I was recently able to interview Richard Doetsch, author of The 13th Hour, reviewed here. Which also made my top picks of 2009.
The 13th Hour takes a different spin on time travel. How did you come up with the idea of doing a novel in reverse?
I had never seen a novel written backwards before and thought it would be a great challenge. I think we all have a moment in life that we would like to change be it a decision at work, something we said to a girlfriend or boyfriend, or sometimes something greater like expressing our true feelings for a friend or family member before they slipped out of our lives or saving someone from a tragedy if we could only reach out our hand in that one fateful moment. I think it is something universal, something everyone thinks about at some point, something that bridges languages and cultures. How great would it be to act on hindsight?
If you could go back in time to change some event in your past, would you?
No, I think we are the sum of our failures and successes, our missteps and achievements. Our character, our lives are shaped by the unchartered lives we lead for better or for worse and it’s really the obstacles and tragedies we face that form us and give us the tools and abilities to tackle the future.
What obstacles did you face in writing such a complex story?
Writing the thirteenth hours was like playing five games of chess in my head at the same time. I wrote the story backwards in the same way the reader experiences it. In so doing, I had to remember the future and the past. It was difficult but fun as it was like a giant puzzle whose every move reverberated throughout the story.
While the element of science fiction is there with time travel, The 13th Hour is more of a mystery thriller. What section do you think your novel should be shelved?
Without question, in the thriller and mystery section. My stories are really thrillers with heart along with a very slight dash of fantasy. All of my stories have a very slight bit of fantasy in them while remaining firmly routed in reality. That little bit of the impossible helps to give a bit of a sense of wonder and is part of my signature. Most of the people who have read and enjoyed it are thrillers readers who picked it up without thinking of it as sci-fi.
I read that New Line Cinema bought the film rights. Any further news on that?