Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with William de Rham
Book Title: The Quest to Unite Us: Book I of the Marcus Santana Time Travel Chronicles
Released: July 2020
Genre: YA historical fiction/time travel
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “The Quest to Unite Us—Book I of the Marcus Santana Time Travel Chronicles”?
de Rham: Benjamin Franklin inspired me to write this tale of a 17-year-old modern Philedelphian who travels back in time to live and work with our nation’s most creative leader during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and to fall in love, and get himself into all kinds of danger over slavery.
Franklin was a world-renowned scientist, inventor, newspaperman, author, publisher, politician, diplomat, public servant and benefactor, the discoverer of lightning as electricity, a drafter of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and a founder of many organizations still in existence today (like the University of Pennsylvania, the American Philosophical Society, and Pennsylvania Hospital). Indeed, Franklin led as full and productive a life as anyone could imagine. And he was adventurous, traveling by sailing ship across the Atlantic at least six times, not to mention up, down, and throughout the colonies on horseback as a postmaster. Because he was so adventurous, I wrote a tale of adventure hoping to get people of all ages interested in him, and other Founding Fathers such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, and the story of how our Constitution came to be.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
de Rham: When you are writing about our nation’s history, writer’s block isn’t really a problem. There are so many fascinating people and events to explore. The problem, sometimes, is choosing amongst them—figuring out which will best fire readers’ imaginations. Then, too, there’s the problem of losing yourself in the research. When writing “Quest,” I strove to give readers the strongest sense possible of what it was like to live in 1787 Philadelphia—how people went about their daily business, what they wore and ate, what the air smelled like, the machinery and devices they used, and also, what they lacked that we now take for granted—like hot and cold running water and electricity. Sometimes while writing, I’d research on-line to answer what I thought was the simplest question and then look at the clock to find that hours had passed, and I hadn’t written a word.
All that being said, I have encountered writer’s block on other projects, and the only remedy I’ve ever discovered is to write myself out of it. Which means, I just have to sit down and write whatever comes to mind, regardless of whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent. No judging. No editing. Just writing, reminding myself that there’ll be plenty of time for editing later. Indeed, for me, writing is more about editing than it is straight writing. So, the first job, for me when writing a novel or short story is to get words on the page—sort of like dumping a mound of clay onto a table to be shaped into a pot or statue. Once those words are down, I spend lots of time, and many drafts, adding and subtracting and rearranging and shaping them to create a story I hope will keep readers turning the page.
What is your favorite book, genre, and/or author?
de Rham: As to genres, I like history, biography, espionage, mystery, adventure, some sci-fi, literary and historical novels, and general fiction. It’s really tough to pick an "absolute favorite" book or author. There are so many I’ve admired. Favorite authors and their books I’ve loved include Ernest Hemingway ("The Sun Also Rises" and "Islands in the Stream"), F. Scott Fitzgerald ("The Great Gatsby"), Somerset Maugham ("The Painted Veil" and "The Razor’s Edge"), Evelyn Waugh ("Brideshead Revisited"), Herman Wouk ("The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance"), James Michener ("Space" and "The Source"), Ian Fleming ("Dr. No"), David McCullough ("John Adams" and "Truman"), Ron Chernow ("Washington, A Life"), William Manchester (for his "The Last Lion" series on Churchill), Robert A. Caro (for his multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson), Doris Kearns Goodwin ("Team of Rivals"), Sara Gruen ("Water for Elephants"), Stephen King ("The Stand" and "Insomnia" and "On Writing"), Tana French ("The Witch Elm"), Richard Russo ("Nobody’s Fool"), and Lilly King ("Father of the Rain" and "Euphoria").
What are you working on next?
de Rham: Book II of the “Marcus Santana Time Travel Chronicles” in which Marcus and his younger sister travel to 1776 and take part in the Revolution, spending time with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and other important but less well-known figures involved in our War for Independence.
Interested in checking out the book for yourself?
Find it for purchase here
(paid link by Amazon Associates)
Interested in submitting your book for review? Visit my review page for guidelines and submission requirements.
review