The Story Behind The Rescue: The Timestream Travelers Chronicles
I started writing this book for my 6th graders at Illahee Middle School in the fall of 2015. The school is in Federal Way, Washington, a community in southern King County known as melting pot of cultures. I developed biracial characters like Aeneas, C.J., and Sheila because many of my students were from families consisting of one or more cultures or races. Biracial people are not always reflected in fictional stories, and I wanted to showcase them in this series for my students to see people like themselves.
The time travel piece evolved from my keen interest in Earth science and the uncertainty I felt living in the valley of a potentially destructive volcano (Mount Rainier). Being a proactive Hurricane Katrina survivor, I signed for up earthquake alerts from U.S.G.S and started checking the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network where I was stunned by the number of small earthquakes occurring each day along the Puget Sound and the coastlines of Oregon and British Columbia. I started wondering if the space-time continuum could be opened by the energy generated from an earthquake, could individuals whose genetic markers allowed them to withstand the timestream travel along their timelines?
Meanwhile the three middle schoolers Aeneas, Tabitha and C.J. were percolating in my imagination and they needed families, friends, siblings, favorite things, and a mission, like solving a time travel mystery. After that, the story took on a life of its own. The Willoughbys, Entwistles and Harold Torkleson became my other family, following me around all day waiting for more of their story to take shape, but I had dilemma. I wasn’t sure where they should all live.
I stumbled on West Seattle by chance, never having ever made any plans to visit the area, but I was looking for a new doctor and happened to find one I thought would be a good fit. However, the office was in West Seattle an hour from my home. Eventually I decided the distance was irrelevant and gave it a go.
One morning after an appointment, I explored the area near PCC Market, discovering The Swinery, Freshy's, The Admiral Bird Cafe and Hiawatha Playfield. Delighted at the unique small businesses in the area, I continued my explorations each time I visited. The people I encountered during my trips reminded me of the small coastal town where I grew up and I instantly fell head over heels in love with the place. Sometimes a place can make a story. Other times a story can make a place. And then occasionally, the right story and the right place come together in perfect synergy. That was the beginning of The Timestream Travelers series.
It all starts when the sheets go slack, and Aeneas vanishes! He and his two best friends, C.J. and Tabitha are spellbound as they watch the video feed of his disappearance and witness him climbing through his bedroom window an hour later, wearing different socks. Aeneas Entwistle, a slightly above average eighth grader is about to discover that the mystery of waking up with different socks is much more than just a prank.
Adding to that dilemma, Aeneas is struggling with new feelings for Tabitha and loses his cool during her birthday party. Meanwhile, Aeneas’s twenty-something daughter, Cassie has traveled thirty-eight years from the future hoping to find any small detail that might help locate her missing father. Enlisting Harold, the Entwistle’s quirky housekeeper, Cassie works to rescue a middle-aged Aeneas, who vanishes into the timestream when a 7.2 earthquake strikes northwest Washington in May of 2053. But Cassie’s presence in the past might have unforeseen consequences for everyone in her circle. As she struggles to find her father, a carefully guarded family secret is revealed, and Cassie must choose between altering the past or violating the shamanic rules of time travel!
“Author
Sher J. Stultz weaves an intricate plot filled with unexpected twists
and turns that hooks you in from the first page and refuses to let go
until the end. Moving at a blistering pace, the narrative is full of
intrigue, mystery, and a sense of wonder that you find in well-written
adventure tales. The characters are colorful and full of life. Their
distinct quirks and idiosyncrasies only make them more appealing to the
reader. I adored the friendship between Aeneas, Tabitha, and C.J. I also
found myself enjoying the dynamic between Cassie and Harold.
Recommended to young adult sci-fi/fantasy lovers.” – Reviewed By Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite
Book Information
Release Date: January 2022
Publisher: Independent
Soft Cover: ISBN:979-8455440540; 290 pages; $14.99; eBook $3.99
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09P7ND264
Sher Stultz lives with her family in the Puyallup river valley. The Timestream Travelers Chronicles is her debut series. Her inspiration for this series came from teaching middle school science and her deep curiosity with genetics and time travel. As a science teacher for seventeen years, she is always delighted to bump into former students and learn about the new adventures in their lives. In her spare time, she kayaks, dances, practices yoga, and goes camping or hiking. In the summertime Sher grows pollinator gardens for bees and hummingbirds, attends outdoor concerts, and reads in her hammock. An ardent conversationalist, Sher enjoys many genres of books and music and will happily converse with anyone on a variety of topics! Her first novel, The Rescue has been warmly received, garnering an indie B.R.A.G. Medallion, a Bookfest gold medal, and was cited as Pacific Book Awards Finalist. Book two in the Timestream series is slated for release in early 2023.
Website: https://www.timestreamtravelerchronicles.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timestreamtraveler/
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