JoMarie DeGioia: Do you remember the time …

JoMarie DeGioia, author of Luke's Gold, explores all the ways we time travel (with and without time machines).

JoMarie: The notion of time travel has been intriguing people for centuries. H.G. Wells brought it to popularity with his masterpiece The Time Machine, although I could have done without the Morlocks thanks. In fact, Wells coined the term "time machine," which is used universally to refer to such a vehicle. Recently the time machine from the movie showed up on an episode of The Big Bang Theory. I think my favorite part of that episode was when Penny said that it looked like something Elton John would drive through the Everglades! Yes, it was fancy and embellished and very turn-of-the-century. But hey, if you have to time travel, why not do it in style?

Popular books and movies that travel to the past

There have been many books and movies on the subject, with just as many reasons to take advantage of the opportunity to travel to the past. Like buying the winning Power Ball lottery ticket or shooting younger Hitler! There are also inherent problems with traveling to the past, though. Like enacting one small change that will irrevocably change our present.

We've seen the more serious, mind-bending consequences in movies like The Butterfly Effect and the more recent Project Almanac. With The Butterfly Effect, things seemed to go from bad to worse. It left us with the impression that no matter how you try to fix the mistakes you've made, somebody's going to wind up with no arms! Let's hope the kids in Project Almanac can figure a way out. Although just think about what Homer Simpson went through with his magic time-traveling toaster. Again and again, he messed something up in the past, only to jump back to the present and find a world he could hardly recognize. Well, one time he came back and the family was loving and wealthy, but there was no such thing as a doughnut, lol. He couldn't live with that! If only he'd hung around for a minute, he would have seen it raining doughnuts. I think that would be his dream come true.

To find another way to travel to the past we look at Doc Brown's DeLorean from Back to the Future. One of the unique and delightful aspects of that movie is that, not only does Marty McFly effect changes in the past that change the present, he makes good changes! Positive changes for his whole family while reaffirming his parents' love. I love this movie! Not so much the sequel, so don't get me started. In my opinion it's a case of not leaving well enough alone. Again, no doughnuts for Homer. Regrettably, we can't always have the carefree, no-consequences time travel of Bill and Ted in their phone booth.

Then how about traveling to the future?

Since traveling to the past can be so fraught with dire consequences, perhaps we should focus on jumping to the future. This is the bread and butter of some of the best science-fiction, beginning with Wells' Time Machine. I personally like when Wells used it to chase Jack the Ripper through time in the movie Time After Time. Oh, how great was Malcolm McDowell as Wells? So earnest and desperate to stop his former friend from killing the woman he comes to love in the future? I would love to see a remake of this , maybe with Daniel Radcliffe in McDowell's role. Can't you see him trying to save Anne Hathaway from James Franco's Jack the Ripper? I think it could work!

In my time travel romance Luke's Gold, our hero is a Braunach. Basically, a Braunach is a tall, strong and handsome Leprechaun of a race I invented. He doesn't use a time machine, but his uncle's enchanted slice of amber to jump from 19th century Ireland to present-day Indianapolis. More magic awaits him there as he tracks down the Cornish Pixie who stole his family's gold out of her own desperation. Because of the magic elements, I'm able to sidestep a few issues that can arise with time travel. Going forward helps with that, too! And the fact that Luke has a Braunach's charm, he can glimmer most mortals who suspect he's not quite a regular guy, lol.

Ongoing popular interest in time travel romance

A few years ago publishers seemed to decide that people just didn't like time travel romance anymore. As a bookseller, I could have told them they were wrong. Customers came in almost every day looking for those books. I'd read some wonderful ones that have stuck with me through the years, like The Moonstone by Claire Delacroix and A Love Beyond Time by Judie Aitken. These each used different devices to enable their jumps, an enchanted stone to the future and a trance to the past. Both worked well and the romances themselves were just as satisfying as the characters' safe returns. And for evidence that this genre is still very popular, you only have to look at the current dramatization of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

Everyday ways we can travel to the past

There are ways we time travel that might be less obvious, though. Whenever we delve into a historical romance, we travel to the past. The setting is as vibrant a character as the hero and heroine. In my Dashing Nobles series of Regency-set historicals, I hope I create that impression. And what about when we watch Pawn Stars on the History Channel? Every time Rick Harrison describes the way a particular item was used in the past, it's like I've traveled back there, too.

But I think my favorite kind of time travel is the heartwarming kind we do when we're with old friends or family members we haven't seen in a while. How many great journeys start with the words, "Do you remember the time...?" Old photo albums, yellowed slides shone on a screen, and knickknacks from Grandma's house all act as talismans to bring the past to life.

I enjoy time travel and history and invite you to give some of the books and movies I've mentioned a try. Just watch out for the Morlocks!

Find out more about JoMarie and her books at www.jomariedegioia.com.