Friday, January 23, 2009

Friday's Special...A Time for Alexander!

TIME FOR ALEXANDER by Jennifer Macaire

Ashley is a one of the elite, a time-travel journalist who has fought to prove herself in a world that that believes her road in life was paved by her parents' money and her title. After winning a prestigious award she is chosen to travel through time and interview a historical figure. Choosing her childhood hero Alexander the Great, she is sent back in time for less than a day to find and interview a man whose legend has survived to the present day. He mistakes her for Persephone, goddess of the dead, and kidnaps her, stranding her in his own time.What follows, after she awakes under a pomegranate tree, is a hilarious, mind-bending tale of a modern woman immersed in the ancient throes of sex, love, quite a bit of vino, war, death, and ever so much more.


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Excerpt from TIME FOR ALEXANDER

I could not, would not, go back in time with my head shaved. But the fashion consultant ignored my protests, put the razor to my head, and swept off my hair.

That should have been a warning, but all day long I'd ignored the signs. To begin with, I couldn't get any of my so-called friends from Tempus University to come pick me up. They'd stopped speaking to me when I'd been chosen for the prize. It shouldn't have bothered me. I'd never had friends before, why did I need them now? Well, they would have come in handy for a ride. The only flat I could afford after giving my money to a charity foundation was in a crappy section just outside town and there was no zip-tram nearby. When I called a taxi, he'd refused to drive up to my door and I had to walk through the garbage strewn streets to the main station.

When I finally got to the University, the fashion consultant gave me a dress to wear that felt like it had been woven from nettles and the most uncomfortable sandals in the world. The sandals, the fashion consultant informed me, were made by a shoemaker-slash-historian from plaited grass imported directly from the Euphrates riverbanks.

Just after I finished dressing, the smug fashion consultant shaved me bald and gave me a most unflattering wig. Then, in another room, a surgeon gave me a shot that would temporarily protect me from all the known illnesses of the time, including pregnancy and rabies. Then he implanted my tradi-scope right above my left ear, missing the first time, and giving me a fearsome headache. I didn't complain. Besides, I needed the tradi-scope to understand all the languages I would meet.

Finally, when I was deemed dressed and coifed appropriately for 333 BC, the fashion consultant escorted me to the very center of the Institute of Time Travel, where I climbed onto the massive seat carved from a block of pure quartz crystal that would send my atoms spinning through time.

A nurse paused next to me and looked at the glowing screen by the cylinder of frozen nitrogen. "Only a few more minutes before you get vaporized," she said, and smiled.

Everyone in the room was waiting for me to fail at my undertaking or to show some sort of weakness. I leaned back in the freezing chair and pretended to yawn.
***************************************************************************
Please answer the following question for a chance to win a free copy of TIME FOR ALEXANDER. Or, pop in and chat with Jennifer, before she goes back in time for more fun ideas!!
Who is the most popular professor at the Institute of Time Travel?


38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Most popular professor at the Institute of Time Travel?

That would have to be Dr. Emit Brown. You couldn't have a school devoted to time travel without Doc.

1.21 gigawatts!

Also, I'm writing a novel on time travel right now and this book really interests me!

Jennifer Macaire said...

The Doc is definitely one of the best teachers at the venerable ITT, but it takes even more than 21 gigawatts to send someone back in time - lol!
What time period is your book set in, strugglingwriter?

Chris Eldin said...

Good morning everyone!!
:-)

A few minutes late, sorry for that! But glad the party is underway....
:-)

Anonymous said...

Jennifer - Interesting question. It starts a little bit in our future, heads back to prehistoric times, and then moves way in the future.

It's a first draft, written during NaNoWriMo, so I don't have all the details ironed out. It's meant for a YA or so audience.

Thanks for asking :)

Paul

Jennifer Macaire said...

NaNoWroMo is a lot of fun - I wrote a first draft there once that went on to get published (after a lot of polishing up, lol)

Anonymous said...

Jennifer - one thing I'm having trouble with is how much detail to go into involving the actual time travel. I want time travel to just be a thing they do, something relatively common. However, I think I should explain a bit more than they pushed a button and they went back in time.

How do you handle this?

Paul

Brian Jay Jones said...

Great concept, sounds like a a fun read!

Top professor? That would be Periwinkle Slartibartfast, Lord and Emperor of New Usa, 3204 A.D.

Jennifer Macaire said...

I didn't get too technical with the actual time travel part except to briefly sketch the university, the means (quartz - it resonates in time, so I thought it would be apt) and energy (lightning - natch, lol.)

Merry Monteleone said...

Wow, this sounds like a fun read. I haven't read much time travel, unless you count The Time Traveler's Wife.

I like the voice and the story sounds really fun. Good luck with it, Jennifer.

Most popular professor?

Professor May B. Nextyear - who also happens to be a Cubs fan, I'm guessing.

Sarah Laurenson said...

When I think of time travel, I think of H.G. Wells.

Love this excerpt. Sounds like a great book!

Chris Eldin said...

Hi Jennifer,

I wanted to ask you if you have a favorite historical time?
:-)

Jennifer Macaire said...

Hi Merry - thanks for dropping in! I think May B. Nextyear is definitely one of the 'in' teachers at the university, lol.

Jennifer Macaire said...

Sarah - I think of HG Wells too - I loved his stories as a kid!

Chris, I think the Middle ages is my favorite time period - such a lot of change happening! History was one of my favorite subjects in school (I know, nerd, nerd!) and living in Europe is Such a thrill when you're a history buff, lol. I'm absolutely steeped in it here.
:-)

Sarah Laurenson said...

Do you read about people - like Pope Joan - who may or may not have existed? Does that get your creative juices flowing and wondering about what it must have been like?

It seems when you write about traveling in time that you must want to go back and really experience that time - the culture, the politics, the people, the food (but maybe not the hygeine). What aspect appeals the most?

Jennifer Macaire said...

Yes, I read all the time, and I am always thinking 'what if...'
And hygiene is just another aspect of life - different times, different toothpaste. I had a lot of fun researching that for my book. I contacted professors and historians all over the world and asked questions, lol. Everyone was incredibly helpful.

Anonymous said...

May B. Nextyear - that's a good one. I have to admit that.

How about Professor C. U. Later. That's a reference to the cinematic masterpiece One Crazy Summer (John Cusack film) right there.

:)

Sarah Laurenson said...

How much do you get to travel to the site of your stories?

Jennifer Macaire said...

Strugglingwriter - lol! I'm sure Professor C. U. Later is Very popular with the students at Tempus U, especially the ones studying future events.

:-)

Jennifer Macaire said...

Sarah - I didn't get to vist any of the Greek or Persian sites, but I had a great guide book, 'In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great' by M. Woods, who actually trekked the entire route taken by Alexander. The book was the perfect framework onto which I grafted the story.

But for my book 'Angels on Crusades' (Cerridwen Press) I was lucky to vist many of the sites because the book takes place in France and North Africa!

laughingwolf said...

welcome jennifer :D

of course, it's none other than mr. peabody, inventor of the 'wayback machine' :O lol

Sarah Laurenson said...

I love Mr. Peabody!

What a bummer that you didn't get to visit all the sites.

Jennifer Macaire said...

Laughing Wolf, Mr. Peabody has been in the university from the begining (of course he has) - and he travels on his wayback machine whenever anything gets out of whack in the timeline and straightens things out. All the students hope he'll choose one of them for the ride, there's always one exam they'd really like to take over!

Jackie B. said...

Most popular professor?
I would have to say TIM E. TRAVELLER. Get it?

Jennifer Macaire said...

Ah yes, good old Tim. He's a bit absent-minded, and the students love pulling his leg (or his beard - he's got quite a long one).
His final exam is a scavanger hunt within a thousand-year framework!

Sarah Laurenson said...

Love that scavenger hunt idea. Think you might put it into a book?

On the writer side of things - did you have an agent first or did you find an editor on your own?

Jennifer Macaire said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jennifer Macaire said...

Sarah, thanks - it is a fun idea, and I'm sort of working on a short story with that theme, lol.
And I found a publisher first, then an agent.
I wish I had a time machine that would let me stay awake a few more hours, but my time machine here (clock)says it's bedtime in France! Good night, and thank you Very much!
I'll pop in early tomorrow and post the winner if that's all right!

Sarah Laurenson said...

Thanks, Jennifer.

G'Night!

laughingwolf said...

good to know, jennifer, no one can match that pooch ;)

shows how a time machine should really work...

i hope he never uses it for frivolities like exam cheating :(

The Creative Cafe said...

Hi Everyone,

I had some technical difficulties with my children....
:-)
Sorry for the lateness.

But I wanted to thank you for dropping in!!! And special thanks to Jennifer for sharing her book. I LOVE time travel stories, and can't wait to read her story!!

Jennifer will announce the winner of a free copy of her book any time now.....

Many thanks!!
:-)

McKoala said...

Oops, missed the roast. Still, what a fabulous idea.

Forty celsius here today, so we are literally roasting.

darbyscloset said...

H.G. Wells, hands down!
This book sounds like a fun read!
Thanks for the chat!
Darby
darbyscloset at yahoo dot com

Barrie said...

I'm sure I've missed the party. But did want to say that the book sounds great. Hard not to love a time travel!

Jennifer Macaire said...

Thanks for having me Book Roast, and thank you for dropping by everyone!
The students favorite professors are C.U. Later and May B. Nextyear - so strugglingwriter & Merry, I'll send you a copy of my book! Contact me with your e-mails and preferences for format!

Chris Eldin said...

Thanks so much, Jennifer!! And congratulations to the winners! Sounds like this will be a terrific read...
:-)

Thank you everyone, for dropping in and also reading Jennifer's excerpt!!

((Sorry I signed in as "Creative Cafe" earlier. I didn't even realize!))

Anonymous said...

Woo hoo! Thanks Jennifer. I'll send you an email sometime today.

Paul

laughingwolf said...

thank you jennifer... and grats to the winners :)

Merry Monteleone said...

Oh my goodness - I won!!! Happy dances abound!!!

I'll send you off an email shortly.