marianne h donley

Visiting another time, meeting Di Vinci, Mark Twain, or Archimedes sounds fun, on paper.   Yet, I’m not sure I would be so happy doing so in real life, especially those pops to the past – flush toilets, Starbucks, blow-dryers and antibiotics would be hard to give up.  But I enjoy the idea in fiction.

I started out time traveling young, about nine, by reading Madeleine L’Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME. I loved that book and probably read it five or six times in a row.  I was so taken with Meg, a GIRL, who was good at math, so good that she could help other children with their math homework. The time traveling part was just a side benefit.

Soon after I read PORTRAIT OF JENNIE by Robert Nathan, a haunting very short novel about an artist and a little girl who aged oddly.  THE TIME MACHINE by HG Wells followed and gave me nightmares for a week –Morlocks! My reading lists were rounded out by PEBBLE IN THE SKY and END OF ETERNITY both by Isaac Asimov.

But my very favorite time travel novel is THE MIRROR by Marlys Millhiser. This novel is the story of Brandy and Shay –grandmother and granddaughter, who both look into an antique mirror on the eve of their weddings and switch places.  I’ve never read any of Marlys Millhisner’s other novels, but they look interesting.

Time Travel has been a fun plot device in lots of TV shows I’ve enjoyed over the years, from Sam and Darrin traveling to Salem in BEWITCHED, to the many episodes of STAR TREK, DR. WHO and of course QUANTUM LEAP.

Movies are included in my time traveling adventures.  I love BACK TO THE FUTURE.  I’m laughing just typing the title for BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE.  A writing bubby and I dragged a gaggle of our kids and several of their friends to see this movie.  We sat several rows behind the kids laughing our heads off, while the kids, ranging in age of seven to thirteen, sat there looking blankly from the screen to their clearly nutty mothers.  I also enjoyed THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT.   The time travel movie I’ve enjoyed the most is the made for TV movie, THE GIRL, THE GOLD WATCH & EVERYTHING –which probably dates me more than BEWITCHED.

In searching for an image for THE GIRL, THE GOLD WATCH & EVERYTHING, I found out the

movie was first a novel by John D. MacDonald.  The same John D. MacDonald who wrote the Travis McGee hard boiled private detective novels.  I was stunned, and now I really want a copy of the novel to read.

I found other gems while looking on the Internet for time traveling tidbits.  Andy’s Anachronisms  is a website completely devoted to time travel in popular media.  I also found Time Travel Institute a website that discusses possible theories behind time travel.

I saved the best gem for last, a fellow OCC/RWA member, Susan Squires, who is an excellent writer and really nice person, has a series of time travel novels involving a time machine built by Da Vinci.  I hadn’t realized Susan was writing time travel because I’ve moved across the country and rarely attend meetings. But I know now and Susan’s books are on my To-Be- Read pile.  I can hardly wait to start them.

Do you have a favorite time travel novel, short story, TV show or movie?

Would you like to travel in time?  Where would you go?