Join us as we peek behind the scenes of our upcoming anthology, ON TIME. Learn more about Daniel M. Kimmel in his featured interview.
ABOUT THE STORY
What inspired your story?
I’ve done a number of stories for Transmundane Press, and when I saw they were doing an anthology on the theme of “time,” I thought that was perfect, as I had done a whole novel (Time on My Hands: My Misadventures in Time Travel) on the subject. I had a character, Cort, whose job it was to prevent people from going too far into the future. He was supposed to be in just one scene, but I ended up calling him back for a second, crucial scene late in the novel. There was something about the character I really liked, and I decided to explore his story a bit further. It was an interesting challenge, because the story had to both fit into the world I created in the novel and yet also work for readers who had not read it. I’m really pleased with the result.
What is the most interesting thing about the world you’ve created?
In the novel, I set up a situation where time travelers were limited as to how far into the future they could go. In writing “There’s No Time Like Home,” I realized that there was a loophole in my construct. It didn’t affect the novel, but it allowed me to use the story for a funny and touching addendum.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
What has influenced you most as a writer?
My fiction tends towards the humorous, and so non-genre writers like James Thurber and Art Buchwald were significant influences. Within science fiction, the influence was the late Robert Sheckley, who I was fortunate enough to meet when NESFA Press published the first collection of his works. I was asked to do a blurb for the dust jacket, which I gladly did, and when I got to meet him at the book launch he thanked me for my “kind words.” As I later described it, it was the perfect fanboy moment.
What font do you prefer to write in?
I took a resume writing class where I was told that I should not use Times New Roman. I burst out laughing. The instructor asked why. I said that in submitting my fiction, those places specifying a font said that Times New Roman was mandatory. I’ve stopped updating my resume. I submit my stories in the requested font.
Daniel M. Kimmel is the 2018 recipient of the Skylark Award, given by the New England Science Fiction Association. He was a finalist for a Hugo Award for Jar Jar Binks Must Die… and other observations about science fiction movies and for the Compton Crook Award for best first novel for Shh! It’s a Secret: a novel about Aliens, Hollywood, and the Bartender’s Guide. He is the author of Time on My Hands: My Misadventures in Time Travel and Father of the Bride of Frankenstein. Among the outlets for his short stories have been the Transmundane Press collections After the Happily Ever After, On Fire, Transcendent, and In the Air.
ON TIME is coming in Summer 2020. Be sure to follow us on Amazon.
Transmundane Press 