Skyline
Page 34
Not through destruction, but through invention.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After spending six years in New York City—where he fell in love with the buildings and the rich, and often hidden, history that the city is built upon—Zach Milan now lives in Denver, Colorado with his husband, Jeof, and their two ridiculous dogs, Amelia and Alonso.
A NOTE ON TIME TRAVEL
I’ve read and watched a lot of time travel stories. After I started watching Doctor Who, I realized how few narratives embrace the maddening fun that true, twisty time travel can be. The Time Machine, 11/22/63, and Outlander are more portal stories—like Alice in Wonderland—than they are time travel stories. Back to the Future plays some, but it still seems to think time shouldn’t be messed with. Even Doctor Who has “fixed points” for no real reason.
When I set out to write Skyline, I wanted to make something different. A world where not only could characters travel through time, but they had full control over it. No mystery portals leading to a single time. No malfunctioning system that seemed to know better. No mistakes or accidents. And what I discovered was that—while it was extremely difficult at first—a better story comes out. One where characters are making constant choices. Where both protagonists and antagonists have to be smarter. And what better place to do all of that, than in New York, a young city filled with history.
I tried keeping my time travel rules simple, then found myself constantly simplifying them for the ease of the reader. In this world, there is only one timeline, despite what words Bill, Leanor, and the others use. One timeline, where every change you make—unless altered by another time traveler—remains. The timeline shifts, but I figured this was preferable to constantly joining a new timeline. With fresh timelines, too few of their previous decisions, their previous effects,
would remain.
It took a lot to wrap my head around. Hopefully it didn’t take you as long as it did me. My goal was to create a new type of time travel. Something without “fixed points.” Without Time, oddly, caring about whether it was changed. A world where everything could be revised. A world where every consequence was real.
More than anything, I wanted time travel to seem limitless, just like life can be.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I had several early readers, too many to name here, who helped by providing some feedback, but mostly by being willing to read Skyline before it was polished or perfected. Most important were the two women of my critique group, Jonna Gjevre and Kate Lansing. Both provided invaluable feedback, reading scenes and chapters several times, always focusing on making this a better book. Thanks also goes to my editor Tiffany Yates Martin. You may have made me depressed for months on end, but you also made Skyline the work it is today. Without you, I could never have been as confident and proud.
An insane amount of thanks also goes to all the historians who came before me. Whether it is Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace, writers of Gotham, Eric W. Sanderson, writer of Mannahatta, or Nellie Bly herself, without dense histories laying out New York City’s complicated past, Charlotte, Monroe, and Bill would’ve had nowhere to visit. Any mistakes or embellishments are my own, of course, but I tried to keep the eventual timeline close to the truth. The history of New York City is riddled with fires (but not necessarily bombs), renovations, and newer buildings replacing the old. What my characters see in Skyline is but a hint at all that New York City’s past has to offer.
Finally, the most thanks go to my husband, Jeof Oyster. Without him, I would never have had the time nor courage to write Skyline. He read dozens of drafts, heard all my whining when timelines wouldn’t align like I wanted, and worked hard to make the work go from words on my computer to the volume in your hands. Like it says in the dedication, I’m supremely lucky I found him in this timeline.
Coming Soon…
For news and announcements about Skyline, including local events and release date for the next book in the series, sign up for the Skyline newsletter at the website below and like the Skyline page on Facebook!
skylinebook.com
facebook.com/SkylineByZachMilan
Your purchase of Skyline means the world to me—thank you! I want to know what you thought of it, and your review can help encourage others to consider reading it too. Please rate or review Skyline on Amazon.com, even if you didn’t like it, because when more people are reading independent authors overall, then more of us can be successful at making a living creating art.
Please stay in touch—subscribe to the newsletter and like the Facebook page—because Charlotte, Monroe, and Bill have a lot more work ahead of them, and I’d love for you to come along.
Table of Contents
zachmilan.com
PROLOGUE
1. THE ASTROLABE
2. ANACHRONISM
3. LEANOR
4. THE BLAST
5. DIVING IN
6. NELLIE BLY
7. THE FIRST BOMB
8. CONSEQUENCES
9. PIER FIFTY-FOUR
10. CHARLOTTE AND FELIX
11. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
12. CONFRONTING LEANOR
13. BILL’S PLAN
14. CHANGES
15. OUT OF IDEAS
16. ANA CHRONISTIC
17. THE FUTURE
18. BACK TO THE PIER
19. NEW YORK REGAINED
20. THE PLAZA HOTEL
21. HOME
22. REELING
23. LADY LIBERTY
24. FORT WOOD
25. SAVING CHARLIE
26. WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
27. THE NEW BLAST
28. THE EMPTY ERA
29. THE COUNCIL
30. THWARTED
31. NEGOTIATIONS
32. THE WAY OUT
33. THE FINAL BOMB
34. TOO MANY FAREWELLS
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A NOTE ON TIME TRAVEL
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
COMING SOON
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR