Character visualization and WIP, Detours in Time Series. #amwriting #scifi

I’m playing with visualization as the character of Ellie grows stronger in my mind.

Ellie appears across several timelines in Undercurrents in Time (Detours, Book 2), shows up in my WIP, “Malachi,” (2020) and will feature in an upcoming novel (2021?). Who is the mysterious Ellie?

Start reading the Detours in Time series today and get to know the intriguing cast of characters! Available in Kindle, print, or Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711ZW6XF

Photo Credit goes to Enrique Meseguer via Pixabay.

 

Series link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B07F5WPK72/kindle/ref=sr_bookseries_null_B07F5WPK72

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Malachi’s Zodiac Sign-Aquarius. #characterbuilding #WIP

They don’t bear their soul, they trust no one.  Malachi is a side character in Undercurrents in Time who is hired briefly to help Dr. Milt Braddock secure some of his scientific secrets by scoping out the competition.  Why?  Because Malachi is good at being sneaky and fitting it everywhere.  He doesn’t bear his soul, what he bears is a made up fiction to fit any given situation.  Malachi is also now the main character in my work in progress, tentatively titled, Malachi.

I’ve used Zodiac details to flesh characters in the past, such as Tabitha in Detours in Time and its sequel, Undercurrents.  It really helps me get into the character and imagine them as a flesh and blood person.   Malachi is an excellent actor and well, a good liar.

From  https://www.yourtango.com/2016285888/fascinating-way-you-tell-lies-per-your-zodiac-sign   WHo lies best?  “Like Geminis, Aquarians are creative and witty storytellers. Their lies may be too good to be true, but they deliver it so flawlessly that people end up believing them.”

From  https://maripiermorin.com/en/2018/02/12/aquarius-kids-are-too-cool-for-school/

“If you have an Aquarian in your life, you know how goddamn independent they are. Supposedly, they need space to love you back – pfff. So if you let them have their personal freedom, you’ve won half the battle.”  Malachi totally relies on himself but finds himself in a financial, emotional, and moral battle in his youth which has the possibility to create a turning point.  Not to mention, when someone is so dishonest with the world (and perhaps, himself), relationships are either a struggle or non-existent.

Aquarians, in the above article, are termed “Too cool for school.”  “To put it simply, they just have this je-ne-sais-quoi without even knowing they have it. Cool-kids like these come with a knack for starting and entertaining conversations with people of all kinds of walks of life. If I can give you a tip: Beware of the moment they switch from entertained to bored. It does happen quite suddenly if you’re a little too square for them.”  Malachi has an excellent gift of gab.  He wows all of his professors and puts on an excellent Hamlet.  He wows everyone until the day of mid-term exams.

Weaknesses- “You shut down your emotions like you shut down your laptop, right?”  Again, Malachi avoids his family because of the drama that surrounds them, and he has lied to most of them since childhood.  He rarely shares his feelings with anyone.  He’s a young man living in a new town, failing out of college because having deep discussions with your professor is not enough to pass, and struggling to find a new life plan that also provides food and shelter.  He knows he must survive on his own, so indulging in his emotions is a luxury he can’t afford.

Another Aquarian weakness:  “Idealistic because you think it’s the same as being realistic.”  I wasn’t sure if that fits Malachi.  Though people change in times of scraping to survive.

You’ll have fun reading about Malachi, and maybe you’ll be familiar with his struggle for identity as he finds himself in a world of deception.   I even enjoyed remembering being in my young twenties, looking at myself through a new lens, trying not to judge myself and others as I was taught as a child.  This book is not sci-fi per se, but Malachi  is linked to many characters from my sci-fi series, Detours in Time.  One example is Ellie, whose identity and place in the space–time continuum is slowly being revealed, even to me.  Characters can tend to do that.

Overall, this book is devoted to the character Malachi, and the people he comes across, the development of ihis identity, and his struggle to discover just what kind of person he is.

There will be more behind-the-scenes hints in the next few months.  This one is going to stew on the stove, as I slowly fit it in with many other goals I am seeking this year.  Look for it in 2020!

Side Character Sunday. A glimpse into the #scifi novel, Detours in Time

 

These are some of the side characters from my latest sci-fi novel, Detours in Time, a sci-fi tale of time travel and the mess we can make.  Milt and Tabitha (aka Pinky) travel to three distinct time lines and meet a variety of interesting characters.  Meet some of them here!

From left to right:  Elise, a vintage throwback in (2047),  Salamanca (2047), and below them is Tomas (2047)

What would each character tell you about herself/himself?

*Elise: (2047)   “Yeah, you could say I’m a throwback to a better time.  What can I say?  I’m not sure about where this world of ours is going.  I have a decent job, and those bots can’t replace me.  Oh, and I get evenings off.  Gives me more time at the dance hall.”  *Winks.

*Amy:  (1997) “I’m Tabitha’s best friend; we met in Art school.  People look at me like I’m strange,  but to me, it’s all about self-expression.   I’m used to people staring at me.  Tabitha’s not really like that, though.”

*Salamanca: (2047)   “I met these two, Milt and Tabitha, by complete accident.  She couldn’t stop staring at me, must be the wings I just got.  I was passing by; I thought I’d just have a quick smoke. I’m really trying to quit, trying to straighten up my act.  Do you like my wings?  They have special meaning for me.  Helping me remember my momma and her angels.”  From the book:   “It’s okay.  I’m just a tad bit moody.  Sorry guys, I’m really working on my patience!”

*At bottom above, Tomas: (2047) “Milt and Tabitha were such a lovely pair.  I don’t know where they’re from, but it’s obviously not here.  Still, they needed a little help.  Milt was so appreciative of everything and very curious.  I never could get too much information from them, though.  Still, I was honored that I could be of some help to them.”

Tomas is an avid fisherman for a living, and as is the style in his time, his tattoos reflect that.  He also dabbles in art on the side.

Stephen Pring, (2018) and Jared Hansen (1997), Pinky’s wayward brother.

*Stephen:  (2018)- “They came from out of nowhere, and saved me.  Everything happens for a reason.  I’m telling you, I will make sure we win this war.  People say I should bow out now because of the injury.  Not on your life.  I will make a difference.”

*Jared:  (1997)- “Well, yeah, I care about Tabitha.  She hasn’t heard from me in so long, because I’m trying to get my life together.  I don’t want to lean on her.  We all have our own stuff, our own garbage to deal with.  That, and the days sometimes just seem to blur into each other.”

To quote a snippet from the most recent review:  “I found it quite interesting and some of the ideas and characters brilliant and well developed.”

Find out about Detours in Time for yourself at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711ZW6XF  It’s available on Kindle, for free in Kindle Unlimited, or in paperback!