JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Steve Bellinger, author of The Chronocar: An Urban Adventure in Time
(Barking Rain Press)

Imagine being born the son of a slave with the mind of a genius. That was Simmie Johnson in the years following the Civil War. After a perilous escape from lynch mobs in Mississippi, he manages to earn a PhD in physics at Tuskegee, and in his research, discovers the secret of time travel. He develops a design for a time machine, called a Chronocar, but the technology required to make it work does not yet exist.

Fast forward one hundred and twenty-five years. A young African American Illinois Tech student in Chicago finds Dr. Johnson’s plans and builds a Chronocar. He goes back to the year 1919 to meet the doctor and his beautiful daughter, Ollie, who live in Chicago’s Black Belt, now known as Bronzeville. But, he has chosen an unfortunate time in the past and becomes involved in the bloodiest race riot in Chicago’s history.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write The Chronocar: An Urban Adventure in Time?

Steve Bellinger: I’ve been a fan of science fiction since I was 12 years old. I’ve also loved writing all my life. By the time I was in high school, I dreamed of writing the “great American Science Fiction novel.” On the way, I wrote several short stories, radio dramas and even fan fiction. Once I decided it was time to write a novel, I wanted it to be “real” science fiction and feature not just Black characters but the Black experience. Continue reading 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Steve Bellinger, author of “The Chronocar: An Urban Adventure in Time” →