BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Never in his wildest dreams did Randy Rothwell imagine he’d would become an author, but then thanks to his dreams, that’s exactly what happened.
Rothwell of Keystone Heights recently had his second book published, titled “Unforgettable Journey II: Mission Unknown.” It is a follow-up to his first book, “Unforgettable Journey,” which was published in 2019.
“This has really been a journey to write these two. Now, I’m writing a third one,” said Rothwell, who will participate in a meet-and-greet/book-signing event at the Keystone Beach pavilion on Friday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m.
The journey began with unexpected free time and unexpected inspiration.
A company Rothwell worked for experienced some changes, such as a shift in management, resulting in employee layoffs. Rothwell, who had worked there for 22 years, was one of the ones who no longer had a job.
“I had about two years of severance in which I look for a job or whatever,” he said.
Rothwell eventually went to work again, but during his downtime, he experienced a series of recurring dreams that puzzled him. He told his wife, Vickie, about them. She said they sounded interesting and that he needed to put what he’d been dreaming about on paper.
“There’s a reason why you’re getting this,” she told him.
Rothwell wasn’t sure about that idea at first, saying, “I’ve never been a writer before. I’m a tech person.”
He did sit down in front of a computer, however, and start writing about his dreams.
“The next thing you know, I’m writing this book, ‘Unforgettable Journey,’” Rothwell said, adding, “It was really fascinating sitting down and doing this and writing it because like I said, I’ve never been a writer.”
Rothwell describes “Unforgettable Journey” as a combination of adventure and science fiction. Its central character is Taylor Ross, who wins a lottery to become the first person to go to Mars, courtesy of a company that has taken over NASA’s space program.
“Something happens to him on the planet when he’s there, which changes his life forever,” Rothwell said.
Ross is assisted on a quest to “make things right” by his grandsons Amos and Levi, whose backs. Amos and Levi are also the names of two of Rothwell’s grandchildren.
“Unforgettable Journey II: Mission Unknown” is a continuation of the first book, beginning 30 years after its conclusion. Amos and Levi, now grown, work for NASA. Rothwell said the book contains a lot of twists.
“They uncover secrets that NASA has that they are hiding from the public through the corrupt CEO that they have,” he said.
Rothwell said he learned from his mistakes after writing the first book. He likes both books, but is more proud of the second.
“The second one, I think, has a lot more content and really pulls in the reader,” he said, adding, “I really enjoyed writing this book.”
Rothwell’s books can be purchased at Amazon, Books-a-Million and Borders. Copies will also be available at the Aug. 18 event at Keystone Beach.
The cover of the first book features the images of Amos and Levi (pictured from the back) as they are looking upon the ascension of a rocket. The second book features a similar image, though its cover also includes Rothwell’s grandchildren Addie and Jack.
“They’re all characters in the book,” he said.
Rothwell jokes that because you don’t see his grandchildren’s faces on the covers, and because he uses fictional last names, he doesn’t owe them any royalties.
“They always ask, ‘How much money do I get for this?’ ‘You don’t get anything.’ They ask me that all the time,” Rothwell said.
Well, you can’t blame the kids for trying. They do find it exciting, though, to be characters in a book.
“They think it’s cool,” Rothwell said.
Speaking of “cool,” Rothwell said he wanted to find a cool alternative to being called “Grandpa.” He came up with “GP,” which is what the children in his books call their grandfather.
None of the characters, though, are portrayals of anyone in real life.
“Everybody says, ‘Oh, you’re Taylor Ross.’ I’m not Taylor Ross,” Rothwell said. “I might use some references that are similar to me, but I’m not being the character.”
Though the books include children as characters, Rothwell said only the second book is suitable for children to read, explaining that the first book includes some adult content.
Writing and publishing
Though having never written before, Rothwell said writing is the easiest part of the journey in which an author produces and publishes a book.
“I can put anything on paper,” Rothwell said. “It just has to flow right. I know the start and the end of the book. I already know the start and the end of my third book. It’s all the middle part you have to fill in to make it interesting for the reader.”
In fact, he’s come to enjoy the process, saying, “I find it peaceful and kind of relaxing to do that.”
What was more difficult was finding a publisher. Rothwell specifically looked for one in Florida.
“I wanted to travel and meet the person I was going to talk to about publishing it and not do it over the phone,” he said.
He found what he was looking for when he met Julie Ann Baker, founder of Peppertree Publishing in Sarasota.
“We connected really well,” Rothwell said.
Rothwell has since made additional trips to Sarasota to pick up copies of his books at Peppertree Publishing when they were completed.
“It’s satisfying when you get the actual finished product in your hand,” he said. “You worked all this time, spent all these hours on something, and finally, you’re holding something that you’ve done. You’ve accomplished this, and other people can read it as well.”
It took Rothwell about two years to write and publish his first book. The second took almost three years since by that time he was employed again. He won’t even venture to guess an approximate completion time on the third book he’s recently begun writing, but the ideas are there.
“I wrote nine outline chapters the other night,” Rothwell said. “For each chapter, I have a section where I know what I’m going to put in each one.”
Two published books and a third on the way? In the past, if you would’ve told Rothwell he’d write one book, he said he would’ve told you you were crazy.
Now? Chalk it up to the wildest dreams coming true.
“Maybe that was my calling late in life — to be a writer,” Rothwell said.
