Ask the Author: Ron A Swan
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Ron A Swan
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The Kite and the Coin Toss, is a dystopian historical fiction that flips Stephen King’s 11/22/63 approach at time as it strikes through the continuum, and then sews it back together with a twisted thread of traditional American ideals, history and the will to be free.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1776
The signers of the Declaration of Independence knew upon ratification, they had either signed for their freedom or signed their own death warrants. It was a proverbial flip of a coin in which they called ‘heads’ and bet on freedom, but would it land in their favor?
The coin landed ‘tails.’
Two hundred and thirty-five years later in this world of ‘tails,’ Joshua Franks lives in George's Cross within the province of Burgoyne in the country of New England.
Joshua attends college at King’s Gift, the University of Cornwallis where he learns in English History the origin of the empire-wide holiday, Signer's Day of Reckoning. He also learns George’s Cross had originally been a city named Philadelphia. These are historic drops of knowledge that pale in comparison to the ocean of hindsight that soon floods Joshua.
Joshua believes knowledge is power, but knowledge can only be of value when the right person knows the right thing at the right time. He now knows the right things, only he is not the right person, nor in the right time to benefit from the knowledge gained.
Then he learns how in July 1752, well before the Signer's Day of Reckoning, Benjamin Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm. Struck by the lightning bolt of epiphany, Joshua realizes Benjamin Franklin would be the right person and lived at the right time. If only Mr. Franklin knew then what Joshua knows now, the coin of America's fate may have landed ‘heads,’ thus Joshua’s world could be free from tyranny.
Over two centuries in time stand between Joshua and Mr. Franklin. Though just a four-letter word, ‘time’ may be insurmountable to reach back over, but due to a recent turn of events, it is becoming equally difficult for Joshua to reach forward to tomorrow.
Keeping in the analogy of a coin toss, I wrote The Kite and the Coin Toss because I believe the proverbial coin’s final half-rotation to land ‘heads,’ thus pushing it beyond the gravity of odds and towards freedom, was fanned by a handful of extraordinary and exclusive decisions, acts and events. I wanted to take a trip in time down the path of ‘tails.’ Lastly, I wanted to emphasize the collective value of key patriots’ decisions to step beyond the path of ordinary, as their revolutionary cause was both worthy and required nothing less.
The Kite and the Coin Toss, is a dystopian historical fiction that flips Stephen King’s 11/22/63 approach at time as it strikes through the continuum, and then sews it back together with a twisted thread of traditional American ideals, history and the will to be free.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1776
The signers of the Declaration of Independence knew upon ratification, they had either signed for their freedom or signed their own death warrants. It was a proverbial flip of a coin in which they called ‘heads’ and bet on freedom, but would it land in their favor?
The coin landed ‘tails.’
Two hundred and thirty-five years later in this world of ‘tails,’ Joshua Franks lives in George's Cross within the province of Burgoyne in the country of New England.
Joshua attends college at King’s Gift, the University of Cornwallis where he learns in English History the origin of the empire-wide holiday, Signer's Day of Reckoning. He also learns George’s Cross had originally been a city named Philadelphia. These are historic drops of knowledge that pale in comparison to the ocean of hindsight that soon floods Joshua.
Joshua believes knowledge is power, but knowledge can only be of value when the right person knows the right thing at the right time. He now knows the right things, only he is not the right person, nor in the right time to benefit from the knowledge gained.
Then he learns how in July 1752, well before the Signer's Day of Reckoning, Benjamin Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm. Struck by the lightning bolt of epiphany, Joshua realizes Benjamin Franklin would be the right person and lived at the right time. If only Mr. Franklin knew then what Joshua knows now, the coin of America's fate may have landed ‘heads,’ thus Joshua’s world could be free from tyranny.
Over two centuries in time stand between Joshua and Mr. Franklin. Though just a four-letter word, ‘time’ may be insurmountable to reach back over, but due to a recent turn of events, it is becoming equally difficult for Joshua to reach forward to tomorrow.
Keeping in the analogy of a coin toss, I wrote The Kite and the Coin Toss because I believe the proverbial coin’s final half-rotation to land ‘heads,’ thus pushing it beyond the gravity of odds and towards freedom, was fanned by a handful of extraordinary and exclusive decisions, acts and events. I wanted to take a trip in time down the path of ‘tails.’ Lastly, I wanted to emphasize the collective value of key patriots’ decisions to step beyond the path of ordinary, as their revolutionary cause was both worthy and required nothing less.
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