Clocks, and Something New!

One of the things that drew me to choose a day in Redlands was the clock tour. Downtown has seven beautiful clocks. You can pick up a brochure with locations and information (and a little quiz with a treat for answering the questions) here.

The main clock is the Sister Cities Clock which show the times of Hino, Japan, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Linli, China. It is a kinetic clock, and on the hour balls roll down the tracks. Here’s a YouTube video of the clock in action.

This clock is on a brick building from 1891 which was first a harness store and a YMCA library.

This clock is on a building that used to be a speakeasy. It is now an event venue called Speakeasy on State.

Here is the SOMETHING NEW!

Over the past two and a half years, I have been writing a children’s fantasy novel for ages 8-12 (called middle grade in the industry). It was inspired by my times in Zürich, Switzerland and my love of the train stations and clock shops. Here is the pitch:

Eleven-year-old Kyra feels as though she came from another world. Her purple cat-like eyes are like no one else’s in Turicum where she was abandoned as a baby at the railway station’s newsstand. When she finds a broken pocket watch and note from her ma, she knows that fixing it must lead to finding her parents and discovering who she is.

Kyra apprentices with curmudgeonly Mr. Horace, and the watch starts ticking. Her ma, Ilaria, appears, though briefly. Kyra learns that Ilaria is a Time Spryte who cannot stay in one time for long. Mr. Horace uses Kyra’s new-found knowledge of the watch to trap Ilaria. However, his knowledge is incomplete, and he creates a temporal anomaly threatening everyone in Turicum, including Kyra’s only friends, the Bain family. Her impossible position: create a future with her ma or save the Bains and the city.

At the moment I am querying agents to see if anyone wants to represent this book. My working title (which could change) is AMETHYST MOON: A TALE OF TURICUM.

I have started a new Instagram account called turicum_tales. I would love it if you are on Instagram to follow this account. I will be posting photos of clocks, trains, books, bookstores, libraries, and more.