We received an advance review copy of the novel, and found it a fascinating and well-written story. It deserves to get good exposure from the Maybe the Trains blog tour which kicks off today. Check the blog tour page for upcoming interviews and reviews of the book - as well as a contest to win Amazon gift certificates and Maybe the Trains items!
We've made it easy for you to enter the contest - see the entry form below, at the end of our interview.
Now, on to our conversation with Rodney Jones!
In a few words, how would you describe your book to someone who hasn't heard about it?
A few words? That’s like three, right? OK. Here goes: A young man from the year 1875 unwittingly travels to 2009, meets a spirited young woman, and with her help unravels the mystery of his vanished village.
How long did it take you to write the novel? Can you give us some insights into your approach?
I spent a couple of months playing with the idea—a lot of walks in the woods, looking at various possibilities, piecing together the premise. And then four months researching the period, the setting, the dialect, and trying to dig up facts about Greendale. Then, of course, I had to write the story, type it out, tap, tap, tap—the first draft took me about a year. And finally the editing, which actually was more time consuming than the initial writing. I know that sounds like a long time, but my first novel took almost triple that. I’ve improved.
The discovery of the orange ribbon in the sapling, and - amusingly - the discarded beer can, were some of the first clues to John that he was in an unfamiliar setting. Did the time travel aspect of the book present any challenges to you as an author?
I can’t think of anything more challenging than taking something that is impossible and making it sound plausible and convincing. I try to imagine what my reaction to the experience would be, and then speed it up a bit, so it doesn’t feel as tedious as reality. If I was to describe in writing my reaction to suddenly finding myself one hundred and forty years in the future, I would probably have five or six chapters of me stuttering, whimpering, muttering to myself in shock. That could get dull.
John observes that, in his 1870s life, the Civil War was just referred to as "The War." Details like that add to the credibility of the story. What inspired you to use the post-civil war era as the time period for the novel?
At the time I came up with the idea, I was living down the road from the ruins of Greendale. I was mystified by the place. I searched but was unable to dig up any documentation on its history—it appears there isn’t any. Talking to some of the local old-timers, I learned (or rather, I was told) that Greendale burned down in the 1920s. No one agreed on why, though. I chose to set the story during the post-civil war era because it provides what I felt was the most intriguing contrast. Practical applications for electricity were just beginning to be realized at that time. Trains were everywhere. The telegraph was up. Eighteen seventy-five was, in my opinion, the crack of dawn of the modern age.
How did you conduct your research on the 1870s era?
I used maps. I took a lot of the names used in the story from an 1865 map that showed the location of every business and farm in Vermont. Amazing detail. Also, I talked to locals, read books on Vermont history, and letters and poems from the time—I came upon an interesting collection of letters that were written by two Vermont brothers during the Civil War. This is where I picked up some of the more interesting colloquialisms of that period. I used the internet to access the historical archives at the University of Vermont, study old photographs, and learn about the workings of the old mills.
John's encounters with modern objects and terms of speech make for a charming element to the story. Can you comment on that aspect of the book?
My favorite TV series, as a kid, was The Twilight Zone. I recall an episode where a man traveled back in time to medieval England and left his wristwatch with an old woman who was convinced it was possessed with magic. Since then, I saw common everyday objects in a new light. I frequently played a game with myself where I’d try to imagine how this or that object would be perceived by someone from a thousand years before. Perhaps, because of my decades of experience doing that, I’ve become the world champion of the game. Ha!
Issues with speech… I feel I’ve treaded softly there. I believe that if you were to transport a young man from the nineteenth-century mountains of Vermont and put them in a room with a young woman from modern day Vermont, they’d likely have a harder time understanding each other than my two characters, John and Tess.
Your story is told in the first person. What led to that writing decision? Did it create any special challenges in the writing of the book?
This was the first story I’d written in the first person. I’d recently read a novel written in this manner (first person, from the point of view of the protagonist) and was intrigued by the feeling of being inside the head of the main character, closer to their thoughts and feelings. First person seemed to come naturally to me. I now prefer this mode over the more common third person. My preferred mode is now first person present tense, though The Sun, the Moon… is past tense. I just can’t imagine that story in the present tense.
A lot of the story is advanced through dialogue, and specifically between John and Tess. Can you tell us your techniques for writing strong dialogue?
What advice would you give other writers or would-be writers?
Examine your motive for writing. If you’re writing because you want to be published and make lots of money, you’ll very likely never get there. If you’re writing because you love writing, doing it to entertain yourself, writing with the intent of forever improving, then you will succeed whether you are ever published or not. If you find creating worlds fulfilling, then do it and never give up.
Okay, let's get a bit more personal. Tell us five random things about you!
I’m a romantic, idealistic optimist whose idea of heaven is eternity in a cozy bed with a great book, a bottle of the finest whisky on earth, and a two-pound box of the very best Belgium chocolates, which miraculously never runs empty—the bottle or the box. Oh, and I never get drunk, fat, or hung-over.
I like wilderness camping, fantasizing about travel, watching baboons, listening to music, being in love, and natural casing hot dogs roasted over an open fire. Is that five things yet? I’m lousy at math.
Close enough! Thank you. So, when can we expect your next book!? Do you have plans for it and can you tell us about it?
I’m sitting on three completed novels, all three of which I’m very excited about, though none have yet been seen by a publisher… so, I can’t answer the first question. However, I’m hoping I’ll have the next one out within a year. Like I said, I’m an idealistic optimist.
The book I’m most interested in seeing in print is a funny, quirky, coming of age story that takes place on the planet Bufadu. It follows the life and struggles of a girl who is obsessed with sailing to a mythological continent called Methania. This story was a huge challenge for me, in that I had to create a new language (for the Methanian character, the main character's future love interest), present it in a manner that would not trip the reader while at the same time ensure that my character is clearly understood. I think readers are going to have a blast with this.
Rodney, thanks for talking with us. We're pleased to feature your book on KindleBoards!
Rodney's book, The Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains, is available to download to your Kindle now!
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