About the Book
About the Author
About the Book
Thunder Bay is a character-driven time-travel drama that blends nostalgia, memory, and consequence. When sixty-two-year-old Mike McKlinsky unexpectedly finds himself returned to the summer that shaped — and haunted — his life, he must confront the people, places, and moments he thought were long gone. With the future still written in his memory, every choice carries weight, and every familiar face hides the chance to change everything. But altering the past may not bring the peace he imagined — because a second chance isn’t lighter. It’s heavier.
About the Car
About the Author
About the Book
At eighteen, Mike purchased a brand-new 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport for approximately $6,000. Over the next few years, he transformed the car into something uniquely his. The stock 350ci V8 was replaced with a powerful 454ci big-block engine, followed by the addition of twin chrome exhaust side pipes. He swapped the factory wheels for classic Cragar SS rims and, not wanting the car to look like every other Camaro of the era, finished it with a striking custom two-tone paint job. He completed the build by upgrading the radio to a top-of-the-line Kenwood KRC-1022 stereo cassette deck, amplifier and high-end speakers so he could blast his favorite rock tunes while cruising or parked at the beach.
About the Author
About the Author
About the Author
I was born in 1962, the same year as Mike, and many of the story’s reflections on memory, youth, and second chances are shaped by my own life experiences.
The photograph above was taken in 1982 beside my own special car — a time that, like many people, I look back on with a deep sense of nostalgia and perspective. Much of Mike’s personality, interests, and outlook on life are intentionally inspired by my own, giving his journey an added layer of authenticity.
My fascination with time travel began in the 1970s through television and film, and over the years it evolved into a personal question: what if someone could return to their past not to relive it carelessly, but to make wiser choices with the knowledge they now carry? Like many, I have reflected on moments in life I wish I had handled differently, and that emotional truth became the foundation of this story.
Around 2015, I first conceived Thunder Bay as a film concept but not until recently retiring, did I finally have the time to fully develop the idea, beginning with the novella then plans to adapt it into a screenplay.
At its core, Thunder Bay is a story for anyone who has ever wished they could go back. And while it's unlikely any of us will, we can still experience Mike's journey and be thankful that at least one of us made it back and then made it right.
history of Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a fictional beachside community set on a barrier island along Florida’s coast. From the 1950s through the 1970s, the area was a beloved destination for visitors of all ages. By the 1980s, it had evolved into the premier gathering place for local young people — alive with cars, music, energy, and long summer nights.
By the early 2000s, the character of Thunder Bay began to change. Developers acquired much of the island’s remaining real estate, and the small cottages, weathered bungalows, and quaint boardwalk shops that once defined the town were gradually replaced by high-rise condominiums catering largely to seasonal residents and retirees. The skyline rose as the old landmarks quietly disappeared, and with them went much of the youthful energy that had once filled the streets and beaches.
Captain Thunder
Local lore traces the island’s origins to the early 1700s, when a pirate known as Captain Thunder is said to have landed here with his crew and established a hidden base along the shoreline. From this secluded outpost, they allegedly carried out raids across Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. The ultimate fate of the real Captain Thunder was never recorded, and over the centuries his story has blurred into legend — becoming part of the town’s identity and folklore.
Captain Thunder?
Captain Thunder is a gentle, familiar oddity along the Thunder Bay boardwalk, known to locals simply by that name because of his uncanny resemblance to an old pirate portrait hanging in the gift shop near the beach. No one seems to know his real name, and no one can quite recall when he first started appearing—only that he is always “around” in the loose, timeless way some fixtures of a place just are. He is friendly to everyone, quick with a warm smile and easy conversation, though his thoughts often wander and his mind drifts in and out as if he’s only half-rooted in the present moment. He has a habit of showing up quietly beside people as though he had been there all along, and just as often slipping away into the crowds without anyone noticing when he left. Some say he’s homeless, others insist he must live somewhere nearby, but no one has ever been able to say where he goes at night, where he came from, or how he seems to know so many faces across so many years. And every so often—briefly, almost imperceptibly—when his eyes sharpen and his voice steadies into something older and more certain, people can’t help but feel as though the legend of Captain Thunder didn’t fade with time, but somehow found a quiet way to keep walking among them.