You may have heard about “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” which challenges players to link film actors via their roles to actor Kevin Bacon within six steps. Well, let’s spin off from that game to have fun discovering which story tropes link my f/f time travel romance Julie & Winifred’s Most Excellent Adventure to time travel movies!

(Yes, I’m no Kevin Bacon, but honestly, who can compare to him?! Well, besides Brendan Fraser.)

Before we begin, please enjoy the book’s most excellent trailer!

Now on to the game!

Degree #1: A familiar—and excellent—title

As you may have noticed, my book’s title is a riff on the time travel comedy film Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. In that movie, two best friends embark on an epic time travel journey to complete their history report and usher in the utopian future founded on their personal philosophy of “be excellent to each other.”

During the film’s climactic scene, the Abraham Lincoln character refers to their “most excellent adventure.”

My book’s plot is different, but it also features two friends—and lovers—who save the world, in this case by stopping a time tyrant. The story draws from the same well of fluffy, fun energy as Bill & Ted while offering a queer lady alternative to dude-centric time travel stories.

Degree #2: Buddy comedy time travel movies

See You Yesterday features sibling inventors; Safety Not Guaranteed is about a reporter who investigates a quirky inventor’s claim that he’s built a time machine; Back to the Future pairs a snarky teen guy with an eccentric inventor, and of course, there’s the history-challenged BFFs of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Talk about opposites attract: Julie’s a fun-loving, butch geek and Winifred is a prim and proper British mathematician. Like the aforementioned buddy pairs, they embark on adventures through time. To top it all off, I packed a lot of jokes and SFF pop culture references into the story. Never fear—a glossary explains them all so no reader is left behind!

Degree #3: One of the characters travels from the past to the future

Like Leopold, His Grace the 3rd Duke of Albany from the film Kate & Leopold, H.G. Wells in Time After Time, and Cole Christopher Fredrick Lyons in The Knight Before Christmas, Winifred Blackburn travels from the past to the future. Hm, I guess England is a popular starting point for time travelers? Seems a little overrepresented.

Anyway, I took this approach to explore the idea of a marginalized person from the past learning about how much things had changed in the future, like technology and gender equality, but also how many situations had yet to improve. Julie & Winifred’s Most Excellent Adventure also acknowledges that the march of time has introduced new problems, e.g., climate breakdown.

Degree #4: Doomed romance trope

Get your tissues ready because Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, is one of the ultimate doomed romances in romantic time travel movies. But here’s a palate cleanser: if you want the doomed romance trope paired with a happily-ever-after, look no further than Julie & Winifred’s Most Excellent Adventure! It’s like eating a piece of [insert your favorite high calorie dessert] without any consequences to your heart.

Degree #5: Time fugitives

Winifred becomes a fugitive after stealing her brother’s time machine to stop his evil plan. In Time Bandits, six spacetime fabric repair people race through various historical periods after stealing a time map, intending to get rich. If someone’s after you, might as well take advantage of time hopping if you can.

Degree #6: Time travel as a vehicle for social commentary

See You Yesterday, Déjà Vu, and Star Trek: The Voyage Home all grapple with serious issues in the context of fantastical time travel. Similarly, the fantastical time machine in Julie & Winifred’s Most Excellent Adventure is not only stylish and fun, but it also provided a way to sprinkle social commentary among the romance and comedy scenes. That’s one thing I love about science fiction and sci-fi romance—the genres entertain as well as provide insight into the ever-present technology that impacts our lives in countless ways.

Okay, so I pretty much created a new degrees of separation game? But it was fun? And I hope you’re excited about reading Julie & Winifred’s Most Excellent Adventure? If nothing else, you have plenty of fodder for a time travel movie binge-watch. Either way, enjoy!

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About the Author

Heather Massey (she/her) is a geek mom who's the proud parent of a terrific daughter and married to the love of her life. Heather is best known for her sci-fi romance blog The Galaxy Express.

Though she’s neither an award-winning nor bestselling author (thank you for not judging!), her stories provide quality entertainment by way of fantastical worlds, action-adventure, and larger-than-life characters who fall in love while battling evils such as classist jerks, corporate greed, the patriarchy, and corrupt politicians.

Website: heathermassey.com

Twitter: @thgalaxyexpress

About the illustrator

Eileen Widjaja is a writer and artist currently working and living in Indonesia. She has worked for numerous clients throughout the years and contributed to a great variety of projects. Eileen is always looking for new projects and experiences, especially in the comic industry.

Website: https://www.eileenwidjaja.com/

Twitter: @eileenwdj

Store: https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/eileenwdj/