“The Hunger Games meets The Magicians” is how Langley author T.R. Davis describes his debut novel Flashback – a project that he is ecstatic to now finally hold in his hands.
The Willoughby resident had primarily worked in web development and said a chance viewing of a television commercial gave him the inspiration to write the story.
“I always wanted to write a book and had been doing photography to explore my creative side. I was watching TV and this commercial came on for DNA ancestry testing and my imagination flashed.”
Davis said his inspiration ranged from Stephen King to Jeffery Deaver – even the descriptive scenery talents of vampire novelist Anne Rice.
Friend Shae Mills – author of the sci-fi romance Ribus 7 – read over his notes and encouraged him to go through with the project.
“The book took me about a year, writing on lunch breaks and after work,” Davis explained, working full time in the customer support department for a tech company at the same time. “I tried very hard to make it scientifically plausible.”
The central question, Davis said, is “what if there was a connection between someone today and someone thousands of years ago?”
Using the ancestry inspiration, Davis tells the story of a thirteen year old girl named Sarah who possesses a unique gene, allowing her to recall memories that happened to a famous ancestor from centuries past.
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Pitting the protagonist against an evil corporation wanting to use Sarah’s memories for profit, Davis said he is happy with how his extensive research on genetic memories blended with the original fiction aspect.
“[Flashback] came together nicely and reads like a young adult novel, though there are some heavier themes that is more for eighteen and older,” Davis explained.
After finding it a challenge to land an agent or publisher that wouldn’t take years to release his book – Davis chose the self-publishing route and made the novel available through Amazon late last summer.
“It was a lot of hard work, but something I enjoy. Writing relaxes me. You have to sit down and just do it. You have to wait for those words to come and if they don’t, you have to make it happen and edit later,” Davis said, reflecting on his process.
Flashback is the first in his planned series called Flashpoint; book two is in the works, undergoing a few final edits before publication.
“Good enough is not good enough,” Davis said, hinting that it may be a little while until it does become available.
Until book two’s own development journey wraps up to continue the Flashpoint story, readers can order Flashback from Amazon and find out more about T.R. Davis at his website www.somedu.ca.
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Email: ryan.uytdewilligen@langleyadvancetimes.com
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