Title: How a 30-Year Idea on a Texas Country Road Became a Novel > Likes and Comments
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This is such a beautiful story. I had no idea it took you 30 years to write this book!
I love that you carried this idea for so long. It gives me hope for my own dreams.
Was it difficult to write both a male and female main character?
Noah wrote: "This is such a beautiful story. I had no idea it took you 30 years to write this book!"
Thanks. I didn't really start focused, sustained work on PTC until I retired in 2016. Still, it took a long time and at least seven revisions. I am, however, pleased with the final novel and it certainly fulfilled my creative needs (at least for a while).
Amelie wrote: "Was it difficult to write both a male and female main character?"
Yes, it was a challenge but one I relished. I read a number of books written by and about women, which helped, but at the end of the day, it was about just making sure they had separate voices apart from gender considerations.
Michael wrote: "I love that you carried this idea for so long. It gives me hope for my own dreams."
See my above comment. I would just add that it is so important to keep a firm grasp onto those dreams and feed the hope periodically.
The fact that you pulled over on a Texas road to write down the idea is so human and real.
I really love the idea that a random thought on a country road in 1993 could quietly stay with someone for 30 years and eventually become a novel. That’s such a beautiful reminder that some ideas really do refuse to let us go. 😄
What caught my attention too is how your life as a scientist and conservationist seems to have naturally found its way into the story. And now I’m curious after carrying this idea for three decades, what finally made you decide, “Okay, it’s time. I’m actually writing this”?
Mica and Clay’s lives crossing in the Peruvian Andes already sound fascinating, especially with identity, love, destiny, and the wild all coming into play. I’d definitely love to know more about how that original 1993 idea evolved into *Parallels That Cross*. There has to be quite a story behind those 30 years!
I love the fact that this started with a thought on a country road and somehow stayed with you for thirty years. Sometimes the ideas we almost dismiss are the ones that refuse to leave us alone. There’s something really special about finally giving one of those ideas a life.
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Noah
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Aug 06, 2026 07:19AM
This is such a beautiful story. I had no idea it took you 30 years to write this book!
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I love that you carried this idea for so long. It gives me hope for my own dreams.
Was it difficult to write both a male and female main character?
Noah wrote: "This is such a beautiful story. I had no idea it took you 30 years to write this book!"Thanks. I didn't really start focused, sustained work on PTC until I retired in 2016. Still, it took a long time and at least seven revisions. I am, however, pleased with the final novel and it certainly fulfilled my creative needs (at least for a while).
Amelie wrote: "Was it difficult to write both a male and female main character?"Yes, it was a challenge but one I relished. I read a number of books written by and about women, which helped, but at the end of the day, it was about just making sure they had separate voices apart from gender considerations.
Michael wrote: "I love that you carried this idea for so long. It gives me hope for my own dreams."See my above comment. I would just add that it is so important to keep a firm grasp onto those dreams and feed the hope periodically.
The fact that you pulled over on a Texas road to write down the idea is so human and real.
I really love the idea that a random thought on a country road in 1993 could quietly stay with someone for 30 years and eventually become a novel. That’s such a beautiful reminder that some ideas really do refuse to let us go. 😄What caught my attention too is how your life as a scientist and conservationist seems to have naturally found its way into the story. And now I’m curious after carrying this idea for three decades, what finally made you decide, “Okay, it’s time. I’m actually writing this”?
Mica and Clay’s lives crossing in the Peruvian Andes already sound fascinating, especially with identity, love, destiny, and the wild all coming into play. I’d definitely love to know more about how that original 1993 idea evolved into *Parallels That Cross*. There has to be quite a story behind those 30 years!
I love the fact that this started with a thought on a country road and somehow stayed with you for thirty years. Sometimes the ideas we almost dismiss are the ones that refuse to leave us alone. There’s something really special about finally giving one of those ideas a life.