Bookworms: Retcontinuum (2014) by S. Grulkowski (+Interview)

Retcontinuum, the new novella by Shaunn Grulkowski, starts slowly and builds with an energy and emotion that slams you in the face and, by the end of it, leaves you gasping for more. Retcontinuum is a time-travel story, and comes with all the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey effects of a time travel story. But it is also a very human story, with some of the most real characters I’ve ever met within the pages of fiction.

Retcontinuum pulls you down the rabbit hole of its narrative and doesn’t let go until it has finished explaining just how precious time is, and how ultimately the decisions we make are the most important things we have, no matter how much time we think we have.

Retcontinuum was one of three winners (along with The Memory Thieves) of the 2014 Summer Writing Project, a collaboration between Black Hill Press, JukePop Serials, and California Public Libraries. Posted a chapter at a time and voted on by the public, Retcontinuum won through fan popularity due to it’s a dynamic story. It has been released just recently, and is available digitally or in paperback through the Black Hill Press website.

I spoke with author Shaun Grulkowski about Retcontinuum and his writing process.

Redbeard: First of all, congratulations on winning the Summer Writing Project from Black Hill Press and JukePop!

Grulkowski: Thank you.

Redbeard: Why time travel? What inspired you to say “I’ll write a time travel story”?

Grulkowski: I came up with the title and wrote backwards from that. Time travel’s tough, because it never really works if you think about it for more that two minutes.

Redbeard: What are some of your favorite time travel stories?

Grulkowski: Terminator. Looper and Primer, although even though I’ve seen Primer 4 or 5 times, I’m not sure I totally get it. Also the Futurama ‘Roswell that Ends Well’.

Redbeard: You take the opportunity in this novella to comment on pop culture, sports, and even the socio-economic politics of today. Why take the time to do that? Do you have something against kittens and football?

Grulkowski: Firstly, I adore kittens. Got two of ’em myself. Football I’m hot and cold on, with the exception of Wisconsin ([GO] BADGERS!). [Science fiction] especially 50s-80s sci fi was often a vehicle for social commentary. Vonnegut, Heinlein, Phillip Dick, all those cats I look up too were usually interested in making those kinds of points. It’s a tradition I think is important to keep. Also, throwing a bit of pop culture in there I think helps to ground the story, in a much more “world-outside-your-window” kinda way. It seems that when the future arrives, it’s never as different from the present as we projected, if that makes sense.

Redbeard: Is there any behind the scenes information about Retcontinuum you’d like to share that we would otherwise not know?

Grulkowski: I originally wanted to kill Ray halfway through and switch to Laura’s perspective, but no one thought that was a good idea but me.

Redbeard: The novella ends kind of suddenly. Will there be a sequel that continues the story?

Grulkowski: The content for a sequel is already done, I guess we’ll see what the interest level in Retcontinuum is before a decision on a sequel is made.

Redbeard: What made you settle on novella?

Grulkowski: [The Summer Writing Project was novella based.] I couldn’t turn down a great opportunity, so I was happy to go to the novella. I don’t imagine it’s often that someone’s first work is published, and everyone at BlackHill Press has been super-awesome.

Redbeard: I, and my readers, are often interested in a writer’s process. Can you comment on yours?

Grulkowski: Man, I wish I had a process. That seems like it’d make everything loads easier. [I do have a video that explains a little bit more about my lack of process at Back Hill Press’ Routineology].

Redbeard: Pencil and paper or typewriter or word processor?

Grulkowski: Oh, word processor for sure. I know it’s kinda hip to bang away on an old Smith Corona, but you can’t email those pages too easily.

Redbeard: Do you have a website where people can find more information about you and your work?

Grulkowski: I’m working on one as we speak. I’ve got a new podcast called Mr Fixits where myself and a pal try to fix all the worlds wrongs. The first ep is about racism and sexism in geek culture. You can listen to that at moleholeradio.com.

Redbeard: What’s next on the horizon?

Grulkowski: I’m working on something where an amateur wrestler, a psychadelics-using judo player, and a talking dog fight aliens in the 1960s.

My sincere thanks to Shaunn Grulkowski for letting us inside his wacky world. Retcontinuum is an awesome story, and catching a look into the mind behind it is exciting. Grab your copy of Retcontinuum today and get reading! You can follow Grulkowski on Twitter at @humanbeanjuice9.

Black Hill Press provided me a review copy of Retcontinuum. My review is entirely my own opinion.