"Twice in a Lifetime" was not the first Back to the Future related story I wrote, and it was far from the last. Prior to its publication in 1993, I had found that I was very much alone in my interest in this genre, at least within the SF fan and fanzine community. When I first met Nora Mayers and discovered our mutual liking for BTTF, I was quite happy to help her bring out her BTTF fanzine, 88 Miles Per Hour, in any way I could; this story was the result. Unfortunately, 88 MPH and other BTTF material I published in my own fanzines did not meet with what one could call enthusiastic response from the fanzine community. I guess  Nora and I were just ahead of our times, so to speak.

There's at least one little in-joke in this story: turpentine, acetone, and benzine, a.k.a. "The Dip" from Robert Zemeckis' very amusing film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I think maybe two people who had read this story and commented on it actually caught that. And finally... Someone once asked why I chose to have Doc and Marty meet when Marty was eight. It all has to do with a line in the first movie: "If you guys ever have kids and when one of 'em is eight, he accidentally sets fire to the living room rug...." That's what being an imitative little kid can get you.