Straight from the Library: Straight Chatting from the Library: Scott Southall

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What is the sweetest thing someone has done for you?

I feel very fortunate because my family are often doing sweet things for me. They have also been incredibly supportive of my writing journey. For my birthday a few months ago they gave me a beautiful drafting table so that I would have a place to do my drawings. A drafting table is something I’ve always wanted but would also never buy for myself. They also hired a web designer to help in the process of upgrading my website and social media presence. I am incredibly thankful for the support.

How would you spend ten thousand bucks?

A: To help pay for trip back to Soneva Jani in the Maldives. It is the most beautiful place in the world. The beaches are white and the water is crystal blue. The villas are amazing with pools and unbelievable water slides. The food is outstanding and there is a 24-hour ice creamery and chocolatier. Soneva Jani might be the best place on Earth. After extended lockdowns and not being able to travel over the last twenty months a trip to Saneva Jani would be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Where do you get your best ideas?

All my best thinking happens in the shower. When you have young kids it’s one of the only places you get five minutes to yourself. I often run through a whole list of ideas that my subconscious has been processing overnight. After I dry off I rush to record the ideas that are worth exploring in my phone before I forget them. If I were smarter I would install one of those instant hot water systems and just stay in the shower all day.

What comes first, the plot or characters?

The premise and the main characters come first for me. I determined that The Order of Time series was going to be about the adventures of fraternal twins Anastasia and Edward Upston and their friend Dr. Alfred Gregorian across ancient history. I also fleshed out the personas of the main characters to define their key personality traits, what they look like, their strengths and weaknesses. The plot comes next in the form of a high-level story outline with key events or twists. The supporting characters really come to life as I connect the dots between the different events in the outline. I sure it’s not how everyone does it; however, it works for me.

What does your main character do that makes him/her special.

As mentioned earlier, I chose two protagonists with fraternal twins Anastasia and Edward Upston. They are total opposites in almost every way including looks and personality. She is tanned with dark hair and brown eyes while he is fair with blond hair and blue eyes. She loves math and science while he loves ancient history, art and Star Wars. She is highly athletic and excels in mixed marshal arts while he is the opposite of athletic. Their differences compliment one another and together they make a formidable team.

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About the Series

Picture two twelve-year-old fraternal twins who are like night and day. She is a smart and highly organised MMA fighter. He’s not a fighter, he’s a lover of history, art and Star Wars. Despite their differences they are one formidable team. Together Anastasia and Edward Upston travel through time and navigate ancient civilisations, angry gods and mythical monsters in their quest to protect the integrity of human history.

About The Order of Time

Anastasia and Edward Upston are eleven year old twins who are different in almost every way. Despite this they are inseparable and he best of friends. They tackle the highs and lows of sixth grade together whether they are fending off bullies at the elite Blake Academy or examining rare antiquities at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Then: life gets complicated.

They discover that their friend and mentor, Dr. Gregorian, is part of a secret society called the Order of Time. It turns out that time is not fixed, it’s a fluid continuum where changes to the past can create ripples all the way through to the present. It unwittingly falls to the twins to travel back through time to ancient Egypt where they must overcome deadly assassins, evil high priests and vengeful gods in order to prevent disaster. Together Anastasia and Edward must navigate all obstacles to preserve the past and find their way back home.

About The Order of Time and Odin’s Door

The orange light bathed the snow-covered fields as the fiery globe began to dip below the horizon. It was strange that something so beautiful could signal the arrival of something so evil. One thing twelve-year-old twins Anastasia and Edward Upston knew for sure was that when mortals were caught between two bickering gods nothing good would come of it. Surviving the Viking Age may be the hardest thing they ever do, if they can…

READ AN EXCERPT FROM THE ORDER OF TIME

They started to leave when the room suddenly lit up with a strange purple light coming from under a closet door.

“Why is the closet glowing?” asked Edward, his voice trailing up an octave. “Maybe we should get out of here.”

“What if Dr. G’s in there? You know he always locks his door, but it was open tonight. Maybe he’s still here. He might need our help,” Anastasia said emphatically.

The light was getting brighter by the second. Now Edward could also hear a low humming noise.

“Stop being crazy, Anastasia! This is the part in the movies where you yell at the screen for the characters not to open the door. We are not going to open that door.”

“I’m not being crazy. If Dr. G is in there and needs help, we’ll never forgive ourselves.”

Edward looked at her pleadingly, but she wasn’t giving in. His shoulders slumped in defeat. Oh god, please don’t let there be a monster or anything really scary in there. Anastasia dragged him over to the closet door. The light pouring out around the cracks was incredibly bright and the humming was getting louder. She gripped the large, brass doorknob, took a breath, and opened the door.

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