Virtual Book Tour Guest: Interview with David T. Pennington, author of 'Peer Through Time'

We welcome David T. Pennington to The Writer's Life today! David grew up in a small northern California town called Paradise, but his home is in San Francisco. While his associate's degree in Peer Through Time is his debut novel.

computer programming has helped pay the bills, his bachelor's degree in psychology has informed his writing. His love of fiction--mainly mysteries, science fiction, and thrillers--is balanced by his fascination with books on futurism, theoretical physics, and cosmology.

For More Information

Visit David T. Pennington’s website.
Connect with David on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about David at Goodreads.
Visit David’s blog.
Contact David.

About the Book:

Title: Peer Through Time
Author: David T. Pennington
Publisher: Quantaj Publishing
Pages: 371
Genre: Science Fiction
Format: Paperback/Kindle

In 2079, a time travel experiment sends physicist Carmela Akronfleck further back in time than she’d intended. Though she’s still in her small northern California town, the year is 1936 and she must learn to live without the technology she’s come to rely on. Her neurological implants should be dormant, but she receives a cryptic message, periodically accompanied by an audio transmission from the future. It’s the voice of her former psychotherapist, an android named Kass, stating his innocence in a series of murders occurring in 2079.

When Carmela deciphers the code as a hit list, she’s shocked to discover her mother and sister are among the intended targets. Further evidence reveals the killer’s true identity, but the inoperative time portal prevents her from returning to save her family and vindicate Kass.

She considers another option: hunt down the killer’s ancestors and avert his existence without radically changing history. She devises a plan to protect her family, haunted by doubts that she’s becoming the kind of person she’s always loathed—one willing to take another’s life.

For More Information

Peer Through Time is available at Amazon.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? Where did you come up with the idea to write your book?

Thank you. I’ve always loved time-travel stories. Peer Through Time started with my idea of a woman who, as a little girl, found herself propelled nearly six decades into the future. She grew up consumed with idea of reuniting with her family. Setting the story partially in the future forced me to imagine what that future might be like, which made it fun to write.

Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

The hardest part was revising the book multiple times. One tiny change could have a cascading effect throughout the whole story, which was time-intensive but worth it. Each writer approaches the craft in whatever way works best for them, so my only tip is this: re-read a book you loved, but do so with a critical eye, in order to discover how the author created such a compelling work. Pay close attention to character development, plot pacing, and anything else that might have faded into the background while you were enjoying it the first time.

Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

I self-published Peer Through Time, but I didn’t come to that decision quickly or easily. At first I was intimidated by all the work self-publishing entails, but ultimately I found that work enjoyable and a reward in itself.

Q: Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

I was surprised at how difficult it was for me to format the e-book. I can usually teach myself anything, but after much frustration with e-book formatting, I hired LiberWriter for a small fee. They expertly and quickly did what I was unable to do.

Q: What other books (if any) are you working on and when will they be published?

I’m working on the sequel to Peer Through Time, which I plan to publish some time in 2016.

Q: What’s your favorite place to hang out online?

I keep trying different social media platforms, but I keep returning to Facebook. It’s where most of my family and friends are, at least for now.

Q: Finally, what message (if any) are you trying to get across with your book?

Nobody is purely good or purely evil, and many things we think of as polar opposites are joined by a spectrum, along which most of us play out our lives.

Q: Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?

Thank you for interviewing me, and to the readers, thank you for reading. I love to hear feedback from my readers, whether it’s positive, negative, or anything in-between. All my contact information is available on my website at http://davidtpennington.com.