoughts on the usefulness of this type of time travel? Do you think Eddy benefited from this skill or would he have been better off just staying home?

[Tom]

Nathan wrote: " Reading Question 3

What are your thoughts on the usefulness of this type of time travel? Do you think Eddy benefited from this skill or would he have been better off just staying home?"

His biggest problem was that he had little control over where when he went. Unless you can do that you are asking for trouble.

[Nathan, First Tiger]

I could see issues with the involuntary slipping too, especially since it was so sensory. Someone plays a song on the radio and all of a sudden you are in the (insert decade.) If it got out of hand you might need to live in a soundproof room somewhere to stay linear.

[Tom]

Nathan wrote: "I could see issues with the involuntary slipping too, especially since it was so sensory. Someone plays a song on the radio and all of a sudden you are in the (insert decade.) If it got out of hand..."

That too but what I was referring to is the destination. Say you're in San Francisco and you want to go back to the Summer of Love but end up in the middle of the 1906 earthquake. Not cool.

[Paul]

Tom wrote: "Nathan wrote: "I could see issues with the involuntary slipping too, especially since it was so sensory. Someone plays a song on the radio and all of a sudden you are in the (insert decade.) If it ..."

In addition to the lack of where and when, dangerous indeed, I see the weakness of "why" to be troublesome. The cause and effect logic from the old Confederate down to brother Stan seems more wishful thinking than a solid plan, with potential for disaster. But I like Eddy and his connection to the past, and he does try to do what he sees as right.

[Ernie]

Actually, there is a bit of control over the location Eddy visits. At one point, he tries to go back to an earlier time at the old ballpark and it doesn't work. Then he drives over to his old neighborhood and it does work. Both locations are in the same city, but different parts of the city, and the neighborhood is where Eddy has his family connections, and those connections are what takes him, not just random history. A song might take him, but it would have to be a song that meant something to him, and it would take him to the same location where he heard it, just earlier. And if Eddy didn't pay close attention, if he just casually heard a song but was paying attention to something else, it might not work at all.

[Ernie]

This just in. I did a reading from "One Red Thread" at the independent bookstore Malvern Books here in Austin last week. One cool thing - they record their readings and post them on the store website. Links to mine are below.

The reading itself is only about 9 minutes long, but with a brief intro and then a fairly long Q&A (people were quite interested), it ran over the 20 minute length on the camera's memory. So Part 1 is 20 minutes, and there's a Part 2 wrapping up the Q&A that is four minutes.

Part1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDs4O...

Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb11_...

[Lincoln, Temporal Jester]

Great to hear of your success Ernie! I look forward to the listen.

[Nathan, First Tiger]

The rules of this book drove me crazy a little bit. (view spoiler)[ Eddy can bounce around and overlap his own life as he pleases, but Libby can only do it some of the time? She had obviously been alive when Stan was killed, and visited as her future self to try to stop it, why couldn't she continue to exist after her infant self was born? The logic of that didn't add up at all for me. She was clearly already existing inside of her mother. I have way too many unanswered questions about this time travel method. (hide spoiler)]

[Lincoln, Temporal Jester]

One Red Thread was winner of the Temporal Jester Award for 2014 I couldn't recommend it more!

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...