JACK THROUGH TIME: A Middle-Grade Time-Travelling Storyline Adventure (Book 3) received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Peter B. Dunfield.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
JACK THROUGH TIME: A Middle-Grade Time-Travelling Storyline Adventure (Book 3). Published: September 7, 2022
What’s the book’s first line?
Whitechapel, London, England—September 8, 1888
A thick shroud of smoky fog hung heavy on the wet cobbled street. Avie shivered and wrapped her arms tightly around herself, trying to keep warm as the chill of the damp night air cut through her thin fuchsia and pink pyjamas.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
The book is about a girl named Avie, who time-travels by reading herself into the storyline of books. In JACK THROUGH TIME, Avie is thrust back onto the mean streets of Victorian-era Whitechapel, London England in 1888. There she comes face-to-face with the serial killer, Jack the Ripper while he is murdering his latest victim. In this strange and violent land, she must find the famous private detective, Wembley Oliver Dahs and convince him to help her stop the murders and bring the demon killer to justice.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Several years ago I woke one morning with a vivid dream sequence playing out in my head. At first, I tried to let it go, but the next morning I had the same dream with a more extended scene unfolding. I took that as a sign I should write it down to get it out of my head. As it turned out, that scene became the opening chapter of JACK THROUGH TIME. The story kept developing as I continued to write.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
As a work of fiction, the book draws on the factual record of one of the most heinous serial killers in history. If you enjoy reading stories about positive role models, brilliant detectives, evil villains, and unsolved mysteries based on actual historical events, then you will love this fast-paced, thrilling page-turner. It’s also about empowering girls to face their fears and draw on their inner strengths and courage to triumph over unimaginable obstacles. The story shows the importance of building unlikely friendships and working together to accomplish bold outcomes.
Additionally, the book provides a creative and purely fictional conclusion to what is still the unsolved mystery of Jack the Ripper.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
There are two main characters in the story. Well, three if you consider Jack the Ripper. But the two main protagonists are Avie, a twelve-year-old girl. Avie is modelled after my granddaughter who is roughly the same age as the hero in the story. I think the main thing about her character is her boldness and courage to face seemingly insurmountable odds and triumph over them. She is brave and intelligent beyond her years. The other main character is Wembley Oliver (W.O.) Dahs, a famous private investigator. His character and demeanour remind me of my Dad. Wembley has a keen intellect and a curious mind for solving complex puzzles and mysteries.
And of course, Jack is just pure evil with a twisted and demented soul.
When did you first decide to become an author?
A few years after I retired, I took up writing as a hobby. In 2015, while in Loreto, BCS, Mexico for the winter, I joined a local writing club and an online writing group. I soon discovered that I really enjoyed writing short creative fiction. A couple of years later, I wrote an early version of JACK THROUGH TIME as a short novella but didn’t do anything with it at the time. Then in 2022, I completely re-imagined the story and expanded it into the current novel.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
JACK THROUGH TIME is my third book in the Storyline Adventure series for Middle-Grade readers. The first two books, PIRATES’ GOLD (2021), and THE MAGIC REALM (2022) are also time-travelling adventures that involve Avie and my grandson Rylan reading themselves into action-adventure stories.
I am about to publish my fourth novel. It’s an action-thriller for Young Adult/Adult audiences. And I am currently working on the sequel to that adult book. So watch for those coming in 2023.
For more information about my other books, please follow the links below;
My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/peterbdunfield
My Author website: https://peterbdunfieldauthor.ca
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’ve been retired since 2010. I enjoy life on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada during the summer months and Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico during the winter months.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I start every morning by watching the sunrise, sitting outside with a cup of coffee while I handwrite 3-4 pages of what Julia Cameron calls, Morning Pages. This clears my head and gets my creative juices flowing. When I’m working on a writing project (which is pretty much all the time now), I will generally write for about two-three hours each day. Of course, there are countless hours of research and revisions to go along with the actual writing stage. A typical writing day includes; an hour or more of researching and outlining the story and scenes, then two to three hours of actual writing, followed by a long power walk where I typically work through plot and character details for recently written scenes or future scenes. I’ll record those thoughts on a voice-to-text app on my phone while I’m walking and transpose them for later use when I get back home.
After I complete the first draft of a book, I conduct at least three full rounds of edits to identify and fix plot holes, typos, and grammar issues and enhance the story before I send it to Beta readers followed by a professional final copy edit.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
I think the best part of being an Indie author is the freedom to be as creative as I want and to let the story and characters show me where they want the story to go. The hardest part for me is the marketing aspect. That’s very different work from writing and I’m not very good at it, or keen to spend a lot of time on it. I would rather use my time creating stories and writing.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Create a writing schedule for yourself, make that time and space sacred, and then dive in and create your stories. And just keep at it. Even when the dreaded writer’s block catches up with you, just keep writing. It may not be great stuff, but you never know what’s lurking in the recesses of your mind. The practice of writing helps bring things to the surface for you to capture and work with. And of course, almost anything in the first draft can be fixed in subsequent edits.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I would be interested if a traditional publisher or literary agent came calling. My biggest hope would be that a publisher would take my books and run with the marketing aspect, while I keep my focus on writing.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I am motivated to write stories that encourage and thrill kids to read at an early age and for them to become lifelong readers. But there are also more personal motivations. I have always felt like I had something creative inside me, and I feel blessed that I found writing to express that. The creative process and the tangible outcomes of publishing books bring me great joy and a sense of accomplishment. For me, there’s nothing quite like holding the physical book in my hands and thinking, Wow! I created this out of my imagination. As I age, I’m also considering what sort of legacy I will leave for my kids and grandkids. Hopefully, after I’m long gone, my family members and their kids and grandkids will read my books and gain a few insights into who I was as a person.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I read in almost every genre, so I have lots of favourite authors. But I would say I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
I’m still working on that one. Wink, wink.