Killing of Yesterday

Amidst the many fantastic stories within The Temporal Element, I slipped in a short piece of my own, which I wrote a few years ago.  "The Killing of Yesterday," is part time-travel, and part detective story.  The basic premise of this one is that a time travel police force would have to exist to combat criminal activity if and when we develop the ability to venture into the past.  There are some other twists and turns to this story, along with some theoretical science, though I'll stop there.  I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might not have read it yet.

This story may have further significance in the future, as I've based an entire novel on it.  "The Time Traveler's Illegal Harem" also features agent Jack Baker, albeit in a far different situation than we see in the short story.  The concept of that book involves him being framed for various changes to the timeline, and his attempts to vindicate himself with the help of some ladies he's rescued from various points in history (hence the title).  It isn't quite as scandalous as the title might imply.

The Time Traveler's Illegal Harem is currently sitting on a shelf, as I'm not satisfied with its current form.  It was my first NaNoWiMo novel in 2010, so there are a few plot points I'd like to edit, and I simply haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

I've written a lot of different time-travel stories over the years, and that is one reason I decided to put together The Temporal Element.  Everyone loves a good time travel story, but there are so few collections of short stories available on this theme.  Who knows, maybe someday there will also be room for a "Temporal Element 2."  Time will tell.

Edits, Forthcoming Releases, and There's Still Room

The Summer Shootout writing contest will be kicking off a week from today, and there is still room for those who want to join.  With publication on the line, any writer who has the time should really give it a shot.  The sign-up thread with all the details is here.

Well, it has been an interesting week, with the Independence Day parade, and all the little happenings in my life.  I've managed to get a bit of editing done on several things, though new writing has been limited.

The final edits for The Curse of Selwood were completed a few days ago, and soon we'll be seeing the first sample chapters appearing online, as we build up to the book's publication.  Unlike West of the Warlock, which had most of the story released for free, this second installment will not be given away.  Even with the large amount of unreleased material that still exists in the first book, there is a complete story told via the free episodes, so people are less inclined to purchase the remainder of it (though we are still selling quite a few).  With the Curse of Selwood, the plan is to release enough of it to give everyone a generous sample online (perhaps as many as 6 chapters), and the balance will be left for those who want to buy the published book and finish reading the tale.

I have also finished my last round of author edits for the 3rd book in the West of the Warlock series.  In addition to polishing it up to the best of my ability, I have given the book a new title, which I expect far surpasses it's previous moniker, "The Six-Gun Conjurer."  Henceforth, the book will be entitled, "The Man Who Shot Thomas Edison."  I know, that gives a little something away, but it also makes you wonder, doesn't it?  I expect the label alone will spur a number of sales for this exciting work, which I consider to be the best book in the series thus far.  We're still looking at an early 2013 release for this one, possibly around springtime.

With any luck, the editing process will help to spur my creative juices anew.  I'm going to tackle revisions on the largely unfinished Time Traveler's Illegal Harem this weekend, and see what can be done to bring it up to publishable status.  It's a very complicated tale, one that deserves to be told.  There aren't enough Time Travel stories out there, in my opinion.  Let's see if we can't remedy that.

4th of July Parade bonus picture:  Busta the Clown.
I'd pick him in a fistfight over Stephen King any day!

The Time Traveler's Illegal Harem (Peek 1)

As NaNoWriMo 2011 comes to a close, I'd like to take a moment to look back at last year, to the novel I was writing at that time.  I won the NaNoWriMo 2010 with a convoluted hard science fiction piece called "The Time Traveler's Illegal Harem," which is currently waiting for a thorough revision before I place it on the market.  I expect to get around to polishing it sometime this winter, but in the meantime I'll share this opening scene that doesn't need too much work. I expect it will pique your interest!

     The market was closing early these days, as the chills of autumn drove shoppers away.  The lingering light of dusk grew closer, as Winona Snapwick stowed her wares inside the travel trailer she used as a shop.  The aging box on wheels was all she owned, since her father had passed away during the last flu pandemic.  Of course, he'd never been very healthy, not since catching polio at sixteen.  He'd always walked with a limp, but never complained.

     Before closing the last cabinet, Winona paused to look at her wares.  The ticking timepieces held in cheap cases were beautiful in her eyes.  Some of these modern marvels she'd built herself, and others were her father's work from before his death.  All held hours of careful craftsmanship in their design, though few people could afford such extravagance.  These days, people were relying more on the municipal clocks to tell time, if they cared at all.  Those in the country kept schedules by the sun, and had no need for fancy watches.  It all left Winona's pocketbook light.

     Stowing the final case in the back of the trailer, Winona closed the shutters and clipped the locks, ready to haul her goods back to her place of residence.  "Home" was currently a little nook in the wall downtown, which doubled as her workshop.  There was running water, and city gas, so she could keep clean and warm, and it was affordable.  Still, it wasn't much, and food could be sparse.

     With everything secured for transport, Winona walked over to the livery stable, to pick up her aging mare.  Digging into her purse on the walk over, she picked out the last few coins she had, ready to pay the horse's daily boarding fee.  That money should have been for her own dinner, and she knew if things didn't improve soon she'd have to say goodbye to her equine companion.  How would she haul her wares to market after that?

     'What a damnable existence this modern world has become!' she thought, stepping up to the open stable doors.  Before she could look inside, she found herself restrained by strong arms around the waist.  She inhaled to scream, only to find a heavy cloth shoved over her face, muffling her pleas.

     "Sweet little thing like you ought not be wanderin' alone at night," a gruff man's voice said.

     A second man giggled awkwardly at his companion's statement.

     The cloth covering Winona's mouth was yanked tight, pulling her face up to the stars.  The final rays of dusk were fading, and the twinkling specks were poking out of the night sky.  It had gotten so dark, so fast!

     Winona was used to being the last one out of the marketplace.  There was usually a straggler or two who wanted to gawk at her watches, and that sometimes proved profitable, though not lately.  Her proclivity to linger into the evening was now proving to be her undoing.

     Was there anyone around who could save her?  She doubted it.  Fate hadn't been kind lately, and there was no reason for her to think her luck would change.

     But God had not forsaken her yet.

     As Winona kicked and thrashed in a vain attempt to dislodge her kidnappers, another voice halted their movements.  "Is that any way to treat a lady?"

     "This ain't none of your business, strangey," one of the kidnappers replied with a nasally voice.

     Winona felt the arms around her chest slide away, allowing her face to turn down from the sky.  Looking forward over the gag that covered her cheeks and nose, she saw a dark figure silhouetted in the pale moonlight.

     "I'm making it my business," the stranger said, standing his ground.  "That woman's coming with me."

     The last sentence dashed Winona's optimism.  From the sound of it, her would-be savior was just competing for the chance to rape her, too.  Still, a little voice in her head said he'd be a better companion than the two thugs carrying her.

     "You ain't takin' nothing, dude," the nasally man answered.  He reached under his jacket and drew a revolver from its holster.

     Before the man could aim his weapon, the stranger shot first.  In the blink of an eye, a sliver of light streaked from the weapon in his hand.  The beam soaked into the chest of the thug, and the would-be rapist collapsed without a sound, leaving his companion on his own.

     "What in the Hell?" the gruff thug mumbled, glancing over at his comrade.

     Seeing an opportunity, Winona struck back.  Placing an elbow into her kidnapper's gut, followed with a swift kick to the groin, she managed to loosen his grasp and break free.  She didn't wait to get her bearings before running across the darkened pavement of the marketplace.  She had to get away, and it didn't matter where.  Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the thug gripping his crotch, as the stranger stepped forward and shot him with his silent weapon.

     Even as she continued to run, Winona thought about her would-be savior, and that strange weapon he employed.  She'd never seen anything like it.  No only was its shot silent, but the entire mechanism was mute.  No cylinder or slide clicking or clacking, no hammer cocking, yet it killed like lightning.  What kind of magic was that?