Macabre Macaroni for everyone

All the Time in the World

I stepped into the puddle then broke into a sprint. Maybe the wet leather would help me keep my footing as I headed into the cracks inside the glacier. I grabbed a torch as I passed by my camp, and increased my speed.

The roaring of the cave bear told me to increase my speed. Maybe he’s afraid of fire. All animals hate fire. Lighting the torch, meant stopping and using my flint.

I twisted and turned, looking for ever-narrower cracks, but none of them would get me out of the bear’s reach. His claws were like daggers. His arms had the strength of a backhoe. Who was I fooling? A bit of ice wasn’t going to stop him. Running was my only option.

As my strength faded, his grunts echoed off the walls of the icy caverns. He’d stopped roaring, and was focused on pursuit. On open turf, I’d be dead now. Just keep moving.

I focused on the watch at my wrist. Fifteen minutes and it would take me back, only it appeared to be dead. Frozen somehow in this prehistoric tundra. Move the arms, and the legs will follow. I passed the remains of a half-eaten stag moose, and kept moving. These wooly hides weren’t made for running.

Bears can run all day and night. If this remains a race, he wins. Eventually. Maybe he’ll get distracted. There was meat in my camp, maybe the stag moose will stop him. The sounds of his grunting strides were gone.

I tucked my watch under my armpit. Sounds gross, but it’s warmer than the outside air. Besides, all this running has it downright hot.

I stopped and showered the oily grass and wool with sparks. The torch simmered to life. A few hot breaths of air, and it burst into flames. I spun around and faced my attacker, but he was nowhere to be found.

I retrieved the watch and held it closer to the flame. It immediately fogged up, then froze. I stumbled down the crevasse and around a corner until I came to a door. Not a hide over a cave, but an actual metal door.

Nothing but a weird blue glow behind me as the flames flickered off the ice. No grunting or heavy pads striking the frozen muck. I touched the door in disbelief. It was real.

It turned the doorknob and went into a room. Two dozen men sat around a boardroom table. Some wore Napoleonic uniforms, or antiquated driving coats with goggles. One wore a leather football helmet.

On the opposite side one wore a form fitting spacesuit, his helmet placed on the table in front of him. Another in one of those pixelated camouflage Army uniforms.

At the head of the table, a man in a Polo shirt and khakis said, “We’ve been waiting for you. Take your seat on the historical side.” When he looked up, it was like looking into a mirror.

I glanced around the table. Various whiskers, glasses, and clothing confused me at first, but every man at the table was me.

“One of you knuckleheads really screwed up,” the version at the head of the table said. “You’ve messed with the timeline so much, I never invented the time machine. Hell, I might not have ever been born.”

“You can’t know that,” I said. “There could be other time travelers.” I pointed at the space traveling version of myself.

“There are no time travelers, even in the far future,” the astronaut said.

“I’ll do you one better,” the head man said. “When one of us travelled to the future, we could not have screwed up the historical timeline. It had to be someone on your side of the table.”

“This can’t be possible. I don’t remember doing any of the things your clothing suggest,” I said.

The driver pulled off his goggles, and placed them and his driving cap on the table. “How’s the bear?”

“How could you know about him?”

“Because I’m you, idiot. You were the first trip. I was there with the bear, and at Waterloo, and several other places. I remember, where you cannot.”

The head man slapped his hand on the table. “We are not here to assign blame. We are all the same person, and all equally to blame here. We’re here to solve the problem.” He stood up and paced away, then turned back. “We all know how to build a time machine. Let’s take stock of what we have available.”

“I have my watch,” I said.

All the other versions of me held up their wrists to show off their own watches, or pulled pocket watches from their coats.

“Let’s start there,” the head man said. “We have two dozen time-changing watches in various stages of improvement. I have cotton cloth, a brass belt buckle, leather shoes, a duct tape wallet with four dollars, and some plastic credit cards.” He pointed to me. “You have leather, skins, wood, and for now fire.”

“What’s the point?” I asked.

“Because all we have are the items in this room. Whether it’s chain mail, gunpowder, canvas, glass, whatever. We have to use these items to build a time machine of our own.” He touched his own chest. “Then one of us has to go back and convince me… not to take the trip that caused all this.”

“How will we know which trip it was?” I asked.

“One thing at a time. Let’s build the machine first. Then we’re going to have some detective work to do.” He slapped his hands together. “Shall we get started?”

Extra Innings, on #LisaBurtonRadio

Welcome all you time travelers and baseball fanatics. You’ve landed on Lisa Burton Radio, the only show that brings you interviews with the characters you love. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl, and today my very special guest is Joe McLean. Joe has a bit of a problem, and is hoping that talking about it will give him some clarity. “Welcome to the show, Joe.”

“Hello Lisa. I’m glad to be here, although these days, I’m not sure exactly where here is.”

“Tell us a little about yourself.”

“Well, I’m from Langerton, Pennsylvania. I am currently an accountant at a family business, just not my family. I’m divorced and a bit out of sorts these days. Thank goodness for baseball. Without it, I’m not sure what I would do.”

“Lot of baseball fans around here, Joe. You’re certainly among friends.”

“That’s great to hear. It’s a sad day in my town for baseball. They’ve torn down Maxwell Stadium. It’s been around since the 1940s. Generation of McLeans have had season tickets for every Langerton Chiefs game. It just won’t be the same in the new stadium.”

“That’s sad. There is so much history in those old stadiums. It isn’t just the events on the field, it’s the marriage proposals, the first dates, the last time with parents.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, Lisa. That’s why I decided I wanted to buy some piece of memorabilia from the old place before it was demolished. I spent way too much money on an old stadium seat. My older brother gave me a hard time about it, but, deep down, I think he understands. My brother Mike helped me mount it on a carpeted platform right in front of my TV in my apartment. Now I can watch games from a treasured piece of furniture from my childhood. Of course, I found out that the seat was much more than a place to sit..”

“How’s that, Joe?”

“Well…I mean…I can go places. If I want to go back to a game, I just grab a program book and I’m there.”

“I mean we talk to all kinds of people on this show, but are you sure?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I’m sure. I tested it out by going back to save a boy that was hit by a foul ball in a game about ten years ago. It worked, I was able to save him. In the original timeline, he ended up having disabilities from a skull fracture. All I did was buy him a helmet as a souvenir and he came out unscathed…mostly.”

“You helped that young man live a different life. A better life. That has to be an awesome feeling.”

“You would think so. I’ve found, however, that you can’t change the past without unforeseen changes in the present. The boy grew up to be a successful, sought after, high school athlete. As it turned out, one coach was interested in more than his talents. He also had an affair with the boy’s mother and broke up the family.”

“Okay, but you couldn’t foresee that. You still helped him.”

“I know. It’s just made me cautious before I try anything further. There are things about my own life. I just…I just don’t know..”

“This is kind of like the lottery game. You know, if you won the lottery what would you do? In this case, if you could go back and change something, what would it be?”

“There are three things, Lisa. First, my job. I work in a family business and do the lion’s share of the complicated work for no credit and no advancement. Second, my marriage failed. My wife and I were both obsessed with our careers. I think, if I had put in more effort, it might have turned out differently. Then, there’s my family. My mom and dad both died from easily avoidable situations. They were taken from us too young..”

“So, have you tried it yet?”

“Well, I have. I’ve tried a few times, but the best I could do was fixing one or two things. I actually tried going back to a game that took place before I was born. I looked in the mirror and I was my own grandfather. You haven’t experienced strange until a younger version of your grandmother tries getting frisky with you..”

“It’s great that you get that kind of chance. It would be wonderful if you could work it all out.”

“Well, so far. It’s just not working. I’ve been successful, rich, homeless, happy, unhappy. As I said, I can’t get all of the pieces to come together correctly. I’ll just have to keep trying.”

“Maybe it’s kind of like Tetris. You have to twist them all together to fill all the holes.”

“That’s a good comparison. Although, sometimes it feels more like Whack a Mole.”

“Joe, you have to know that we’re all cheering for you. We want you to figure it out and find your ultimate happiness. Any last thoughts for our listeners today?”

“I appreciate it, Lisa. For any of you out there that think your life is hopeless, when you have an opportunity to make a positive change, go for it. I plan on continuing to go for it for as long as it takes.

“You can learn all about Joe in the new book, Extra Innings, by Don Massenzio. I’ll post all the stats after I go off the air today. Baseball… stats… get it. Whatever.

“Don’t forget to help me pay the bills around here. Use those sharing buttons and help Don and Joe spread the word. Don has always been a strong supporter of this show, and has reblogged many of these interviews on his own site. Today would be a good time to say thanks by returning the favor.

***

Extra Innings – Joe McLean hates his life. A lonely, divorced, middle-aged man, stuck in a cramped apartment, the only bright spot in Joe’s life is cheering on his hometown baseball team. Now, the local stadium, the place of many childhood and adult memories is being replaced. Joe desperately wants a piece of this iconic venue to preserve his memories and have some memorabilia from his happier past. That’s when unusual things begin to happen, and Joe begins to rethink the direction his life has taken. Can Joe take a different path in life? Can he use the special ability that he has acquired to change the course of his life? Will he realize the truth about old adage, you can never go home again? Follow the twists and turns in this supernatural story, Extra Innings, to find out.

Bio

Don Massenzio was born in Syracuse, New York to first generation Italian American parents. He is an avid reader. Some of his favorite authors are Harlan Coben, David Morrell, Stephen King, Jonathan Kellerman, John Grisham, Hugh Howey, and C.S. Boyack. His favorite book of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird.

He started writing as a way to combat the long hours of travel and numerous hotel stays that are part of the ‘glamorous’ world of corporate life. He uses writing as a therapeutic outlet to combat my homesickness.

His first published book, Frankly Speaking, was the first in a series of books focused on the character, Frank Rozzani, a Florida private detective. The series is a throwback to the days of pulp detective novels with a tip of the hat to Jim Rockford from the 70’s television show, The Rockford Files.

He moved to Jacksonville, Florida 23 years ago where he currently lives with his wife, daughter, and three dogs.

Link for Extra Innings:

http://mybook.to/ExtraInnings

This is a universal link that will bring the user to the appropriate Amazon site in whatever country they’re clicking it from.

Social Media/Web Site:

www.donmassenzio.com – Blog

https://www.facebook.com/authordonmassenzio/

https://twitter.com/dmassenzio

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00JJVN0UI

Time to Lie, on #LisaBurtonRadio

Hey there all you time bandits and meddlers of history. Welcome all of you young people trying to find a place in the modern world. You’ve landed on Lisa Burton Radio, the only show that brings you characters from the books you love.

I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl, and my special guest today is Landon Bridges. He’s a college student who thinks he may have stumbled upon something that will unlock the secret of time travel. “Welcome to the show, Landon.”

“Hello Lisa! Thanks for having me.”

“Okay Landon, Let’s get into the science of this thing. How is time travel actually going to work?”

“Here’s the thing Lisa, hold on to your hat, everyone can time travel. My theory, and I believe this to be accurate, is that because the brain is both a biochemical and electrical machine, all neural activity results in electrical signals that are of a specific frequency.

“Because of that, all of us have our own frequency, or rather, our brains have their own unique, genetic electrical signature. You know how you have to tune a radio to a particular frequency to hear what a specific station is broadcasting? Our brain is permanently tuned to our own frequency. You know how they say TV signals broadcast through the air don’t dissipate, but continue to travel into outer space forever? My theory is that the chemical-electrical signature, or signal, that your brain creates at a specific moment in time doesn’t dissipate or cease to exist. I think it continues to revolve around its locus of origin, your brain. If you imagine a past situation vividly enough, your brain is likely to have the same chemical and electrical signals that it did the first time, and voila! You find yourself tuned to that moment in your past. Unfortunately, because your future doesn’t exist yet, there’s no way to travel to the future.”

“It sounds really interesting. What will you do first? That seems to be a popular thought.”

“Time travel is tricky. If you change something in the past, you might return to a future you don’t want. It’s that whole butterfly effect thing. Eventually I’d love to become good enough to prevent some terrible disasters and things like that.”

“What do you hope to encounter there?”

“Before I tackle the big stuff, I’d like to iron out a few wrinkles in my own life. I lost my Dad when I was young and well, that really screwed me up. I’m a guy with Daddy issues. It’s a miracle I didn’t grow up to become a stripper. I’d really like to go back and save his life.”

“Have you put any thought into whether this is a one way trip or not? Maybe your technology will be completely out of sink in another time.”

“That’s the beauty of my time travel method! No technology needed. Your brain is the time machine! As long as you don’t get amnesia while you’re in the past. The only technology problem is that when you get to the past your cell phone doesn’t work because the sim card in it didn’t exist. There’s no calling for help in the past!”

“Hold that thought. We have a caller today. Hello, caller. You’re on the air with Lisa and Landon.”

“Yeah, I’m Future Landon too, only I’m stuck in my past and his present. I need Landon not to screw everything up so I can get back to a future that I recognize.”

“Wow, sounds like you don’t age well. How about it Landon? Will you accept advice from your future self?”

“Listen Lisa, this guy is half my problem. Every time I go back into my, our, past to fix something, he tries to stop me. I don’t know what he did growing up, but I’m trying to change things so I don’t turn into the huge asshole that he… I seem to be. Oops. Sorry about the language. If that’s a problem, I can go back in time and not say that.”

“No, that’s OK Landon. That’s what we want. The raw, honest truth. But, ignoring advice from your future self sounds risky to me. Your older self has more experience and if he says something is a bad thing, wouldn’t it be in your best interest to listen?”

“You know Lisa, just because he’s from my future doesn’t mean he’s right about everything. Our ancestors believed the world was flat and were afraid of electricity. All progress comes with an element of risk. He’s a miserable old bastard that doesn’t want me to have any fun. Just because he screwed up his life, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to make the same mistakes.”

“Listen you little punk! I’m from your future. You want to know why I’m miserable? It’s because of all the stupid shit I did when I was your age. I’m trying to stop you, to help me! Do you want to lose Siobhan the way I did?”

“Whoa! Hold on! Who’s Siobhan? Landon, do you have a love interest you’re not telling us about?”

“Yes, Siobhan is my girlfriend and he seems to be doing his best to screw that up too.”

“Listen fellas, you both may have all the time in the world, but my radio show doesn’t time travel, yet. Whatever you decide, Landon, I wish you all the best. Our audience can find out about Landon’s choices in the book Time To Lie, by Phil Taylor. I’ll post all the pertinents on the website after the show.

“Don’t forget to use those sharing buttons today. I’m sure Phil and Landon would do it for you, when your character appears on the next Lisa Burton Radio.”

***

Remember that time you dated that complete nutcase and said to yourself, I wish Future Me would have come back and warned me about this. Remember when you and your drunk friends said, If it’s such a bad idea, someone would come back from the future and stop us, right before it blew up in your face and got you in trouble? It would be great to have someone from the future to guide your life, wouldn’t it?

Landon Bridges’ life hasn’t always been perfect, but now he’s in college and determined to make a fresh start. Things are going great, until He shows up. 

A mysterious stranger intervenes to help Landon out of a terrible, possibly life changing situation, but what does he want? Why does he keep showing up? Who is he? Landon’s esteemed professor suddenly seems like a flake. Landon’s briefly idyllic college world seems to be spinning out of control. Landon, in trying to regain his sanity and his grip on reality, discovers that he has talents and allies that he never imagined. But is what they’re telling him the truth? 

Phil Taylor is a father of three, husband to one, and life-long smart ass to many. He has a Master’s degree in Psychology and spent many years working in the field of mental health before realizing that stringing words together might be a little bit more fun. His other two fiction novels, White Picket Prisons and The Sneaker Tree are dedicated to the life-long friends that shaped his life. His humor blog, The Phil Factor, at thirteen years, is one of the longest running blogs in the world.

The truth is just the lie we’ve chosen to believe, and yours may be different than mine.

Purchase Link: Available in Kindle, paperback and Audible: https://www.amazon.com/Time-Landon-Bridges-Story-Book-ebook/dp/B075BDTBZB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

Social media links:

Blog: https://thephilfactor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorPhilTaylor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePhilFactor

Meet Michele Jones

Michele Jones is one of the masterminds behind AIW Press, and the two anthologies I’ve been invited to participate in. She’s also the author of one of the stories inside Quantum Wanderlust. She’s here to give us a behind the scenes of putting an anthology together. Let’s make her feel welcome and use those sharing buttons today. Thanks.

***

Hey Craig, thanks for having me. By the way, I love Lisa’s radio show. You have very interesting guests. If you don’t mind, I thought we could talk about putting together our newest anthology, Quantum Wanderlust.

I believe there are some similarities between producing an anthology and writing a successful story or novel, or producing a live radio show. It all comes down to planning.

Our team meets and discusses ideas and themes for upcoming anthologies. We’ve done holiday, westerns, and wanted something different. Thus, Quantum Wanderlust was born. Of course, the ideas that didn’t make the cut were filed for future use.

Once we have chosen the theme, we develop the concept that all submissions must adhere to. All of our anthologies have guidelines the selected authors must abide by, theme, word count, and of course they must not be offensive to the readers or the participating authors, therefore, we stay away from political and religious topics when producing the anthology.

After hashing out the details, we have a call for submissions. This includes reaching out to the authors that participated in previous anthologies. We provide the details of the anthology, such as theme, word count, deadline, editing process, and marketing.

After we have commitments from the authors, we create an online forum for information pertaining to the anthology. This is where we discuss the progress of the stories and the marketing we will be doing.

While that is happening in the forefront, we work behind the scenes producing the marketing material. We gather the author bio, and any links they provide for their work. As the stories come in we start the editing process. We review all content to make sure it adheres to our rules, and edit for grammar. Once completed, all edits are returned to the author for approval. Don’t be alarmed, any edit that we do will not change the author’s voice or the plot of the story.

Once we have all the finished pieces, we start the layout for the compilation. We come up with a one or two line short synopsis for marketing and we pull a quote to introduce the story.

I’ve read all the stories in Quantum Wanderlust. Craig chose to travel back in time and came up with a great plot twist in his story, Swift Wings. I chose to travel to the future in my story, The Fabric of Time, where one snag in the fabric can alter the future.

Don’t forget to pick up your free copy of Quantum Wanderlust at all the major sites. These thirteen authors will take you on some interesting time travel adventures. Oh, and if you don’t mind, please leave a review.

***

What if you had all the time in the world?

Thirteen authors answer that question with short stories about time travel. Go back in time to right a wrong, forward to see the future. No jump is too large, no method unfeasible, no lesson beyond learning.

• Visit the past to learn a family secret.

• See the formation of a future dictatorship.

• Assume responsibility for weaving the fabric of time.

• Travel back in time to WWII.

• Use a family heirloom to solve problems.

• Wear an inheritance to visit ancestors.

• Leave a dystopian future for the hope of something better.

• Make history come true in an unexpected way.

• Fight evil fairies to protect a chosen angel.

• Live with the childhood memory of visitors until the day they arrive.

• Seek medical help for a memory issue and get way more than bargained for.

• Discover that with great power comes great responsibility.

• Uncover the secrets of a pharaoh’s tomb and curse.

Do the characters observe or interact? Is the outcome better or worse than the original timeline? Read these stories to learn how far they go, how they get there, and what happens when they return.

The scope is virtually limitless, definitely timeless.

Pick up your free copy here

Bio:

Michele Jones lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and two spoiled dogs.

Along with her writing, family, cooking, and sports are her passions. She is a diehard Penguin, Steeler, and Pirate fan… really, a diehard anything-Pittsburgh fan.

Michele writes memoirs, short stories, romance, and poetry, but her passion lies in writing paranormal, suspense, and thrillers.

You can follow her online at www.michele-jones.com

Connect online:

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Published Works | Goodreads

Guest Interview with Lisa Burton, Personal Assistant to Author C.S. Boyack, on Quantum Wanderlust

Lisa got an invitation to Michele Jones’ site today to talk about Quantum Wanderlust. This one is more like a coffee chat about my story and Michele’s story. Please visit her site and see how it turned out.

***

“Hi everyone. I’ve got radio personality and interviewer, Lisa Burton here with us today. Let’s give her a warm welcome.”

“Hi, Lisa and welcome. I’m super excited to have you stop by today.”

“Hi, Michele, so glad to finally meet you. I’m here today to talk about Quantum Wanderlust.This is a collection of short stories by thirteen awesome authors, and all of them deal with time travel.”

Keep reading here. We explore a couple of the stories in the anthology.

Quantum Wanderlust, on #LisaBurtonRadio

Welcome to a very special edition of Lisa Burton Radio. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl, and we have something fun going on today. Thirteen outstanding authors have teamed together to bring you an anthology of short stories called Quantum Wanderlust.

In the interest of full disclosure, Craig has a story in the collection too.

Today, we’re chatting with Alberta who is an aerospace engineer. “Welcome to the show, Alberta.”

“Thank you, Lisa. I’m excited to be on your show. I’ve never been on the radio before. And call me Abbi, please. Alberta makes me think of my mother when she is angry with me.”

“What led you to working in the aerospace industry?”

“I’ve always been quite the science geek. When my schoolmates were playing with Barbie and plastic jewelry, I was building spaceships with my brother’s Lego. I never really had to decide what to do after high school, Polytech in Turin sounded like the only viable option. After that I applied to ESA, the European Space Agency, for an internship and the rest is history. There are so many possibilities in space, you can’t even imagine. Or maybe you can. But what really attracted me was the travel itself. The challenge is covering unimaginable distances as fast as possible, bringing astronauts as near as possible to the speed of light. Actually, getting there would change our perception of space but also of time.”

“Of time? How so?”

“You need to think about time as another kind of dimension, just like space. Einstein taught us that everything constantly travels through space-time at the speed of light. This motion is usually ‘spread’ on these two dimensions and it can be distributed differently. If an object is still in space, it’s only moving through time. When it moves in space too, its motion through time gets slower. This slowing down is infinitesimal in day-to-day life, so we don’t feel it. But when the speed of an object gets near to the speed of light, its motion in time slows down significantly. Are you still with me?”

“I think so. You’re saying that when your speed increases, the flow of time slows down.”

“Exactly! The point is time is going at the usual speed at your starting point, so if you go back after a while, time would have passed much faster for those who stayed behind. It would be like going into the future. And this is amazing! If we can reverse the process too, we could go back and forth in time. I can’t stop thinking about the possibilities. We should devote so much more to this kind of research.”

“Abbi, that sounds like it’s almost an obsession. What caused you to dedicate your entire career to time travel and all it could bring?”

“Well, it’s– Usually I don’t talk about this. People tend to regard me as a mad person when I do, but the fact is I actually travelled in time once. I was only five years old. My brother and I were playing in the garden at my parent’s house in Italy. We went into my father’s shack and, when we came out, boom! We were in the future. My memories are a bit foggy and I discovered what really happened only recently, but it was life-changing for me. I had a glimpse of the future, my future. I know what was bound to happen, I knew what I was destined for. How many people can say the same? From then on, all I had to do was work to make that future real. And that’s what I did.”

“My bio indicates that Pietro didn’t handle this quite the way you did. He seems to think you shouldn’t interfere in the process. Does this cause any stress between the two of you?”

“My brother is – how can I put it – quite unscientific in his approach to life. I work with facts and figures, he prefers to deal with feelings and purpose. Pete wasn’t as curious as I was to understand the how, he was more preoccupied with the why. He doesn’t approve of my work and tried over and over to talk me out of this. I want to make time travel real, he is sure the chance to go back and forth through time shouldn’t be accessible to everyone. He says it could be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. But who are we to decide for everyone? Needless to say, Pete wasn’t happy to discover I was working on a prototype of the time machine.”

“Wait… You already have a time machine?”

“Well, sort of. ESTEC is a great place for an aerospace engineer to work, but time travel isn’t exactly their priority. So I started working with a group of colleagues who were interested in my ideas. We borrowed a place and some equipment–“

“Borrowed?”

“There is a lot of unused space in the basement under ESTEC exhibition, you know. And there is a lot of scrap material unsuitable for the main projects. Let’s say we hate wasting. When things became bigger we found a… sponsor. I can’t reveal his name but I can tell you, he sees the potential in our research and he is passionate about this kind of science.”

“You’ve really put a lot into this, and I hope it works out for you, and for childhood Alberta too. Don’t you find it interesting that you’re creating a loop for yourself? Childhood Alberta shows up, adult Abbi has to help her return to her own time. This fuels the interest in time travel research and starts all over again.”

“We made great strides in this field, but we still know very little. I’d like to make further tests on this, to see if this loop thing is something we can change or if it’s beyond our control. Would it have changed anything had I stayed in Amsterdam that day, had I never met my child-self? Or space-time continuum would have found a way to bring me here anyway? I know this sounds a lot like talking about fate, and it doesn’t sound a lot like a scientist, but great discoveries require something like a leap of faith. Just think about what time travel could mean for future generations. We could have a look at the past and learn from our mistakes or see the outcome of our decisions in the future. I’m not saying everyone should have this chance, but small groups of selected people sent at the right time in the right place could work wonders.”

“It’s an exciting discovery, no doubt. Whatever the ramifications, the world just changed and I, for one, can’t wait to see what develops. Any closing remarks for our guests today?”

“Oh, well. I’m not… I don’t know… My brother is the one to go to for motivational speeches.”

“Don’t worry about it, Abbi. You can always come back in time and redo the show so you can leave some awesome remarks.

“Please use those sharing buttons on your way out today. Quantum Wanderlust is a free book, and all the authors would appreciate you helping spread the word. I’ll include a purchase link on the website, but since it’s free it would really help if you could pick your copy up today. Clusters of downloads really help with Amazon’s rankings.

“If you’re feeling extra generous, you could add it to your reading list on Goodreads too.

“For Quantum Wanderlust, and Lisa Burton Radio, I’m Lisa Burton.”

***

What if you had all the time in the world?

Thirteen authors answer that question with short stories about time travel. Go back in time to right a wrong, forward to see the future. No jump is too large, no method unfeasible, no lesson beyond learning.

• Visit the past to learn a family secret.

• See the formation of a future dictatorship.

• Assume responsibility for weaving the fabric of time.

• Travel back in time to WWII.

• Use a family heirloom to solve problems.

• Wear an inheritance to visit ancestors.

• Leave a dystopian future for the hope of something better.

• Make history come true in an unexpected way.

• Fight evil fairies to protect a chosen angel.

• Live with the childhood memory of visitors until the day they arrive.

• Seek medical help for a memory issue and get way more than bargained for.

• Discover that with great power comes great responsibility.

• Uncover the secrets of a pharaoh’s tomb and curse.

Do the characters observe or interact? Is the outcome better or worse than the original timeline? Read these stories to learn how far they go, how they get there, and what happens when they return.

The scope is virtually limitless, definitely timeless.

Irene’s story in Quantum Wanderlust is called Children of Time.

Irene Aprile has been writing since she was a child, but she decided to pursue her passion only recently. During her detour from writing, she read tons of novels, took a degree in Chemistry and got married to an amazing patient man who puts up with all her notebooks and papers scattered all around their house.

Now she lives a double life: chemist by day, writer at night. She loves many kinds of stories and works with multiple genres. Her chick-lit Secrets of a Handbag is due later this year. In the meantime, she is working on Undercover, the first volume in her science-fiction/spy story series.

When she isn’t chained to a laboratory counter or her laptop, she loves spending time with her family, shopping for books, handbags and shoes (more than she can read, use and wear), and falling in love with TV series.

You can get in touch with her through her website http://ireneaprile.com or through these social media links:

E-mail | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

Lisa Burton talks about Quantum Wanderlust

Hi, everyone! As you probably read, I recently participated in another anthology published by AIW Press. Today, I’m delighted to welcome back Lisa Burton the robot girl. Personal assistant to author C. S. Boyack, etc. Spokesmodel for his books, etc. Read more here

Try out a FREE anthology

I’m proud to be part of this anthology with a talented collection of authors. This time the theme is all about time travel, which is a science fiction standard. How could I not say yes?

I’d never tackled the subject before, and was a bit apprehensive. The publisher didn’t put any restrictions on me as far as travelling into the future or past. As long as time travel was the basis, I was left to my own devices.

I struggled with coming up with a cowboy story, but it just never came together for me. Then the Muse visited, and I changed directions. I hope you’ll enjoy Quantum Wanderlust, and I already have my copy.

The best part for you is this is a free collection. It is available everywhere, and this Universal Link will let you choose the vendor of your choice.

My story involved a lot of research, and I was at risk of becoming a victim of the Research Sirens. I have the dates right, the real people who appear in the story, specific locations, and even some of the research into the discovery.

Our book rankings depend upon a strange algorithm. My experience is that a cluster of downloads all at once will rank a book higher than the same number spread over a couple of weeks. I encourage you to pick up your copy right away, even if you wait for a snowy afternoon to read it. I already have mine.

Other things that help us are those sharing buttons at the bottom of this post. A few tweets and Facebook shares really mean a lot.

Of course, reviews matter too, and I would appreciate if you would leave one. This helps me garner more invitations to participate in future anthologies.

Now this wouldn’t be a C. S. Boyack project without some participation from my spokesmodel, Lisa Burton. Feel free to use Lisa’s poster as your telephone background or wherever you like. From Lisa’s poster, see if you can guess which story is mine.

Spring forward, fall back.

That reminds you of changing the clocks, right? When we talk about the passage of time, it’s usually in short bursts (seconds, minutes, hours) or slightly longer chunks (weeks, months, years).

What if it was limitless? What if you could go forward or back, in any size segment you wanted? Decades, centuries, eons? Would you go back and change your life? Go forward and see your future?

That’s the challenge thirteen writers faced.

Quantum Wanderlust is a time travel short story anthology. Characters travel forward and back—how far they go and how they get there make fascinating tales. Do they observe or interact? Is the outcome better or worse than the original timeline?

You’ve got to read the stories and see for yourself. The scope is virtually limitless, definitely timeless.

 

What if you had all the time in the world?

 

Thirteen authors answer that question with short stories about time travel. Go back in time to right a wrong, forward to see the future. No jump is too large, no method unfeasible, no lesson beyond learning.

 

• Visit the past to learn a family secret.
• See the formation of a future dictatorship.
• Assume responsibility for weaving the fabric of time.
• Travel back in time to WWII.
• Use a family heirloom to solve problems.
• Wear an inheritance to visit ancestors.
• Leave a dystopian future for the hope of something better.
• Make history come true in an unexpected way.
• Fight evil fairies to protect a chosen angel.
• Live with the childhood memory of visitors until the day they arrive.
• Seek medical help for a memory issue and get way more than bargained for.
• Discover that with great power comes great responsibility.
• Uncover the secrets of a pharaoh’s tomb and curse.

Do the characters observe or interact? Is the outcome better or worse than the original timeline? Read these stories to learn how far they go, how they get there, and what happens when they return.

The scope is virtually limitless, definitely timeless.

Dang that is a good looking sphinx. One more time, in case you missed the Universal Purchase Link.

I’m included in another Anthology

I was invited months ago to submit a story to an anthology. I spent a portion of the summer working on it, and we’re nearly ready to publish. Today is the cover reveal for Quantum Wanderlust. All the stories are about time travel in one way or another. Let me know what you think of the cover, and I’ll keep you posted when it actually publishes.

***

AIW Press is proud to reveal the cover for Quantum Wanderlust.

Spring Forward, Fall Back

That reminds you of changing the clocks, right? When we talk about the passage of time, it’s usually in short bursts—seconds, minutes, hours—. Or slightly longer chunks—weeks, months, years.

What if it was limitless? What if you could go forward or back, in any size segment you wanted? Decades, centuries, eons? Would you go back and change your life? Go forward and see your future?

We are excited to share thirteen short stories crafted by very talented authors that will take you forward and back through time.

If you could travel through time, what would you do?

Some success

Yesterday I tackled the Lisa Burton interviews. I have twenty-five applicants, but only nine who've delivered the questionnaire answers. (Oops, ten now.) I worked up six shticks and sent them out. This took me six hours. I'd like to have completed them all up to the minute, but I have to face some facts.

Six hours is an effort on my days off. It will take me twenty-five weeks to post them all, so I'm ahead of the game. I hope nobody gets disappointed, but I can only do so much. It adds up to a considerable word count too.

I used part of today to work my time travel story up to 2500 words. This one is taking me way too long, and I'm feeling some pressure. Truth is, I never intended to write a time travel story. I like a challenge, so we'll see how it comes out. Writing to a theme and a target is kind of new, but fun. My MO is to get it done with enough time to make requested changes. I may only have a week of padding, but it will be enough.

I got the final Lisa poster for The Yak Guy Project, then did something crazy. I thought it might be cool to have a Lisa poster to promote the anthology with. The other authors can do what they want, but I'm going to have some artwork to promote with.

My time travel story spent a couple of months in the daydreaming phase as a Western. It didn't come out that way, and I hope it intrigues a few readers. Sorry, no cowgirl Lisa, at least for now. You might like what I changed it to.

This story is taking some serious research too. I'll bend some facts, but I want to have the rest of the details right so my changes don't stand out. Things like train times, actual hotels, and more help sell the twists.

While I was at it, I decided to order enough art to get me through the end of the year. These will be mostly for holidays wishes, but one is for my Macabre Macaroni short stories. (God, I still have to write those too.) The deadlines are spread way out, so Sean can take his time.

We had a quick date night last night, since my wife won't be here. Just a quick dinner and a beer. I had scallops with squid ink pasta… in Idaho, just imagine. It was wonderful too.

My wife headed for Nevada this morning, but not so early as to allow me to get some major work done. I dabbled and had some moderate success. I got a proof back from the formatter for The Enhanced League, and there are a few minor adjustments to make.

For the rest of this vacation, I would like to finish my short story, write three more promotional pieces for The Enhanced League, and schedule next week's Lisa Burton Radio. I might chuck some of it and publish The Enhanced League instead. No, it isn't too much, I might be able to do it all with a little bit of luck.

I don't think I'll add any more than that. The interview is all done and awaiting a link. I have ideas for the promo stuff, and I'm 2500 words shy of a short story draft. Two days is a nice pace without killing myself over it. If Enhanced League gets out next weekend, that's fine too.