TimeSavers: Inspirations
The major inspiration for TimeSavers was actually the Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner, a series I’ve loved since I was a kid and still read today. I liked the idea of four kids solving mysteries with little or no adult help, which is continually a big draw of that series for people. I decided to combine that with a historical fiction element, and thus time travel came into the mix. I did intend for the novels to be more like mysteries, due to their inspiration; however, it became obvious that the stories would work better as adventure novels. So, while the working-without-adult-help element of Warner's Boxcar Children remained, the main plot inspiration became much more like The Cooper Kids Adventures series by Frank Peretti, which is about a brother and sister that follow their archaeologist father around the world and join in the adventures that ensue.
The choice of weapons for the TimeSavers was inspired both by personal experience and by my love of video games. I have used a bow and arrow (Sam's weapon) myself – rather badly – on an archery range and also like using it in video games (like when I play as Link in Super Smash Bros.); it also is a typical weapon in a fantasy-like team’s arsenal. The idea of the bō staff for Dan came first from personal experience; while I’ve never used one myself, I used to work with a woman whose son was training in martial arts, including the use of the bō, and he sometimes brought his staff with him when coming to the small Christian bookstore we worked at from the dojo he went to, which was a few doors down. I was also inspired to give Dan a bō staff after playing the video game Soul Calibur II, where more than once I found myself on the wrong side of Kilik’s staff. Annie’s sword was, like Sam’s bow and arrow, a typical fantasy weapon. Prissy’s chakrams were very specifically influenced by a video game; they are based on the chakram weapons used by Colette Brunel in the Tales of Symphonia games and have similar abilities. The idea of the youngest TimeSaver using the chakrams was inspired by the character Mew Purin from the anime Tokyo Mew Mew; she uses ring-like weapons that cause an earthquake-like fault similar to Prissy’s chakrams, but Prissy’s attacks don’t enclose her enemies in a big Jello-like trap like Mew Purin’s attacks do.
The character of Solania was very inspired by Sailor Pluto from Sailor Moon, one of my favorite animes. Like Solania, Sailor Pluto is also a Guardian of Time, and the two have very similar powers and staffs. They also both love men from whom they must be apart – Solania loves Kingston and Sailor Pluto loves King Endymion, the king of the future Earth. The main difference is that Solania is free to love Kingston, whereas Sailor Pluto cannot win Endymion as he is married to his destined bride, Neo-Queen Serenity. Kingston’s character, and particularly the fact that he has an apprentice, is somewhat inspired by the Jedi, particularly Qui-Gon Jinn from the Star Wars prequels.
The primary setting of the stories – modern day San Diego – comes from the fact that, after concocting two futuristic stories set in London (Darkly Bound and The CYA Files), I figured it was time to write about where I live.
