Writing | Interconnectedness, Coincidence, Synchronicity, or a Convergence Point

The premise of Mission 3: Convergence Point is that, over time, Lower Manhattan’s bedrock holds a historical record of human suffering in its layers from past incidents. If a disaster strikes the area today, memories and visions may emerge from the bedrock through a rupture in time and space. People with the ability may enter that time.

A main character of that book is a Black, skilled dressmaker from Charleston. She came to Manhattan in 1910 to further her career as a designer. I was researching whether the Greenwich Village/Union Square area would be a good place for her storefront. In March 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire caused an uproar in the garment industry. After the horrific fire, there was a push to move the lofts further from Fifth Avenue. In the prequel, Sophia Meets Pedro, the characters investigate the garment strikes and the Shirtwaist Fire after an event at the Jefferson Market Library. The library once housed holding cells, the Night Court, and the Magistrate’s Court used for the Shirtwaist trials.

In Mission 2: Unexpected Visitors, a great storm casts Elijah Kingman, Jr.’s enslaved twins from the Dismal Swamp in 1834 to Central Park Zoo in 2022. Super Sleuths Sophia and Pedro find them and vow to help them.

At an Underground Railroad Seminar at Sophia and Pedro’s school, they introduced their friends as Jeb and Liza Johns-Kingman from North Carolina. Their teacher is a direct descendant of Elijah. She has seen a runaway ad with their spitting image. She shows them Elijah’s diary. Some entries cover enslaved Elijah Sr., who fought in the American Revolution. They freed him for his service, and he relocated to Five Points. There are entries about Elijah Jr’s life after the twins’ disappearance, including the 1834 Race Riots and Seneca Village.

I didn’t intend to write books about subjects that all lie within the Manhattan bedrock. So, is it coincidence, synchronicity, or convergence points?