What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I am looking for the title and author of a book I read a few years ago.

Setting – On the coast somewhere. I believe its somewhere in the US but I don’t recall the exact locale.

Time – Present day (or present day when it was written) and several decades in the past (since it’s a time travel story).

Story Points - The protagonist, a boy or young man (late teens to early 20’s) loves boating. His mother and grandfather are referenced in the story, though in the early chapters they are only referred to. His grandfather is ill or dying and in his latter 60’s (though I don’t recall for sure if his actual age is ever given). One day the protagonist decides to take his boat out onto the water. It’s a small boat, little more than a skiff, though it might be a sailboat. (Not completely sure it’s a sailboat). He sets out alone in the boat. Since the setting is on the coast he traverses a river or channel that feeds into the sea. But he never goes completely out to sea. He stays in the river or channel (or slough). I believe he is headed for the small town/village that is nearby. When he arrives at the village he discovers he has gone back in time several decades. It’s not clear from the story just what causes the time travel, though it appears to be the channel he is traversing.

Once he is in the town/village he soon meets another young man who he discovers is actually his own grandfather, now a young man. He also meets at least one other young guy and a young woman. The young woman he discovers is the woman that his grandfather will one day marry but at this point the two are little more than acquaintances. These three young people in the past and the protagonist become friends and do things together. A large part of the story is about the four of them in the past doing various things. While in the past, I believe the protagonist gets a job somewhere on or near the wharf. His grandfather works at the same place.

Eventually after several weeks, (though I don’t recall exactly how long) the protagonist returns to his boat and goes back through the channel he came in and in doing so returns to his present day. Once there he visits his grandfather (now an old man) and talks to him about events and experiences from the past that the protagonist was part of and that only the grandfather would know about. The protagonist’s mother is also briefly in the story at the very end.

Some Points for clarification
a. The story is set present day or present day when it was written. I don’t know the publication date but the story isn’t very old, so maybe published 1980’s to 2010 or thereabouts.

b. There is no time machine or device in the story. The protagonist simply is out in his boat and as he traverses a river/channel he goes back in time. He doesn’t do this with any intentionality, i.e. he doesn’t know he can or will travel in time when he sets out in his boat. Though he does seem to know before he sets out that there is something magical or mysterious about the channel. How he knows this I don’t recall if the story ever explains. It may be it’s a legend he has heard about.

c. The time travel element is really secondary to the plot. Yes, the protagonist does travel back in time but the primary elements of the story are what he does when back in time and how he uses those experiences once he is back in his own present day. So this story is NOT science fiction, except that it does have the time-travel element. The role time travel plays in this story is similar to the role of time travel in the story “Switching Well” by Peni R Griffin. If you have read Griffin’s book two girls trade places in time (They live in the same city but 100 years apart). They trade places in time via a well that is on the property where they each live. The story is really about them and how they relate to the other people in their own time and in their switched time. My point is that Griffin’s story uses time travel as a plot element but otherwise it is not science fiction at all. My story uses time travel in a similar manner except that there is only 1 protagonist and it’s a teenage boy or young man.

d. The story could be a novella or even a short story, though my memory of it is that it was contained, i.e. published, in a single bound book that I read. I seldom read short stories, which is another reason I don’t think this story is one. It wasn’t a long book though. I estimate it to be 120 to 150 pages. Certainly no longer than 200 pages.

e. The protagonist’s name might be Ethan, though I am not at all certain of that.

A Storm Without Rain: A Novel in Time fits. It's a shortish book (under 200 pages).

Do you remember what time period the grandfather grew up in?

Tab wrote: "A Storm Without Rain: A Novel in Time fits. It's a shortish book (under 200 pages).

Do you remember what time period the grandfather grew up in?"

I don't recall the time period the grandfather grew up in but after reading a synopsis of this book I see that the story is quite similar to the one I am looking for. This may be it though the title does not ring any bells for me. I won't know for sure until I read this story and see if it is indeed the book I am looking for.

Thanks for your input.

Ok Douglas, I have to compliment you on your nicely written description. You hit all the bases on how to describe your book.

And remember if that IS your book, be sure to come back and let us know. If it's not--tell us what is different, at least if you can point to one thing specifically. Like, "Well, the hero had red hair, freckles and a snaggle tooth, and the hero in the book I was reading was a blue-eyed blond." Or, if it's something that you can't really describe, then put that in too.

A Storm Without Rain: A Novel in Time by Jan Adkins?

Douglas, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

I am not completely sure since I do not have a copy handy but I believe that "A Storm Without Rain: A Novel in Time" is it.

Here is Google's preview of A Storm Without Rain: A Novel in Time by Jan Adkins - https://books.google.com/books?id=06p...

We're going to go with Douglas's belief that this is his book. Moving to Solved.