Author Janet Raye Stevens Takes Readers to the 1940s

The Write Way Café welcomes Janet Raye Stevens, who caught the writing bug very early, and through writing has learned many things, including patience.

When did you first have the thought you'd like to write a book? Was that first thought related to writing romance?
     I think the question should be, when did I ever not think about writing a book? I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first picked up a pencil. My mother was a voracious reader, which led to me loving to read too. The combination of so many books around the house and growing up in an interesting neighborhood inspired my imagination and a desire to tell stories. I was also quite the little romantic, so it was only natural I swipe my mother’s romance novels to read under the covers. But it wasn’t until I was in my teens that I infused my scribblings with romance plots.

What was your path to writing time travel? 
     I got hooked on time travel early on and my mother was the catalyst for that as well. She was a huge Sci-Fi fan, so of course I became a fan too. I read Fog Magic by Julia Sauer a zillion times as a kid, enthralled by the story of a young girl who steps into the fog—and into the past. I also fell completely in love with the time travel TV show The Time Tunnel (didn’t hurt that 10-year-old me thought the star, James Darren, was dreamy). Grown-up me has
moved on to the TV show Timeless, but I still swoon over James Darren as I recap episodes of The Time Tunnel for Time Travel Nexus.

Where did the idea for your story come from? Did you face any blocks while writing the book, and if so, how did you handle them? If not, what's your secret?
     The idea for BERYL BLUE, TIME COP came from a photograph I found in a junk shop, a picture of a bunch of World War II-era GIs gathered around a table at a bar. The writer in me saw the men in a moment of carefree carousing, tempered by the shadow of war and an uncertain future. The only thing missing was the girl. So, I put her there.
     I wrote a scene between a contemporary woman and a soldier on leave at a rowdy nightclub in 1943. Both realize they’ve fallen in love, both know they can never be together. It was funny and romantic and bittersweet. Finished, I wiped away a tear, looked at my perfect scene and… Now what? I’d written the middle of the story. How did they get to that nightclub, and where would they go from there? Why is she in the past? How did they meet? How will they be parted? I didn’t have a clue.
     I twisted my brain for a long time trying to figure out the answers. Blocked, I stepped away, wrote a bunch of short stories and another novel set during WWII. I don’t know if taking a break helped or immersing myself in the early 1940s did the trick, because – *boom* – the story came about a year later, and what I thought I might have to shove into a cyber closet and forget about became a finished book.

Why did you pick the setting you did? What type of research did you do?
     You mean, why World War II? I’ve always had an interest in that era, probably sparked by where I grew up, a public housing project, built as veterans' housing. Practically every dad there, and some of the moms, had been involved in the war, and as a kid, I heard their stories (cleaned up for little ears, I’m sure). My interest in WWII and the US homefront continued into adulthood, so it was no surprise that when I started writing fiction, I turned to that time period for inspiration.
     As for research, WWII is easier to research than earlier eras, mostly because it’s been so well-documented. Films, audio recordings, newspapers, magazines, and photos from the era and post-war are plentiful. And don’t forget the primary sources surrounding me as a child, my parents, grandparents, and neighbors, who all had a story to tell and I was eager to listen. In the end, I found research not nearly as challenging trying to keep the time travel timeline straight!

Fashion, transportation, vocabulary, and technology are four things we imagine could be very different if we were able to travel back or forward in time. Were these some of the issues you dealt with in your book? What other issues did you tackle?
     One of the fun things about writing time travel, as opposed to historical, is being able to comment on the different attitudes and mores between eras. Beryl has a few choice words for the story’s hero, Sully, and his “quaintly sexist” attitude. She also has a few choice words for having to wear a girdle. I deal with more serious subjects, too, like segregation, overcoming fear, and coping with loss.
     One big challenge was figuring out how the ration points system worked (I was—and still am—as confused as Beryl and, I suspect, just about everyone who had to live through rationing). Beryl’s outspokenness, thoroughly modern vocabulary, and lack of knowledge about ordinary things earns her a suspicious side-eye from Sully more than once, leading him to think she’s a foreign spy.

Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
     Mostly imaginary, but when I create a character I use a trait, habit or quirk of people I know, just to give them flavor. The rest, their background and life experience, is entirely fictional (especially my heroes, who all look suspiciously like Nathan Fillion, circa 2003). Beryl is closest to me of all my characters—I use humor as a defense mechanism, and so does she.

What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after?
     I was surprised how old some sayings are, and how new some others are. For instance, my hero says “go for broke” a couple times, but I removed it once I learned that phrase wasn’t coined until the end of the war, by the Japanese-American troops of the 442nd regiment, a fierce phrase for giving it all you have in battle. Another phrase, “everything but the kitchen sink” wasn’t in common usage in 1943, but I let Beryl say it anyway, increasing Sully’s suspicion of her. Another surprise: eggs weren’t rationed, but there was a big demand for them from Uncle Sam (to make into powdered eggs for the troops), meaning supplies were tight on the homefront. I turned that into a fun scene—Beryl and Sully go to a deli to buy lunch and the owner is all, “Psst, buddy, I’ve got eggs to sell, but it’s gonna cost you.”

What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world; about librarians, time travel, and World War II?
     Well, I learned to be patient as this story germinated, that’s for sure. I learned every agent and editor in the publishing business loves time travel stories, but they can’t sell it, or at least that’s what they told me. I hope I learned how to strike the right balance between humor and pathos, to create a story about real people opening their hearts to love. And I learned librarians really do not like to shelve books.

When will BERYL BLUE, TIME COP be available to readers? 
     I’m working on getting a cover done and I plan to self-publish the story by the end of the year.
     Thanks for inviting me to stop by, it’s been a lot of fun. Now, a question for all of you: if you could time travel to any time period, anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?


About Janet:
Contrary to what her kids will tell you, author Janet Raye Stevens was not around during the 1940s, though she regularly time travels to WWII while writing her mystery and romance stories. When she isn’t visiting 1943, Janet spends her time drinking tea (Earl Grey, hot), plotting revenge (best served cold), and indulging in all things time travel. A two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist (BERYL BLUE, TIME COP in 2017 & COLE FOR CHRISTMAS in 2018), Janet lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and one gigantic Maine coon cat with a terrible disposition.

BERYL BLUE, TIME COP, description:
Wannabe librarian Beryl Blue shelves books in her hometown library. Dull, but after being orphaned and years in foster care, she prefers the mild life. Until she meets a woman whose claim to be a time cop from the future isn't as unbelievable as the reason she's come to Beryl: She needs Beryl to stop a rogue time traveler from killing a seemingly random soldier on leave and changing history forever.

Before Beryl can blink, she's stranded in 1943, tasked with sticking like a Band-Aid to Sgt. Tom “Sully” Sullivan. She soon learns two things: Sully's more than capable of taking care of himself and it's her heart that’s in danger—the more time she spends with the sexy, stubborn soldier, the more she comes to care for him. A man from a different time. A man she can never be with. Terminator meets Somewhere in Time as Beryl scrambles to stop a time traveling assassin, protect a man who refuses to be protected, and keep her heart intact.

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