Time Travel discussion
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The Legend of the Bloodstone
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THE LEGEND OF THE BLOODSTONE: General Discussion
Mod
I have just read the first chapter and it certainly wastes no time in preamble and gets to the point of the synopsis pretty quick.
Oh and in typical E.B fashion as has been exposed in her Neverending Story contributions, there are already drops of blood being spilt ;)
I will follow up with a discussion question shortly to get the ball rolling.
Thanks, Tej! Thank you so much to the group for selecting my book for the group read. Wow, I am looking forward to hearing your input. This is my first time doing this, so please let me know if you would prefer/not prefer to have me participate in the discussion- I would not want to deter any readers from what they truly want to say. I have read many, many time travel books. One thing that frequently stood out to me was the way the protagonist behaved once he/she was transported back in time. While writing this book, I kept thinking, "How would I act if this happened to me?"
So that is the question I would pose to you, the reader.
If you were suddenly thrust into the past, how would you behave? Do you think you could blend in, without causing a ruckus or getting yourself killed?
Thanks again for reading & I hope you enjoy. :)
Beth
Way to go, Beth! Congratulations. Guess I'd better get started on what may be my first "Romance" read. I know it'll be a good one. PAUL
Mod
Mod
DISCUSSION QUESTION 1: If you were suddenly thrust into the past, how would you behave? Do you think you could blend in, without causing a ruckus or getting yourself killed?
Mod
John wrote: 'think it would be impossible for me to blend in and adapt to my new environment'Perhaps John, if you were thrust there, but what if you were just an observer, free to come and go as you choose.
Different story then, yes?
E.B. wrote: "Thanks, Tej! Thank you so much to the group for selecting my book for the group read. Wow, I am looking forward to hearing your input. This is my first time doing this, so please let me know if yo..."You go, girl!
About DISCUSSION QUESTION 1: If you were suddenly thrust into the past, how would you behave? Do you think you could blend in, without causing a ruckus or getting yourself killed?
I had a nosebleed when I picked up the Bloodstone, so now I have a scar on my face instead of on my hand. This GoodReads Time Travel group is a perfect fit for me. It allows me to blow off steam. And it makes me wonder how many other members in this group are actually Time Travelers. I can't be the only one.
@hg47
Hi EB,enjoying till now the reading, and I have put a 4 stars review on Amazon already :)
About the question: as I think the all of us, I've Always dreamt of waking up in the past (in particular, during ancient roman or greek times... where there was hot water :))) ), possibly not as a slave...
what would i do? err... try to keep a low profile and enjoy the surroundings! ;)
Gotta love it when the next book in the Kindle queue is selected for the group read. I guess it's not really serendipity since I was one who voted for it, but either way, it rocks :)
So, I am a few chapters in, and it definitely has a strong romantic lean to it. I am very interested in hearing what all the men reading this will have to say. :-)
Mod
I just read the first chapter with the "Look Inside" feature and bought myself a copy. I'm liking the characters so far, and I am intrigued that the hero understands more about what brought Maggie through time than she does. I like his mixture of taking care of her and being a little exasperated :-) If I went back in time, I would probably try to fit in. It's a middle child thing. Whether I would succeed is a whole 'nother story!
Mod
Mod
But that's what I hope, in truth I would most likely panic, shout WTF, run around in circles and shout WTF again.
Tej, calm down, you have to scream it three times not two & with your heels clicking together for that to work.Didn't you see the movie?
Oh & red is optional these days.
If I were thrust back in Time -- "Thrust" implying involuntary, without warning, and without my usual Time Travel bag -- I'd first look around for 700 lb. pissed off bears, knowing that could happen. I'd instinctively need to get my bearings -- where am I in relation to what? It might be a while before the big question hit me, WHEN am I? How did I get here and how do I get back to my temporal home? Methodically finding those answers, I could then relax and explore, find the local pub. Hopefully it won't be full of foul-smelling dudes with six-guns who don't cotton to strangers. In that event, I'd revert to Tej's excellent plan -- some high speed WTFs!
Paul, it works with cowboy boots, too.Red is still optional.
There's no place like home.
About 1/3 of the way in--and I have to tip the proverbial hat to Beth for giving me a pleasant distraction from a stack of midterms that I really *should* be grading :)If the travel was within the past 150 years, I think I'd be okay. Beyond that, and it would depend very much on what type of culture I landed in. If I was anywhere near a Quaker settlement, that would be my destination, as they were generally pretty tolerant of women who spoke their minds. If I wound up in one of those cultures (like the area where I grew up) that expects women to be rarely seen and even more rarely heard unless there are dishes to wash or hymns to sing, I wouldn't last very long -- or if I did, there would be trail of bodies in my wake.
Rysa wrote: "About 1/3 of the way in--and I have to tip the proverbial hat to Beth for giving me a pleasant distraction from a stack of midterms that I really *should* be grading :)If the travel was within th..."
My kind of girl, Rysa!
I also admit that there would be many WTFs, like Paul said. I think that's why I enjoy writing time travel, because it seems like the opportunities for conflict are endless.
"Well-behaved women seldom make history" -- and I suspect they seldom write time-travel either ;)
I bought an HD Knuck this weekend, so that I could begin reading the story right away. It's great so far, but it is so descriptive that I had a little trouble writing so close to an Indian. Guess it's a guy thing.
Mod
Great read so far (I'm 2 chapters in).
I'm finding it interesting that it's a bloodstone that allows the main character to time travel. Howard, is that what your characters are wearing around their necks, too? If so, interesting coincidence. :-)
Mod
Amy, my Time Fistula shows me her dogs are as big as horses.Tally ho & get off the couch.
Amy wrote: "Telling others that you're a time traveler rarely goes well."What's particularly cool here is that she doesn't have to. (That's all I'll say for the moment, in case someone hasn't started reading.)
Mod
You didn't answer my question: Howard, is that what your characters are wearing around their necks, too? If so, interesting coincidence. :-)
Amy wrote: "So, E.B. ... I'm guessing you're a horse girl?"Ah, yeah. Worked on a horse farm for years, miss my horses. But when the wee one came, the horses and the Harley had to go. :(
Mod
Ah, yeah. Worked on a horse farm for years, miss my horses. But when the wee one came, the horses and the Harley had to go. :("
Yes, lots of hobbies have to take a back seat with a child (especially if the hobbies don't have a back seat for a child). Your love for horses definitely comes through your writing.
E.B. wrote: "Ah, yeah. Worked on a horse farm for years, miss my horses. But when the wee one came, the horses and the Harley had to go. :("Very cool, Beth. We write what we know; fertile ground for fiction. Is it too late for Maggie to ride that Harley back to the 1600s?
(I rode a motorcycle 10,000 miles around the USA & Canada one summer in a previous life. Being young and without responsibilities helps. Finally decided I'd pushed my luck long enough.)
Amy wrote: 'Blah blah blah'Amy, when did I ever write such trite a thing to you?
Never.
Never without commas, at any rate & I know you rate them highly.
Yet, the device you mention is not the same if I understand correctly, as they, in themselves hold no power beyond identification & in any case, they are abandoned in the Future Elastic Limit.
And, as to your (and one of the Paul's) rules of commas, here's my 3 sentence take on them:
Eat, Grandma.
Eat Grandma.
Commas save lives.
And horses are good but I've found that generally they have two left feet.
Mod
Sorry. Wrong timeline.
E.B. wrote: "Amy wrote: "So, E.B. ... I'm guessing you're a horse girl?"Ah, yeah. Worked on a horse farm for years, miss my horses. But when the wee one came, the horses and the Harley had to go. :("
Hey, I solved the problem in this way: I used to take in the backseat of my Harley 883 (sportster) my daughter, and leave home my wife :)
No kidding, it's the truth...
However after a while I had to sell the Harley :(
:))
Mod
Ah, yeah. Worked on a horse farm for years, miss my horses. But when the wee one came, the horses and the Harley had to g..."
Of course you had to sell the Harley...because your wife was not getting a ride in it, so she forced you to sell it! Tut tut, dont neglect the missus ;) I've paid that penalty, a repeat offender too. I think I've wisen up now though...I think, I cant tell yet, no one is giving me any more chances :(
Maybe this book will give me tips later on...
Tej wrote: "Piero wrote: "E.B. wrote: "Amy wrote: "So, E.B. ... I'm guessing you're a horse girl?"Ah, yeah. Worked on a horse farm for years, miss my horses. But when the wee one came, the horses and the H..."
Poor Harley bikes. What were we thinking? If only I knew then, what I know now...TT would be quite a tool, hmm?
Mod
Interesting, that the point of view changed between characters (at least for a short while). This give the narrative some nice dynamic rather than getting bogged down too much with the one pov of the main protagonist who is still figuring what the hell is she doing there :) Just one of the reasons I always prefer the third person perspective narrative.
OK so romance is brewing in the air (of course, thats what we expected!) and I sense could get hot too...If it does, well, its a first for our group read novels, I think!
If you have any other Discussion Questions to add, by all means, please post them.
DISCUSSION QUESTION 2:
How do you like your romance served? As a main ingredient, or as a side dish to the main journey? When unlikely couples are brought together by an event, do you think it can serve as an important emotional drive of the main story? Or would you have rather less of it?
About DISCUSSION QUESTION 2: How do you like your romance served? As a main ingredient, or as a side dish to the main journey? When unlikely couples are brought together by an event, do you think it can serve as an important emotional drive of the main story? Or would you have rather less of it?Personally, I like my romance accidental and unintended and part of a larger and more important whole that gives the love interest context. In no sense do I mean: "a side dish to the main journey," but rather as the spice that makes a boring meal an enjoyable feast.
What I particularly enjoy in my favorite love stories are the misunderstandings among the protagonists {what, is that term too cold and clinical for a hot romance?}.
For me, the "Ultimate Love Story" would be so strong that it would "Save The Universe."
As I understand it, E.B. plans more Bloodstone sequels of love between "Ma-gee" & "Winn" -- in a perfect Universe the Indians would cut themselves and bleed on the stones and together time travel with their fire hoops and pow-wows to a time period where the evil white thugs do not exist and buffalo are plentiful. Of course, E.B. probably has better ideas.
@hg47
I really needed some distraction this week -- a book that would take me a thousand miles or years away -- so thanks for getting me part of the way there, Beth :) For me, this book was flashback time. My escape from Boring-as-Hell-Middle-of-Nowhere as a teenager was to take the three-wheeled motorbike (not a Harley) and the dog out into the woods where no one could bother us, curl up on a blanket and read books. Stephen King & Tolkien were in the mix, but so were Rosemary Rogers and Kathleen Woodiwiss. (And Barbara Cartland and Louis L'Amour -- books were hard to come by so I read whatever I could get.)
Winn, however, isn't as much of a bad boy as the "heroes" in the Rogers and Woodiwiss bodice-rippers. That is a very, very good thing, because I would be rooting for Ginny to slit Steve Morgan's throat in his sleep if I read "Sweet, Savage Love" today, and would probably hurl the book into the fireplace when she didn't.
As for the second discussion question -- it all depends on the story. Generally, I like my romance as the side dish, but it's important to note that I'm not a fan of bland side dishes, and as a mostly vegetarian (bacon, why do you tempt me so?) I've been know to ignore the main course entirely. So by side dish, I'm not thinking plain old rice, but something more like this.
And there are cases where the romance is integral to the story and it has to take center stage. One good example is The Time Traveler's Wife. I suspect that is also true for this series, as we get some hints in that direction in Legend of the Bloodstone.
In response to Question #2 -- put me down in the "Side Dish" column, but in pencil because I do appreciate a good love story. Favorites include tragic love: "Romeo & Juliet" is surely one, but also old movie classics like "Roman Holiday" or "Casablanca." And a couple of Time Travel non-tragedies: Finney's "Time and Again" and Brock's "If I Never Get Back." All include unlikely couples, given their circumstances, but at what point does a side dish become the main journey? Or an adventure a love story, or a love story a Romance? It may have as much to do with our own focus as the author's. In each instance the romance ingredient is essential to the story.I'm still in the Side Dish column though, because I'm not quite content with the conventions of Romance fiction, where the couple's relationship is the immediate and primary (sometimes only?) focus. But that's OK as I'm probably not among the target audience for this immensely popular genre.
I'm impressed with "The Legend of the Bloodstone" so far, however. E.B. meets the conventions as she must (or she'd have some irate readers!), but enriches them with a story set in history with interesting characters, plot twists, and smooth enjoyable writing.
Deserves a sequel. :-)
Mod
Changing the subject ...
One thing that is overwhelmingly present in this book is Maggie's personality. I don't think that she's the typical woman to represent the women of our time. She's quite the little wildcat. Her temper and moodiness is kind of extreme. It's like she's in a constant state of PMS ... on steroids. I thought that she was a character that I couldn't relate to until I decided I'd see what all the fuss was about the television series "Mad Men". And, wow. It didn't take me long to bristle up like a porcupine with the way that women were treated: as sex objects whose secretarial expectations were mainly to serve the men, be pretty, be obedient, and be "available". It made me realize just how far women's rights have come in the modern age. I'm afraid that even if you dropped me in a NY marketing office in the 1960s, I might rebel like Maggie a bit. I certainly wouldn't be brandishing knives or anything, but I would be bristling and speaking my mind I think. But I think that it's because the 1960s are so close to our times that I'd see that women's lib is right around the corner. But if you dropped me into a native American village like Maggie was, I think I'd be more apt to bristle internally rather than externally because I'd know that I was nowhere near my time. Maggie seems to fly off the handle at little things, though. And she's driving me nuts with how much she wants Winn yet pushes him away. But I suppose that's suppose to drive us to keep reading, right?
DISCUSSION QUESTION 3: How do you think you would react in Maggie's situation? Would you bristle and explode over being treated as a possession and slave or would you accept your lot and act with cultural sensitivity?
I like romance as a Side Dish (Question 2). I feel it raises the stakes as far plot goes. Romance can make the characters more muti-dimensional because it reveals vulnerabilities. I think it also reveals truths about the characters by showing us how the relationship is handles....as well as the stakes involved. A plot centralized on Romance can stand on its own because of this....but it isn't as fully evolved as it could be by adding more to the plot. E.B does a great job of balancing the romance...she makes it integral to the story but gives us a story so much more than just the relationship between Maggie and Winn making it a great example of how to use romance when writing a novel.
I, personally, do not like romance, not even as a side dish :) and I try to carefully avoid it in my works...However, I like the novel of E.B ;)
I pretty much echo the sentiments expressed here as well and prefer the romance to be secondary to the main story. When I was a teenager I used to read a lot of books that focused on romance, but my tolerance for them has declined as I've gotten older. I find much of the dialogue to be eye-rolling, and the characters are often too melodramatic. Case in point about this book: (view spoiler) Surely there is more to life than being in a relationship.And yes, Maggie got on my nerves too. She was very moody with Winn - hot one minute, cold the next. I understand getting upset about being treated as a slave and a possession, but come on, Maggie! Look at your situation! Sometimes you need to do what you need to do to survive and know when to pick your battles. I think that if Winn hadn't taken an immediate liking to her, she would have been killed on page 10. Actually, all things considered, I didn't think that she was treated all that horribly. Aside from being told to stay in Winn's quarters a few times (usually after she was running her mouth off and got herself in trouble), she pretty much had free rein to wander about the camp, which made her temper flare-ups even more baffling.
I finished the book a couple of days ago, and it definitely gets hot and heavy. Heaving bosoms and quivering members everywhere. I think it's a well-written book for its genre, but it's not really my cup of tea anymore.
I would consider myself a second dish person; romance is a part of life.I haven't reached the heaving breasts part yet, but I figured it was coming, so I won't consider that a spoiler. I believe that Maggie's hot and cold behavior relates to both her personality and the discrepancies in her treatment since the beginning of the story. If it were not for people like Maggie, we would not have had the positive changes for women that we see today. However, I continue to see women in therapy who deal with discrimination, sexual harassment, and abuse in the workplace. We have a long way to go.
Ah, I'm working a 12 now and snuck a little break. Silly people with emergencies keep coming into the ER, haha! (Please excuse the short response!) I know this book is heavy on romance, so I can certainly see that it may turn off readers expecting more fantasy/time travel. It was difficult to decide what category to place it in- historical romance, fantasy romance, time travel fantasy, historical fantasy?! The first draft of LOTB had Maggie being treated, uhm, let's say historically accurate. However, it was suggested to me by romance beta readers that it made readers unable to forgive Winn, and therefore he was not redeemable. It was tough making the history accurate while balancing the love story. That said, this is the first book in the series & it was my intent to set up the relationship. It ended up heavy on the romance for sure, so I understand how Maggie could get on the readers nerves.
It was my intent to create a hot headed, somewhat spoiled character in Maggie, so I agree with the comments. Ultimately, this discussion is for readers, and I value your feedback.
Many thanks for reading. I was suprised to hear our group has not read a time-travel romance before.
I will be back tonight to answer our questions. This day job thing sure gets in the way of my Goodreads time!
Have a great day :)
DISCUSSION QUESTION 3: How do you think you would react in Maggie's situation? Would you bristle and explode over being treated as a possession and slave or would you accept your lot and act with cultural sensitivity?I like to think that if I were captured by Indians in the BLOODSTONE time period, that I could triumph like the hero in Dorothy M. Johnson's short story A MAN CALLED HORSE.
Fat chance.
I'd be lucky to survive a month.
Yeah, I can string up a Polycarbonate profile extrusion line and be saving parts in under an hour in 2013; but kick me to the curb hundreds of years into the past, and if I didn't have a Bic lighter in my pocket to trick the Natives into thinking I was Medicine Boy, just dig out my entrails and tie them to a tree now to get it over with. @hg47
Piero wrote: "I, personally, do not like romance, not even as a side dish :) and I try to carefully avoid it in my works...However, I like the novel of E.B ;)"
Hey, Piero!
Something to think about: romance is a factor in the majority of my favorite books and movies. There is nothing wrong about carving out your own romance-less niche in literature, but my first reaction is: "But then who will buy your work?" @hg47
P.S. -- And isn't time travel more fun when two lovers jump simultaneously?
Synopsis
In 2012, a woman cuts her hand and picks up a strange colored stone –Suddenly she is staring into the eyes of an angry Powhatan warrior. And the only town nearby is Jamestown, circa 1622.
Maggie McMillan wakes up one day as a college student, yet ends the day as the Red Woman: A legendary Time Walker that every loyal Powhatan brave wants to kill. Captured by Winkeohkwet, a warrior who is torn between his duty to kill her and his desire to keep her, she is thrust into a life she had only read about in history books.
Hunted and feared by both the Powhatan and the English, she struggles to find a way home while Winkeohkwet plots to keep her there. Maggie fights to survive as she finds herself entangled in the Indian Massacre of 1622, and Winkeohkwet sees everything he ever believed in shattered by the knowledge she holds.
As they battle against each other and the message she brings from the future, she must decide whether to return to her own time, or to make a life in the past with the man who holds her heart captive.
About the Author
E.B. Brown enjoys researching history and genealogy, and uses her findings to cultivate new ideas for her writing. She earned her Bachelor's Degree from Drexel University and has co-authored research studies in peer-reviewed journals. The Legend of the Bloodstone, Time Walkers Book 1, is her debut fiction novel in Fantasy/Time-Travel Romance. She resides on the East Coast with her husband, daughter, and two Great Danes.
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