What We're Writing: Rhys tackles two times

RHYS BOWEN: Hi, Rhys here, deep in the throes of my new novel that will be called THE VENICE LEGACY, SKETCHBOOKS, SECRET, KEYS or whatever marketing thinks will sell books. It's set in various time periods: 1928, 1938, 1939-45 and 2001.  So a lot of jumping around which for the author is a challenge as I don't want to confuse my readers. I don't want anyone to say, "Wait--where are we now?"  So it all has to be done smoothly, with two stories unfolding at the same time, one giving clues to the other. And... it's not easy.

I am on one of the chapters that is my present day story. Well, not exactly present day but 2001.  Why that year, you ask? Because it had to be realistic that a character from WWII could still be alive AND the added drama of the World Trade Center has to play into the character's life and motivation.  And so in my present day story Caroline Grant's husband has gone to New York to enter a fashion competition, stayed there, made a name for himself and now wants equal custody of their son. The son has been with him for the summer but when it comes time to return him there have been excuses-an ear infection and the doctor says he shouldn't fly. And then the Twin Towers....

. The Venice Inheritance/Key/Sketchbooks, Legacy, Secret etc

That year in Venice, Long Ago in Venice. The  (Three) keys to Venice

The first Caroline knew of it was a strange hysterical sobbing that came from the conference room. Intrigued she followed the sound and found people already crowded inside the door, staring at the television screen that sat on a shelf at the far end of the room. One young secretary had her hands to her mouth and was producing great heaving sobs while an older editor had an arm around her shoulder. The others were strangely silent. Caroline stared at the screen, unable to realize immediately what she was seeing. She looked to a colleague.

            “What is it?”

            “The World Trade Centre in New York. Apparently an aeroplane flew into one of the skyscrapers. A big passenger jet. The upper floors are on fire.”

            “How terrible. How sad.”

            Suddenly the girl at the front screamed and pointed. “There’s another one. Look!”

            And they watched in horror as a second passenger jet flew in direct line at the second tower, striking it in a fireball.

            “It can’t be an accident,” someone said.

            “It must be a terrorist attack.”

            “I bet it’s that idiot Osama Bin Laden.”

            “Oh God. How many more of them might there be?”

            Caroline couldn’t speak. She was finding it hard to breathe. My son is in New York, she thought. She hadn’t ever checked where exactly Desiree’s penthouse was in the city. Surely not in the financial district where the towers were. Surely somewhere suitably safe and far away…

            She pushed her way past more people who now blocked the doorway, rushed to her desk and fumbled in her purse for her telephone book. Her hand was trembling so much that she found it hard to dial the number.

            “I’m sorry. All circuits are currently busy” said a mechanical voice. “Please try again later.”

            She tried every fifteen minutes, all night, until about three in the morning the phone at the other end rang. “Hello?” said a sleepy woman’s voice. “What is it?”

            “It’s Caroline Grant,” She gasped out the words. “Is Josh there? And Teddy? You’re all safe?”

            “Oh yes. We’re fine. We’re up in the nineties. Miles away. Josh tried to call you yesterday, after it happened, but nobody could make phone-calls. It was unbelievable, wasn’t it? Surreal, watching those towers fall.”

            “Awful,” Caroline agreed. “Can I speak to Josh, please?”

            “He’s still asleep. Hold on a minute. I’ll wake him for you.”

            Caroline heard her saying “Your ex-wife on the phone, from London. You’d better wake up.”

            Then a long pause and Josh’s voice. “Hey, Cara. We’re fine. I tried to call you. Everything’s okay here. The kids were quite upset when they saw it, but they’ll get over it. Talk to you later, okay?”

            She put down the phone and gave a big sigh of relief. They were fine. Her son was fine. She swallowed back tears. News programs on TV broadcast almost incessant updates. The Pentagon hit. Another plane crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. All flights canceled. All transportation stalled. Saudi nationals responsible… and yes, it was that idiot Osama Bin Laden behind it.

            Again she waited patiently to see when flights would resume. They’d all be overbooked, of course. All those people trapped in New York, waiting to get out. Finally she made contact with Josh. “When do you think you can fly again?Teddy’s missing school.”

            “I was going to call you, “Josh said. “Teddy’s been having nightmares. We took him to Desiree’s shrink. He says the child has a real terror of planes right now and shouldn’t fly for a while. So we’ll find a school for him here.”

You might want to ask what this might have to do with Venice: well, you'll just have to wait for the book to come out next year to find out!