Beyond Brooklyn...A Story Awaits

When I set out to write this book, my journey began much like Myles did, in the subway leading out of Brooklyn into the underground of Manhattan. I had no clue I'd ever write about it then, but when I began the process that resulted in Somewhere Beyond more than 30 years later, I returned to the subways to find my story. I started hacking away at the keyboard with no direction other than a boy on a train--no title, no characters, no plot, no story--just a boy who traded his seat in class one day for a ride on the D train headed for the city. When I did it on those rare occasions, nothing eventful ever happened. Though to someone in Des Moines, it may have been their highlight of their year--witnessing the subway sideshows, the oddballs that seem right at home, the fleeting spectacles commonplace on a daily commute--for me, nothing out of the ordinary ever really happened. But for my book, for my character, I knew it would. So I had to invent something. The question was what?

I'd had the formal training in school and years of experience, so the writing itself would not be the problem. It was the story, backstory, plot, subplot, character development, conflict and climax. I had none of that when I put the first words down. And I will tell you, I think that's a great way to begin. The reason is, there's no pressure. You simply start writing and let it lead you where it may. I knew if my character (who I only knew was a late teens, high school boy) was to have an eventful trip into the city, it had to be something shocking, something very extraordinary. As I wrote, I did know that I wanted my character to eventually end up in the tunnels, where he would make a discovery. So I thought what better way to create drama, tension and that shock factor than by making it a girl who Myles follows down into the tunnel. His name by the way, is no coincidence and is, in some ways, a contradiction in terms. In the book, it is Myles, albeit perhaps unintentionally, whose actions bring the havoc and destruction into Mannahatta. His first name, Myles, is taken from the English military officer Myles Standish, who accompanied the pilgrims over on the Mayflower, resulting in devastating consequences for several Native American tribes in his attempts to protect the early colonists. The surname Jericho signifies Myles' attempt to tear down the walls of separation between Mannahatta and the rest of society.

So, that's how the story developed in its embryonic stages. By lacking all the structural requirements necessary to complete a book, you eliminate the risk. If the story goes nowhere you lose nothing. But as it developed and the pieces started coming together, that's when I truly rolled up my sleeves and said, okay, time to get serious. So I concentrated on introducing complex characters , developing high stakes, conflict and confrontation. I developed an outline, rearranged chapters, inserted a prologue and before long had the makings of a first person, historical fiction manuscript that I felt good about.

To most, if not all of the 9-5 commuters, the trek into Manhattan was drudgery. But for me, even a typical , ordinary train ride on the D was an adventure. I had my Sony Walkman with a cassette of the soundtrack from Thief, blaring in my ears, overtaking the train's roar, setting the stage for a novel that would literally alter the course of history.