Why I Wrote TANGLED IN TIME

When I started writing Tangled in Time, it was not meant to be so, well, tangled. It was supposed to be a simple mystery story for an anthology with a Texas Landmarks theme. After… possibly six false starts, I almost gave up.

Then I started wondering if I could write a short story using one of my characters from my Project Enterprise series (which was two books at the time). I did a mental flip through the characters and almost immediately, Colonel Cary stepped up. I think he was done being a minor, background character.

And he wanted a girl.

I didn’t plan on Olivia. Neither did Colonel Cary (the poor guy didn’t even have a first name when I got around to writing his story). But when she strolled around the side of the transmogrification machine…wait?

What?

I was NOT going to write a time travel story. Or a steampunk story.

I was not.

But that’s what I got. A science fiction steampunk, time travel novella.

You read that right. Not a short story. Not a mystery.

It never made it into the anthology, but I loved the story. I loved writing it. And I love it when readers love it, too. But yes, it was a strange direction change from The Key and Girl Gone Nova. And it helped make Steamrolled a bit, um, unusual as well.

So I started it because I was asked to be in the anthology. But I morphed it into a science fiction/steampunk/time travel/romance/adventure because that’s what Bray (yes, he got a first name) and Olivia wanted.

When you write books, stuff happens. A lot.

Have you ever found yourself going off script during a project?

Perilously yours,

Pauline

“This novella will appeal to readers across genres, offering romance, suspense, and mystery all wrapped up in an intriguing Sci-Fi plot that grabs the reader from beginning to end.” Midwest Book Review

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