If a character from your story suddenly found themselves in the present day, what do you think they’d be most fascinated—or horrified—by?

Just about everything, with possible exceptions being the space program/moon landings, NASCAR, and professional wrestling.

Was there a particular sensory detail—like a smell, texture, or sound—that helped anchor you in the setting as you wrote?

Cigar smoke. I don't smoke cigars myself, but there's something rather evocative about their smoke. There's a grace and flow to it that cigarettes, for example, don't have.

Did writing this story challenge any of your own assumptions about the past—or even about people in general? 

Every story set in a past era compels one to examine and challenge one's own contemporary views. This one was no different.

If this story were adapted into a stage play or minimalist production, what’s the one scene you’d insist remain untouched?

Probably the opening and the closing scenes. They serve as "emotional bookends" and anchor the rest of the story.

Which historical detail or lesser-known fact surprised you most during your research—and did it make it into the final version?

Years ago, I was surprised to learn that circa 1900 one could walk into a soda fountain and order a glass of pop with a shot of morphine in it. It seems perfectly nuts now, but it was considered almost normal then.