Wednesday on this side of the hemisphere, frigid cold but sunny outside, warm and cozy inside. Today, our guest is author Paul B. Kohler, who, in his own words, when not practicing architecture, works on his writing. He lives in Littleton, Colorado, with his wife and daughter. Linear Shift, Part One, his serialized novel, sounds rather intriguing.

Linear Shift, Part One

No one said time travel would be easy.
Peter Cooper, a widowed father of two whose life is crumbling around him—until a bizarre encounter with a desperate Army general launches him on a risky mission: to go back to 1942 and change a moment in time. The repercussions will almost certainly alter the conclusion of World War II. But will the ripple effects stop there? And what kind of life will Peter return to?
Unknown Consequences:
A successful mission may not have the success he had intended.
Linear Shift is a serialized novel, with four total parts planned. This is part one.

NB: Part Two is coming soon!

Paul has gracefully agreed to answer my 8 questions:

When you were a kid you wanted to be…?

Growing up, I wanted to be everything.  My earliest memory was to be a fighter pilot. I loved the Blue Angels and knew that would be me up here one day. The next week, I am certain it was something else.  From the time I was 10 or so, I wanted to be an architect.  That one stuck all through high school, and that is my day job today.

The first book you read was…?

I cannot remember the name of the first book I read.  I know the main character was a bi-plane pilot, and I think his last name was Buchanan.  It was an old book when I read it, and I LOVED that book.  Somewhere along the way, I lost it, as well as the name.  I have occasionally tried to google search on something new I will occasionally remember from it.  It’s hard trying to remember something that happened 30+ years ago.

You discovered you were quite good at writing when…?

Actually, my first story I ever wrote was Amy.  I wrote it about a year and a half after my daughter was born.  I occasionally, I would write about my day or other lame stuff when I was 29, but after writing that first story and having my wife cry when she read it, told me I was on to something.  Not for making my wife cry, but by being able to dray out emotions with the written word.

As a reader, your favorite genre is…?

I LOVE Sci-Fi.  I cannot get enough of it.  Space flight = good. Aliens = good. Time Travel = good.  You get the point.  My love for Sci-Fi has been very intimidating though, as that is the genre I most want to write in, but I feel so inferior after reading so many good stories from so many great authors.

No, really, what’s that title you’re hiding in your kindle…?

Hmm.  I think there might be a story or two on there that is in the erotic fiction category.  I got them free a few months back, and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  I figured why not try and bang out a story in that genre. You’re all safe though, as I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

You write…?

I write what moves me.  Right now, I am in starting the 3rd part to a Time Travel serial.  Part 1 is published, and part 2 will be in early December. I have a huge imagination, and I have a ton of story ideas to get to.  From adult-contemporary to horror, and even romance.  My mind is all over the place sometimes.

The praise about your writing you like the most is…?

I like the surprise aspect. Take my short story Amy for instance: I don’t particularly like to make people tear up from reading my stories, but I’ve gotten so many to get emotional after reading it, I feel like I can actually move people.  I win, and here’s some tissue. The praise doesn’t necessarily mean words.

What’s next…?

After my Linear Shift project, which I am hoping to wrap up in April (if not sooner) I have a few things I’ve been thinking about.  One in particular would be a stand alone literary story, about a father and son finding a common bond after half of their family is killed in a house fire.  I’ve been thinking a lot about it, and I feel it’s about time to make more people cry.

Don’t forget to buy Something to Read on the Ride to read Paul’s short and support a great cause: The Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal, A Children’s Hospital Charity.