I
have loved paranormal stories my entire life. I was a kid in the eighties, and
I thought the Nightmare on Elm Street movies were just about the best thing to
ever grace the silver screen. I made frequent visits to the library to look for
collections of short ghost stories. I’ve branched out since then, and actually
haven’t published anything that fits the ghost or the slasher genres, but I do
like to add some sort of paranormal element to everything I write.
What inspired you to write
this book?
This
might take a little while to explain.
First
off, I’m a huge Supernatural fan. Now, Supernatural fans usually fall into one
of two categories. There are those who prefer seasons 1 and 2 of the show, and
there are those who like seasons 4 and 5 the best. I’m a seasons 1 and 2 girl.
The show’s origins were rooted in the horror genre, and since that is my
favorite genre, the creepy atmosphere of the show hooked me immediately. I can
recognize the great story telling of seasons 4 and 5, but with the focus being
on the great cosmic battle between good and evil, those two seasons feel more
like fantasy than horror, so a part of me will always be nostalgic for the early
days when everything was spooky and mysterious.
So
how does that relate to my book? Well, it started with a dream. In the dream,
my husband and I were driving through some unnamed small town. We knew, the way
you know things in dreams, that we were in the Supernatural universe. Sam and
Dean were real and everything that had ever happened to them was real. We also
knew that we were in the current season (I think they’re on number 12 now). We
parked our car and got out. I glanced across the street and saw Sam Winchester.
But he did not look the way Sam looks now. He was Sam from season 1. I
excitedly tapped my husband on the shoulder to get his attention, saying,
“Look! Look! It’s Sam! But it’s not the current Sam. It’s Sam from the first
season!” Then I woke up.
Three
days later I still could not stop thinking about this dream, so I knew I had to
turn it into a book. But I don’t write fanfiction, so I had to change the characters
names, give them new personality traits, and come up with completely new backstories.
But the scene in the first chapter of Road
to Yesterday where Kim and Vi are sitting in the restaurant eating
breakfast and they see their brother Alex walk in, looking exactly like he did
ten years ago, was taken directly from my dream.
Do you have a special
formula for creating characters' names? Do you try to match a name with a
certain meaning to attributes of the character or do you search for names
popular in certain time periods or regions?
I
often name characters after people from my favorite movies or TV shows, but I
do it in a sort of convoluted way. Sometimes the name will start with the same
letter as a movie or TV character. Sometimes I’ll reference someone from a
movie by using the name of another, usually minor, character from the same
movie. The most twisted route I’ve ever taken to naming a character was in my
first book, Amelia’s Children.
There’s a character in there who was based largely on Sheriff Harry Truman from
Twin Peaks. I didn’t want it to be
obvious that I was referencing Twin Peaks, so I did not want to name him Harry.
So I thought, okay, who are some famous Harry’s that everyone knows? The first
one who came to mind was Prince Harry, who, of course, has a brother named
William. So I named the character Will.
It
took me forever to name the oldest brother in my newest book. Nothing seemed to
fit. So I finally decided I wasn’t going to honor a specific character or a
specific actor with his name. Since Road to Yesterday is about time travel, I
decided to pay tribute to the time travel genre as a whole. So I named him Kyle
after the character who travels back in time in The Terminator.
Do you
have a formula for developing characters? Like do you create a character sketch
or list of attributes before you start writing or do you just let the character
develop as you write?
Male leads in my books are usually based on some TV
character who I happen to find attractive. The female leads are usually some
variation of me. But then, once I start writing, the characters begin to develop
their own personalities beyond those identities I initially borrowed from other
sources. I never plan this out. I’m so goal oriented, if I wrote out an outline
of what kind of character arc my stories had to have, I would end up feeling
trapped by it and would likely never finish writing a book. So I start writing,
and I let the characters tell me how they want to be written. I know that
sounds like the weirdest thing ever to someone who has never written a book,
but those who have been on that journey will know exactly what I’m talking
about.
Do you ever suffer from
writer’s block? How do you deal with it?
Of
course I’ve experienced writer’s block. Who doesn’t? As I said above, the
inspiration for my characters often comes from my favorite movies or TV shows.
To be more specific, I base my male characters on whatever TV character or
actor I happen to be fangirling at the moment. So if I find myself losing the
drive to write a certain story, I just spend some time watching the TV show or
movie that provided the initial spark, and suddenly I’m rolling again.
Do you write in different
genres?
I
try to incorporate a paranormal element into all of my books. It’s all part of
that branding thing that’s so important when you’re trying to get your name out
there into the world. But there are many choices within the paranormal genre.
My first book, Amelia’s Children, is
a murder mystery in which one character happens to have psychic abilities. My
second book, Primogénito is a dark
urban fantasy involving blood magic. Road
to Yesterday is more or less a family drama in which one family member
happens to have traveled through time. So my books are all paranormal, but they
are all very different from each other.
Do you find it difficult to
write in multiple genres?
Not
at all. In fact, I have a good many ideas for some non-paranormal books I’d
like to write, but I don’t plan to do so any time soon because of the branding
thing I mentioned above.
Other than writing, what
are some of your interests, hobbies or passions in life?
I
am interested in so many things. I have a degree in Music Education, and I love
to sing and play piano. I take dance lessons. I’ve dabbled in photography and
even tried my hand a filmmaking (something I’d like to develop a bit more in the
future, maybe even turning my own books into movies!) I also love reading,
which I probably have in common with all other writers.
Where can readers find you
on the web?
I
have pages on Facebook and Twitter. I also have a website at gretacribbs.blogspot.com.
Would you like to leave
readers with a little teaser or excerpt from the book?
“So, wait...” I could almost see Alex’s
mind working to process what I’d just told him. “You think when I go back to my
own time I’m going to do something to save Kyle’s life?”
“Exactly.”
“So then I’m here...to...find out how
to save him?”
“No. Well...I guess...I mean, I hadn’t
really thought about that part, so maybe. But no, I’m thinking you’re here to
do for...for you...whatever you did
for Kyle back then.”
“But I haven’t done anything for Kyle yet.”
“Right. But you will. When you go back.”
“And what exactly am I going to do?”
“I don’t know. You never told us.”
“Then how the hell am I supposed to do
it?”
“I guess you’ll know when the time
comes.”
Vi cleared her throat. Her arms were
crossed over her chest and she was tapping her foot impatiently. “That’s a
great theory, Kim. In fact, let’s go with that. Let’s assume that’s why Alex is
here. In which case we need to go so we can get him to Georgia in time to
save...himself.” She turned and marched off toward the far end of the lot where
her car was parked.
“So I’m going with you?”
Vi glanced over her shoulder. “I don’t
see how you have any other choice. Unless you brought your car with you from
2007.”
Alex looked around. “No. I don’t guess
I did.”
“Then it’s either stay here or come
with us.”
“But I was supposed to meet someone
here.”
“You’re ten years late for that
appointment, Alex. Whoever it was, I think they’ve left by now.”
Vi continued walking toward her car and
Alex and I followed close behind.
“Isn’t that Kyle’s car?” Alex asked
when he saw where we were going.
“It was,” Vi said, “but he gave it to
me when I turned eighteen.”
“So it wasn’t totaled in the accident?”
“It was pretty banged up, but Kyle’s a
mechanic. Fixing cars is kind of his thing.”
“So he fixed it up, then just gave it
to you?”
Vi shrugged. “Yeah. Well...after he
bought the motorcycle.”
Alex laughed. “Kyle has a motorcycle?
Who does he think he is, The Fonz?”
“Kyle’s always wanted to be The Fonz,”
Vi said. “Remember his leather jacket phase?”
“You
remember that? You were, what, like seven?”
“He’s my brother as much as yours. And he had that thing for
a...really...long time.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I’m the one who had to live
with him remember? He never took it off. Even in the summer. In Georgia. A
hundred degrees outside for weeks at a time and he’s walking around in that
stupid jacket. And we had to share a bedroom! I swear, Violet, there were
nights I couldn’t fall asleep because it was like the whole world smelled like
Kyle’s armpits.”
“Yeah. Thank God I lived all the way
across the country.”
We reached the car and Vi fumbled in
her purse for her keys. Alex stood near the trunk looking quizzically at her
bumper sticker.
“Violet?”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you have a huge bird sticker on
the back of your car?”
“It’s a chickadee,” she said, as though
that explained everything.
“A chickadee?”
“From Twin Peaks.” The inflection of her voice made it impossible to tell
if she meant it as a statement or a question.
“I don’t remember...”
“Dodge Dart...Chickadee. Get it?”
Alex just stared at her and shook his
head.
Vi laughed. “When we get to the hotel
tonight, remind me to let you borrow my iPad so you can binge-watch.”
“Your what?”
“My iPad.”
“Maybe they didn’t have iPads in 2007,”
I said.
Vi stared at Alex with eyes narrowed.
“They didn’t have iPads in 2007?”
Alex shrugged. “I have an iPod.”
“An old-ass iPod from ten years ago?”
“Well, I bought it last year,
so...eleven years ago?”
“Yeah, not the same thing.” She finally
excavated her car keys from the cavernous interior of her purse, opened the
driver’s side door, and slid in behind the steering wheel.
Greta Cribbs
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Would you travel through time to save your brother’s life? How much would you be willing to sacrifice for the good of your family?
Two brothers fight for their lives in two hospitals, one in 2007 and the other in 2017. Meanwhile their younger sisters, Kim and Violet, find themselves traveling a road where time is no longer constant. The four of them are hurtling toward an unknown future, or an unknown past. Determined to save the lives of both their brothers, Kim and Violet seek the help of a mysterious man who seems to hold the key to everything. Can they find the answers they need before time runs out?
Available at Amazon
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