| Dash Keane is about to become the biggest star in history. As a poor teenager living in the Dregs, Dash Keane can only escape his dismal reality by competing in illegal rooftop races and staying up late to watch the timenet with his younger brother. When there is an opportunity to participate in a competition set thousands of years in the past, he uses his rooftop racer skills to catch the eye of Mr. Myrtrym, head of entertainment for the massive Dominus Corporation. It is the chance of a lifetime when Dominus Corp. hires Dash to be a timestar—the focus of his own series in which he must survive some of the most dangerous periods in history, including the Cretaceous period, feudal Japan, the Wild West, and the Golden Age of Piracy. But when empathy for the people of the past conflicts with the desires of his new employer, he must decide whether the price of fame is worth it, a decision that may cost him everything. Genre: YA Science Fiction Release date: January 14, 2024 Click here to get your copy! |  |
Interview with Clint
#1. What was the inspiration for this book?
First off, thanks for having me on your blog!
It was a handful of different things, really. For one, I had just finished working on another project (which hasn't been announced yet) that was very large and epic. While I absolutely loved (and still love) working on that project, I wanted to do something different; I wanted something a bit lighter and faster.
Echo Nova came out of that.
The idea came from my desire to find a different take on time travel. In many time travel stories—stories I love, by the way—you must be careful about going back in time because any changes you make to the past will impact the present. Step on the wrong flower or sneeze on the wrong person, and you might suddenly be erased from existence!
But what if that wasn't the case? What if those "ripples of change" in the timestream only moved as fast as time itself, meaning that the changes never caught up to the "present moment," which also moved at the same speed down the timestream?
Once I came up with that idea, everything else fell into place.
First off, thanks for having me on your blog!
It was a handful of different things, really. For one, I had just finished working on another project (which hasn't been announced yet) that was very large and epic. While I absolutely loved (and still love) working on that project, I wanted to do something different; I wanted something a bit lighter and faster.
Echo Nova came out of that.
The idea came from my desire to find a different take on time travel. In many time travel stories—stories I love, by the way—you must be careful about going back in time because any changes you make to the past will impact the present. Step on the wrong flower or sneeze on the wrong person, and you might suddenly be erased from existence!
But what if that wasn't the case? What if those "ripples of change" in the timestream only moved as fast as time itself, meaning that the changes never caught up to the "present moment," which also moved at the same speed down the timestream?
Once I came up with that idea, everything else fell into place.
#2. How long did it take to finish writing this book?
Writing a book usually takes me about a year, which was the case for Echo Nova. I like to do a lot of pre-work before I start writing. I have extensive character sheets and other world-building materials that I complete before I get started.
I also like to plot meticulously ahead of time. Many nights, I'm at my whiteboard charting out the journeys of the different characters or graphing the progression of their emotional states against their external circumstances. All that work usually takes a few months; I take a few more months to create the first draft.
Of course, there are months of editing and revising, which is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. I enjoy sitting down to work for a few hours and knowing that my book has improved.
Writing a book usually takes me about a year, which was the case for Echo Nova. I like to do a lot of pre-work before I start writing. I have extensive character sheets and other world-building materials that I complete before I get started.
I also like to plot meticulously ahead of time. Many nights, I'm at my whiteboard charting out the journeys of the different characters or graphing the progression of their emotional states against their external circumstances. All that work usually takes a few months; I take a few more months to create the first draft.
Of course, there are months of editing and revising, which is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. I enjoy sitting down to work for a few hours and knowing that my book has improved.
#3. What drew you to write in this particular genre?
Honestly, I'm not sure! I didn't grow up a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan, although I was always big into superhero fiction. And when I was 16 years old, I saw The Matrix, which absolutely blew me away.
I think I would've been a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan as a kid, but I didn't have anyone to introduce me to it. My older sister and parents weren't really into it. I don't think I watched the complete original Star Wars trilogy until I was in college, around the same time that I first read Ender's Game. I didn't read The Chronicles of Narnia until I was married.
But I think the inherent sense of hope, wonder, and adventure in sci-fi and fantasy really speaks to me. I've always been a dreamer. There's a certain feeling I get when I can see the moon during the daylight, peeking through the blue sky a little before the Georgia sun sets. It reminds me that there's so much more out there than what's currently happening in my life—possibilities that I could never imagine.
Sci-fi/fantasy stories are great places to explore those ideas and emotions.
Honestly, I'm not sure! I didn't grow up a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan, although I was always big into superhero fiction. And when I was 16 years old, I saw The Matrix, which absolutely blew me away.
I think I would've been a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan as a kid, but I didn't have anyone to introduce me to it. My older sister and parents weren't really into it. I don't think I watched the complete original Star Wars trilogy until I was in college, around the same time that I first read Ender's Game. I didn't read The Chronicles of Narnia until I was married.
But I think the inherent sense of hope, wonder, and adventure in sci-fi and fantasy really speaks to me. I've always been a dreamer. There's a certain feeling I get when I can see the moon during the daylight, peeking through the blue sky a little before the Georgia sun sets. It reminds me that there's so much more out there than what's currently happening in my life—possibilities that I could never imagine.
Sci-fi/fantasy stories are great places to explore those ideas and emotions.
#4. Do you have a favorite character(s) in this book?
Without giving too much away, it's Sheriff Duffy. Let's just say he's contradictory in many ways. He's the most feared gunslinger in town, but you wouldn’t guess it by looking at him, and he's not particularly proud of that.
More than that, he understands people and even empathizes with those who are trying to kill him. He does what needs to be done but doesn't judge anybody. He often tries to help, even after he's had to use bullets to stop them from whatever horrible act they were committing.
Also, he's hilarious. Readers are going to like him.
Without giving too much away, it's Sheriff Duffy. Let's just say he's contradictory in many ways. He's the most feared gunslinger in town, but you wouldn’t guess it by looking at him, and he's not particularly proud of that.
More than that, he understands people and even empathizes with those who are trying to kill him. He does what needs to be done but doesn't judge anybody. He often tries to help, even after he's had to use bullets to stop them from whatever horrible act they were committing.
Also, he's hilarious. Readers are going to like him.
#5. Tell us a little about yourself, your family, friends.
Something I think readers should know about me is that I didn't grow up in church. My parents were believers, and we went to church occasionally, but it wasn't part of our daily lives. My faith didn't become real to me until I was in high school when I was invited to play for a local church's basketball team. To do this, I was required to attend church at least once a month, so I started going to the youth group on Wednesday nights.
The great part about this experience was that faith was my choice, not my parents’. And they were wonderful about it. They dropped me off at church absolutely any time I wanted to go. But they didn't attend themselves; the only time they set foot in that building was to see me get baptized.
Overall, that was fine, but I sometimes felt like an outsider. It wasn't anyone's fault; the youth group was welcoming, and I made incredible friends. However, I lacked many of the same cultural touchpoints because I hadn't grown up like them. As I mentioned, I hadn't read The Chronicles of Narnia. I didn't know about Newsboys or DC Talk. I had no idea that Larry was a cucumber (he is the cucumber, right?).
I definitely didn't know my way around the Bible. When the youth minister told us to go to a certain book, finding it took me much longer than everyone else. I vividly remember being told that we would read from Proverbs. As I flipped helplessly through my Bible, completely lost, my friend kindly leaned over and whispered, "It's kind of in the middle."
But I wouldn't change it. I am very much the product of outreach, and I understand what it's like to feel like you don’t belong inside even the most well-meaning church. God has certainly used my experience to give my writing a unique perspective, and I'm grateful for that.
Something I think readers should know about me is that I didn't grow up in church. My parents were believers, and we went to church occasionally, but it wasn't part of our daily lives. My faith didn't become real to me until I was in high school when I was invited to play for a local church's basketball team. To do this, I was required to attend church at least once a month, so I started going to the youth group on Wednesday nights.
The great part about this experience was that faith was my choice, not my parents’. And they were wonderful about it. They dropped me off at church absolutely any time I wanted to go. But they didn't attend themselves; the only time they set foot in that building was to see me get baptized.
Overall, that was fine, but I sometimes felt like an outsider. It wasn't anyone's fault; the youth group was welcoming, and I made incredible friends. However, I lacked many of the same cultural touchpoints because I hadn't grown up like them. As I mentioned, I hadn't read The Chronicles of Narnia. I didn't know about Newsboys or DC Talk. I had no idea that Larry was a cucumber (he is the cucumber, right?).
I definitely didn't know my way around the Bible. When the youth minister told us to go to a certain book, finding it took me much longer than everyone else. I vividly remember being told that we would read from Proverbs. As I flipped helplessly through my Bible, completely lost, my friend kindly leaned over and whispered, "It's kind of in the middle."
But I wouldn't change it. I am very much the product of outreach, and I understand what it's like to feel like you don’t belong inside even the most well-meaning church. God has certainly used my experience to give my writing a unique perspective, and I'm grateful for that.
More from Clint
Time is our playground
What happens when the past becomes the ultimate adventure?
What happens when the past becomes the ultimate adventure?
If we could travel back in time, but nothing we did in the past affected the present, would we still consider the past to be “real”?
And if not, how would that “un-realness” impact the way we treated the past and, more importantly, the people who inhabited it? Would they still have fundamental human rights? Would they be protected by laws? Or would we see them as another resource to be exploited?
These are the driving questions behind Echo Nova, though I didn’t have these themes in mind when I started writing the book. I just wanted to write a fast-paced, fun story about a young hero going on adventures through time.
But as I began world-building and plotting, I faced the same issue as so many sci-fi writers before me. In time travel stories, the people going into the past often need to be careful not to make changes that would alter the future. Say the wrong thing to the wrong person in the past, and you might cause a ripple effect of changes that would prevent you from ever being born!
Of course, the problem of being unable to change anything can make for an exciting story with high stakes and lots of tension. The hero must walk a proverbial tightrope to achieve a difficult mission while altering as little of the timeline as possible.
But what if that wasn’t the case? What if the ripples of change in the timestream moved at the same speed as time itself, meaning that if we did alter something in the past, those changes never caught up to us?
For example, if we went back to 2004 and chopped down a tree, it would take 20 years for that “new” reality with the missing tree to reach 2024. But by then, we in the “present” will have moved forward 20 years to 2044, and we’d still have our tree.
If the present is unaffected, the past could become our playground. We could do whatever we wanted.
While that sounds great at first, as I developed the story, I realized that there could also be dire consequences, both in the past and the present.
In Echo Nova, the world’s governments have decreed that because changes to the past don’t impact the present, the past is not “real” but only residual energy and not under the protection of nations and their laws. Corporations can purchase past periods, mining them for valuable resources and owning the people of the past—called “echoes”—like property.
Time travel has also become a pastime of the wealthy. If you have enough money, you can travel back in time to go on a dinosaur safari, watch gladiators battle in the Colosseum, or attend a feast hosted by Cleopatra.
For everyone else, the past is mainly experienced through broadcasts operated by these corporations. These broadcasts feature people called “timestars” who go on adventures in the past to entertain people in the present.
But exploiting humans for our own personal gain and entertainment has terrible consequences, even for those who may claim that they’re “only watching.” When we start to view people as anything other than individuals with rights, flaws, intrinsic value, and everything else that makes us human, the damage goes both ways – hurting those who have been dehumanized as well as those who are guilty of dehumanizing, even if they did so passively.
For instance, while working on this book, I watched the O.J. Simpson documentary and was struck by how people behaved during the infamous Bronco chase. Here was someone accused of a heinous crime, fleeing police while threatening to end his own life, and people responded by flocking to the streets and overpasses to watch. They held up homemade signs while laughing, waving, and smiling for the multitude of news cameras. This wasn’t real life to them. It was part of the show.
As an author, it’s hypocritical for me to be overly critical of entertainment. Further, I believe there is incredible value in well-told stories, both real and fictional, across all mediums. And sometimes, I’ll even admit that I need to turn my brain off and watch something relatively mindless for an hour or so.
But if we’re not careful, we can lose pieces of ourselves on the altar of entertainment.
Echo Nova explores these questions, as well as our culture’s relentless obsession with fame and the dark places in which we can find ourselves in our pursuit of it.
If that all sounds a bit heavy, the book also features pirates, gunslingers, and temporally displaced sea dinosaurs.
After all, sometimes you just need to read something fun.
And if not, how would that “un-realness” impact the way we treated the past and, more importantly, the people who inhabited it? Would they still have fundamental human rights? Would they be protected by laws? Or would we see them as another resource to be exploited?
These are the driving questions behind Echo Nova, though I didn’t have these themes in mind when I started writing the book. I just wanted to write a fast-paced, fun story about a young hero going on adventures through time.
But as I began world-building and plotting, I faced the same issue as so many sci-fi writers before me. In time travel stories, the people going into the past often need to be careful not to make changes that would alter the future. Say the wrong thing to the wrong person in the past, and you might cause a ripple effect of changes that would prevent you from ever being born!
Of course, the problem of being unable to change anything can make for an exciting story with high stakes and lots of tension. The hero must walk a proverbial tightrope to achieve a difficult mission while altering as little of the timeline as possible.
But what if that wasn’t the case? What if the ripples of change in the timestream moved at the same speed as time itself, meaning that if we did alter something in the past, those changes never caught up to us?
For example, if we went back to 2004 and chopped down a tree, it would take 20 years for that “new” reality with the missing tree to reach 2024. But by then, we in the “present” will have moved forward 20 years to 2044, and we’d still have our tree.
If the present is unaffected, the past could become our playground. We could do whatever we wanted.
While that sounds great at first, as I developed the story, I realized that there could also be dire consequences, both in the past and the present.
In Echo Nova, the world’s governments have decreed that because changes to the past don’t impact the present, the past is not “real” but only residual energy and not under the protection of nations and their laws. Corporations can purchase past periods, mining them for valuable resources and owning the people of the past—called “echoes”—like property.
Time travel has also become a pastime of the wealthy. If you have enough money, you can travel back in time to go on a dinosaur safari, watch gladiators battle in the Colosseum, or attend a feast hosted by Cleopatra.
For everyone else, the past is mainly experienced through broadcasts operated by these corporations. These broadcasts feature people called “timestars” who go on adventures in the past to entertain people in the present.
But exploiting humans for our own personal gain and entertainment has terrible consequences, even for those who may claim that they’re “only watching.” When we start to view people as anything other than individuals with rights, flaws, intrinsic value, and everything else that makes us human, the damage goes both ways – hurting those who have been dehumanized as well as those who are guilty of dehumanizing, even if they did so passively.
For instance, while working on this book, I watched the O.J. Simpson documentary and was struck by how people behaved during the infamous Bronco chase. Here was someone accused of a heinous crime, fleeing police while threatening to end his own life, and people responded by flocking to the streets and overpasses to watch. They held up homemade signs while laughing, waving, and smiling for the multitude of news cameras. This wasn’t real life to them. It was part of the show.
As an author, it’s hypocritical for me to be overly critical of entertainment. Further, I believe there is incredible value in well-told stories, both real and fictional, across all mediums. And sometimes, I’ll even admit that I need to turn my brain off and watch something relatively mindless for an hour or so.
But if we’re not careful, we can lose pieces of ourselves on the altar of entertainment.
Echo Nova explores these questions, as well as our culture’s relentless obsession with fame and the dark places in which we can find ourselves in our pursuit of it.
If that all sounds a bit heavy, the book also features pirates, gunslingers, and temporally displaced sea dinosaurs.
After all, sometimes you just need to read something fun.
 Clint Hall | Clint Hall is a storyteller, speaker, and podcast host. He has been writing stories since middle school, where he spent most of his time in class creating comic books. (Fortunately, his teacher not only allowed it; she bought every issue.) Known for instilling a sense of hope, wonder, and adventure, Clint is the author of Steal Fire from the Gods (finalist for several awards), and has been published across multiple anthologies and magazines. Find him at ClintHall.com or “The Experience: Conversations with Creatives” podcast, available on all major platforms. |
It's Time For A Giveaway!
To celebrate his tour, Clint is giving away the grand prize of
a $50 Amazon Gift Card, a signed copy of the book, and a bookmark!!
a $50 Amazon Gift Card, a signed copy of the book, and a bookmark!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!
Blog Stops
The Lofty Pages, January 31
Simple Harvest Reads, February 1 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, February 2
Denise L. Barela, February 3 (Spotlight)
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, February 4
Artistic Nobody, February 5 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 6
For the Love of Literature, February 7 (Spotlight)
Wishful Endings, February 7
Guild Master, February 8 (Author Interview)
Blossoms and Blessings, February 9 (Spotlight)
For Him and My Family, February 9
Fiction Book Lover, February 10 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 11
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, February 12 (Spotlight)
Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 13 (Author Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, February 1 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, February 2
Denise L. Barela, February 3 (Spotlight)
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, February 4
Artistic Nobody, February 5 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 6
For the Love of Literature, February 7 (Spotlight)
Wishful Endings, February 7
Guild Master, February 8 (Author Interview)
Blossoms and Blessings, February 9 (Spotlight)
For Him and My Family, February 9
Fiction Book Lover, February 10 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 11
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, February 12 (Spotlight)
Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 13 (Author Interview)