In the case of “Choosing One Moment
– A Time Travel Mystery”, it was music. Two songs in particular come to mind.
The first is “Time in a Bottle” by
Jim Croce. I’m sure most of us have some moments (plural) that we’d like to
relive. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could put those moments in a bottle and pour
them out when we need them?
However, even more than the Jim
Croce song, the Natalie Cole version of “That Sunday, That Summer” reached out
and made me want to choose a moment in time to relive – at least in a fictional
sense.
Those two songs made me think about
traveling in time to create more
memorable moments. That’s when the wheels started turning and time travel felt
like something I had to deal with, but in my own way.
“If you ever receive an inheritance, you may want to
think it over carefully before you begin sorting through antiques and mementos.
They aren’t always as they seem.
Carrie
McFerrin learned this the hard way.”
Vintage clothing and an old wooden
crank telephone lead Carrie down a road of mystery when she travels from the
present to 1909. She develops a new love and respect for her ancestors, people
who would have just been names to her – faces in old photos – without time
travel.
Someone is coming after two sisters with murder in mind. Carrie and her Great Aunt Genny (who hadn’t even been born in 1909) have to discover who could be so devious and why the sisters are in danger.
Is this time travel for one? Or
time travel for two. You just never know what the universe is going to drop in
your lap.
I researched this time period, but
I didn’t go all out and include a history lesson in the book. The story is more
about the characters than the era, other than the customs and speech patterns
of the people involved.
Imagine if you traveled in time and
when you arrived at your destination, someone saw you for who you really are
instead of whom you traded places with. What if this person wanted to know
about modern technology? How much should you tell them? Can you imagine telling
someone about modern movies when they’ve just seen their first silent movie?
Unless they’ve been reading science fiction of the time, they might just turn
their back on you and walk away, shaking their head. There are some who might
delight in your descriptions, too.
It works both ways. The character
has chores to do, and they don’t include using a modern washing machine or
clothes dryer, or throwing a frozen dinner in the microwave. Carrie has to
learn what her ancestors went through in their time.
While this is a mystery, it’s
character driven and a lot of fun. There’s more to life than just a killer.
Right? Uh, maybe I should rethink that. Carrie and her great aunt have plenty
to keep them busy, and suspects who are different from anyone they’ve ever
known in the present.
I hope you’ll give “Choosing One Moment – A Time Travel Mystery” a try. I can only hope it will make your day.
Pat, Thank you so much for having
me as a guest. There aren’t too many things I enjoy talking about more than
books and writing.
Mystery writer Carrie McFerrin has inherited an old family house and all of its contents from her Great Aunt Genny.
While taking inventory of the attic
contents, she comes across an old wooden crank telephone. Thinking the old
telephone would look perfect in her vintage kitchen, she hangs it on the wall
by the back door, and an old, yellowed piece of paper asking for help falls to
the floor.
The impossible happens when the
disconnected old phone rings – three rings, a pause, and three more rings.
Carrie picks up the receiver,
wondering what’s going on, and her life suddenly changes – forever.
Nothing will ever be the same.
Author's Bio:
Marja McGraw was born and raised in Southern California. She worked in both civil and criminal law, state transportation, and a city building department. She has lived and worked in California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska and Arizona.
Marja McGraw was born and raised in Southern California. She worked in both civil and criminal law, state transportation, and a city building department. She has lived and worked in California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska and Arizona.
She
wrote a weekly column for a small town newspaper in Northern Nevada, and
conducted a Writers’ Support Group in Northern Arizona. A past member of
Sisters in Crime (SinC), she was also the Editor for the SinC-Internet
Newsletter for a year and a half.
Marja writes two mystery series: The Sandi Webster
Mysteries and The Bogey Man Mysteries, which are light reading with a touch of
humor. She also occasionally writes stories that aren’t part of a series.
Marja says that each of her mysteries contains a little humor, a little romance and A
Little Murder!
She now lives in Washington, where life is good.
