Authors’ Commentary on “Island Out of Time”

In September 2010, through the wonders of Facebook, Janet and I re-established a long dormant dialog that fell by the wayside due to distance, time, divergent interests and just plain, old life.  Renewed dialog led to a discussion about Janet's new book,  The Sacred Band, between Janet, author Ed McKeown and I.   Then Ed asked the question, "So Janet, when are you going to resurrect Heroes in HellTM?" Janet's response was something on the order of, "If I did, it would have to be something fun like "Lawyers in Hell."  Ed responded with, "I have an fun idea for a story we could call "Appellate Angel."  I immediately chimed in saying, "I still have "Island Out of Time" waiting in abeyance.   It won't take make much to update the technology and I already have an great idea to incorporate the overarching lawyer thread that could be a lot of fun."  Janet responded with, "Well guys, make it happen."  At that was the genesis of Lawyers in Hell. 

So we got a bunch of the old band back together, though unfortunately, far too many have already passed on in the last twenty odd years.  And we expanded our ranks with a crop of new authors that are not only talented, but on the road to perdition.

"Island Out of Time" picks up on a thread from the Janet Morris story, "The Nature of Hell" in the volume Crusaders in Hell.  In "The Nature of Hell", Zeno, the ancient Greek stoic philosopher, is visited by Satan, and told that his job is to determine the source of mysterious time perturbations that have been disrupting things in Hell of late.  Demons are stationed outside of his Observatory to insure that his efforts do not slacken.  Janet graciously let me borrow some of her key characters, to include Welch, Nichols, and Achilles.  I pick up where that story left off, creating an expedition led by Nichols, and enlisting the aid of Pythagoras, Harry Houdini, and John Wesley Powell among others, to find the source of Satan's vexation. 

The ostensible source is revealed by the Delphic Oracle to be a mysterious, self-forming island, that apparently just appeared in the southern seas off Hell's coast.   Not wanting to give the rest of the story plot away, let me just say that it is a combination of action, adventure, and horror that will leave the reader asking for more.  And more is planned for the thread will continue in Adventurers in Hell, the next planned volume of the series. 

Hope to see you in Hell