I’ve got the wonderful Karen Akins on the blog today for a really fun guest post as part of her blog tour. And you can also enter to win before you go! 😉 First, let’s see what this book is all about:
Loop by Karen Akins
on October 21st 2014
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At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.
After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.
Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.
But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future.
Guest Post by Karen Akins
Time Traveling for Dummies
Thank you so much for having me on your blog today to celebrate the release of LOOP!
As I was writing LOOP, I had to come up with my own set of time travel worldbuilding rules. Through the process, I had some revelations about time travel in general. Some are common sense. Others are a little trickier. All are chock full o’ fun!
Time Traveling for Dummies:
1. Gas up the DeLorean before you leave.
Not gonna lie, I love, love love the Back to the Future series, but this was one detail that always left me flummoxed. Doc Brown can design a flux capacitor that enables travel freely across the space-time continuum. He can improve that technology to operate on trash rather than plutonium as fuel. He can modify the DeLorean (and then a steam locomotive!) to fly. But he can’t figure out how to fix the engine to run on, oh I don’t know, corn-derived ethanol or biodiesel?
2. Be wary of time travel machines in general. They are notoriously finicky and temperamental. And in the case of a TARDIS, may in fact by smarter than you.
And don’t get me started on that creepy box in Looper.
3. Avoid your future self like the plague. He or she will only lead to trouble. (Ahem, TWIST spoiler.)
4. While you’re at it, avoid the plague like the plague. There are all sorts of nasty bugs from the past that have been eradicated through vaccines and medications. And let’s keep them that way. The past is where they should stay.
5. If you do think that you’ve accidentally set an alternate course of events into motion…shhhhhhh…just don’t talk about it. Maybe no one will notice.
6. Don’t draw out timelines unless you’re prepared for a really big headache.
Don’t believe me? Well, just check out this graphic of the Back to the Future timeline. [link: http://flickographics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/12006-back-to-future.jpg }
I did this for both LOOP and TWIST, and while helpful from a plot continuity standpoint, it still made me want to cry.
7. Accept that time travel is full of paradoxes and anomalies. That’s what makes it frustrating. That’s also what makes it hair-pullingly fun.
8. If all else fails, just don’t kill your grandfather, and you should be good.
Thanks again for having me! I hope everyone enjoys LOOP. <3
About the Author
Karen Akins lives in the MidSouth where she writes humorous, light YA sci-fi. When not writing or reading, she loves lightsaber dueling with her two sons and forcing her husband to watch BBC shows with her.
Karen has been many things in her life: an archery instructor, drummer for the shortest-lived garage band in history, and a shockingly bad tic-tac-toe player.
Giveaway
St Martin’s Press has generously offered up one finished copy of Loop for giveaway!
Open to US and Canada addresses
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