Jodi Bowersox is an award-winning author and artist with more than 25 books for children and adults. Her novels span genres from faith fiction to suspense to time travel to sci fi, with small town, big city, and interplanetary settings. Jodi lives in the heart of Colorado Springs.
Her book “Time Agents: Complications” won the 2024 Colorado Authors League award for Thriller.
SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate?
Jodi Bowersox: “Time Agents: Complications” is the beginning of my Time Agents series that kind of jumps out of the middle of my Lightning Rider series (Time Travel Romance). In the epilogue of book two, I had mentioned that the characters Cory and Ashley had spent 10 years as Time Agents. The Lightning Riders series (“JOLT,” “JUMP”, and “JIVE”) is my most popular set of books, so after writing two other series, I went back to this one, and I’m now filling in those 10 years.
SunLit: Place this excerpt in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole? Why did you select it?
Bowersox: I picked the Prologue and Chapter 1, as they bridge the gap between what has happened to these two characters and what’s to come. Cory and Ashley have recently learned that there is a vaccine that allows people to jump through time when struck by lightning, and they witnessed the U.S. military wiping out the Colorado Springs Police Department to keep that a secret. They are on the run and decide their only escape is through time. Once in the future—2325—they have a whole new set of problems.
UNDERWRITTEN BY
Each week, The Colorado Sun and Colorado Humanities & Center For The Book feature an excerpt from a Colorado book and an interview with the author. Explore the SunLit archives at coloradosun.com/sunlit.
SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write?
Bowersox: The whole concept of jumping through time on a lightning bolt was inspired by a real trip up Pikes Peak in a lightning storm. Plus, I had just been to Rockledge Ranch for a bit of living history. My mind began to turn… Every time-travel story needs a method for traveling, whether it’s the rocks of Scotland, a magical item of some kind, or a portal found by happenstance, so why not lightning? While it’s mysterious how it could work in the beginning, a sci-fi element eventually shows up to explain it.
SunLit: What did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?
Bowersox: Lots of research! “Time Agents: Complications” takes place in the Wyoming wilderness and several locations in Colorado. Two of the very interesting places I needed to study that I had no knowledge of before were NORAD and Fort Carson.
Time travel is just as much of a brain twister as writing a good mystery—especially if your characters do a lot of “mucking about in time.” Color-coded calendars are essential to keep everything straight.
SunLit: What were the biggest challenges you faced in writing this book?
Bowersox: I’m going to say time, which is actually kind of funny, since this book is all about time. Several big commitments have made carving out time for writing more difficult, but I still strive to fill every hole in my schedule with writing or illustrating.
“Time Agents: Complications”
Where to find it:
- Prospector: Search the combined catalogs of 23 Colorado libraries
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SunLit: What’s the most important thing – a theme, lesson, emotion or realization — that readers should take from this book?
Bowersox: My books almost always have a second chance element. People screw up. They make mistakes. Tragedies happen. But relationships can be repaired, and unlikely people can come together and make things work. Forgiveness and redemption can chart a way forward.
SunLit: What made Time Agents: Complications an award-winning book?
Bowersox: What makes any book an award-winning book is interesting, in-depth characters, pacing that doesn’t rush or plod, natural dialogue for the time and place, a writing style that has a bit of pizazz, and a story that is engaging and calls you back to it.
And in the case of a thriller, you better have some real page-turning action. I believe that “Time Agents: Complications” ticks off these boxes, in addition to having the feel-good themes that touch the heart.
SunLit: Tell us about your next project.
Bowersox: I currently have three irons in the fire. “Time Agents: Deceptions” will hopefully already be published by the time this goes to print. The next mission for our time agents was supposed to be just getting married, but something goes terribly wron
I’m also working on something completely different—a medieval romance that will be a purely romantic knights and ladies adventure, giving my brain a break from time travel, although it will still have plenty of suspense! I haven’t got a title yet for that one. I’m also working on illustrating a fun children’s book called “Cat and Rabbit.” All my children’s books are under the name J.B. Stockings.
A few more quick questions
SunLit: Which do you enjoy more as you work on a book – writing or editing?
Bowersox: Definitely writing!!
SunLit: What’s the first piece of writing – at any age – that you remember being proud of?
Bowersox: I wrote a goofy poem when I was around 5. “Life is a cookie with some ketchup and cake, and we all stick around for it to bake.” It was actually better than a lot of the poetry I wrote in Jr. High.
SunLit: What three writers, from any era, would you invite over for a great discussion about literature and writing?
Bowersox: Lois McMaster Bujold, who writes fantasy and sci-fi, Tanya Bird, who writes emotionally intense historical fiction, and Colorado author Jennifer Kincheloe, who has written some hilarious cozy mysteries. I think that would be a crazy conversation!
SunLit: Do you have a favorite quote about writing?
Bowersox: ”If you don’t see the book you want on the shelf, write it.” Beverly Cleary said that. Here’s another: “Good writing is more caught than taught. If you want to be a good writer, read good books.” I said that one.
SunLit: What does the current collection of books on your home shelves tell visitors about you?
Bowersox: I have pretty eclectic taste. I can enjoy just about any genre as long as it’s a great story with great characters. Except horror. I don’t do horror.
SunLit: Soundtrack or silence? What’s the audio background that helps you write?
Bowersox: Silence. Not a peep.
SunLit: What music do you listen to for sheer enjoyment?
Boweresox: Again, a lot of different types (other than opera and country). I like songs that are musically complex and have great lyrics. The writer in me demands that lyrics make sense, and if the meaning isn’t obvious, I want to know the story behind them. This is also why I can’t listen to music while I write.
SunLit: What event, and at what age, convinced you that you wanted to be a writer?
Bowersox: I have been a writer in some capacity all my life. (Remember that amazing poem at five!) But I didn’t really consider pursuing publishing until I had written a couple of children’s books. It was my mom who encouraged me to try writing a novel, and although I didn’t give it a shot until she was gone, it quickly became an obsession.
SunLit: Greatest writing fear?
Bowersox: I suppose it’s that “drive-by” one star review that takes your rating down with no explanation.
SunLit: Greatest writing satisfaction?
Bowersox: I love to write. It’s my fun and my therapy all rolled up in one, but it’s especially nice to get that great review, that award, that conversation with someone who loved your book. Authors generally don’t get the money they deserve, so the kind words and literary accolades are what keeps them going. Do you love someone’s book? Tell them!