Interview with Mitchell Katz, Author of Time Eternal

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Time Eternal?

While the idea for the book is based on a true story from a few decades ago, I wasn’t inspired to write this until after I published my memoir, Time On My Hands: A Collector’s Journey In The World Of Watches. After a friend read that book, he mentioned that there weren’t any good mysteries about watches. At first, I thought maybe that’s because the concept was a bit goofy. But I couldn’t shake the idea. I continued to think about it to no avail. Then one evening, while walking to a restaurant with my wife to celebrate Mother’s Day, something odd happened. It was as if I’d walked through a portal as we crossed a street. Suddenly, I had an idea for a murder mystery that revolved around watches.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Time Eternal, what would they be?

John Harrison: Deep in the Willow by Knocked Loose. Matthew Daniels: Question by Moody Blues, Colin Brown: Schism by Tool, Jean-Louis Bonet: Richard Strauss’s famous tone poem, Till Eulenspeigels lustig Streich (Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks), Charice Bonet: The Bitch is Back by Elton John, Carlton Sommers: Money by Pink Floyd, and Suzanne Lang: Still by Foo Fighters

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

My favorite genre has to be mysteries. I enjoy historical fiction and spy novels, or anything written by Bill Bryson or Dave Barry, but I always come back to the whodunit as my go-to happy place. And yes, that is my favorite genre to write. However, when I am writing, I shy away from reading mysteries as I don’t want to be influenced by other works. Instead, I’ll read something from a different genre, usually historical fiction or something nonfiction.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Circle of Days by Ken Follet, Come to Grief by Dick Francis, L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton, and anything by Agatha Christie (I have a set of 51 of her books, and they are a joy to read)

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The very first one. I focused on that first scene quite a bit before I even started writing the story. I played with it in my head for a number of weeks, and when I finally wrote it, it was short, to the point, and exciting. Interestingly, I have a dead body on the first page, but it took me about forty pages to figure out who it was. My wife figured it out before I did.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

Every night, I put warm compresses on my eyes. I lay on a couch in my bedroom for ten to fifteen minutes, compresses in place, with classical music playing. With my mind and body relaxed, the next scene or scenes for the book come to me. When the time is up, I grab a notebook and write, in long hand, three to five pages of notes. If I don’t write everything down, I will not be able to go to sleep because I’m afraid I’ll forget the next plot points. I sleep well as long as I make those notes. Then the following day, I start transcribing them into the computer, this time in comprehensible English.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Everything in moderation. Well, almost everything.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

Don’t go to a college party with your child, get drunk, and go for a walk along a cliff. It may not end well.

Mitch Katz is the author of the new book Time Eternal

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