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Time Tripping to England
by Morgan O’Neill
Did you ever wonder how authors get
inspiration for scenes in their novels? We, co-authors Cary Morgan
Frates and Deborah O’Neill Cordes, have used
our actual experiences and things that happened to us and our family
members, some of which occurred well before we were born. This became
fodder for scenes in Begun by Time, the Prequel to The Thornless
Rose. What time trippy fun!
English pubs and restaurants figure
prominently in Begun by Time. Cary lived in London for a year
and recalls several visits to a wonderful pub that has existed in the
same spot since the 1540s. Atmospheric and inviting, she remembers
having a pint or two on cold, damp days––or was that Scotch
whiskey in the summer? She hopes to go back in the near future,
perhaps to meet up with that special someone, a handsome man with
deep blue eyes. And so, it seemed natural it should become our
fictional pub, The Bishop’s Crook, where
Jonathan Brandon (who also has blue eyes!) and our other characters
meet their futures headlong––in the past.
One incident was passed down in
Deborah’s family. On a wintry day in the
1930s, her maternal grandfather came home with something hidden
beneath his coat, a bulge in his breast pocket. Everyone assumed it
was a bottle of “good cheer,” until it started to wiggle. Out
popped the head of a dachshund puppy! Deborah’s
uncle, then a little boy, promptly called the pup Whiskey. The name
stuck, and Whiskey became a beloved family member. Deborah
incorporated some of this story into Begun by Time and The
Thornless Rose, in the scenes where Dr. Jonathan Brandon gives a
Christmas gift to his fiancée, Catherine, just before he vanishes.
The amusing incident takes on poignancy as time goes on and Jonathan
doesn’t return, for Catherine realizes the
dog was his last gift to her.
We hope you enjoy Begun by Time.
Thank you––and happy reading!
