Guest Post // Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of time travel and recently was on a panel about time travel in the media at HelioSphere, a science-fiction and fantasy convention in Westchester County in New York. So of course, H.G. Wells would fit into the equation. But imagine this: what if H.G. Wells wrote about time travel but didn’t believe it could possibly happen?

It’s that big “what if” that tends to spark a writer’s imagination when writing in the genre of alternate history. What if the Axis Powers won WWII and became at odds with each other trying to wield power over the United States? That’s the premise for Phillip K. Dick’s Man in the High Castle. Obviously, there have been countless plots where characters have tried to change the course of history by traveling back in time. However, I think I took a unique approach trying to explain why people have conflicts with others in their present lives and how those issues could be tied into karmic retribution.

Wells is considered one of the original godfathers of steampunk along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. Who would be one of his contemporaries well-known for rationally behaving characters? Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes? If you know anything about the real life of Doyle, he was trained as an eye doctor although he never had a successful medical practice, but essentially he was also an original Victorian ghost-buster and wrote books about his ghost adventures that were not as well known. In a certain sense, Doyle was like Fox Mulder, and that’s why I describe Silent Meridian as a nineteenth century X Files. Even before he publicly declared his beliefs in Spiritualism, attended seances and was convinced mediums could contact and speak with the dead, he was a member of several societies whose purpose was to scientifically explain and prove psychic phenomena. Many famous scientists and politicians were also members. This was in complete contrast to his logical-thinking detective, and eventually Doyle got conned into believing famous hoaxes such as the one involving the Cottingley Fairies, which was simply a matter of trick photography.

After so many soldiers died on the battlefields of WWI, seances increased in popularity. There is also plenty of material documenting the troubled relationship between Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini. They started out as close friends. Houdini was obsessed about contacting the spirit of his dearly departed mother but, instead, ended up busting charlatan mediums for fraud which eventually created a rift in his friendship with Doyle. Therefore, I had tons of research material tucked away in history books ready for the taking.

Finally, our protagonist, John Patrick Scott, was based on a real person who almost nobody knows about. By chance, I came upon some incredulous documents of his that were impossible to verify and check for facts but interesting enough to turn into fiction by taking them up a few notches. That’s how the Time Travel Professor series was created. Similar to the Harry Potter series, I’d suggest reading The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: Silent Meridian before picking up any of the others in the series, although I agree with many that the sequel is a better book. That’s why we’re discounting the eBook for only $1.99. Also, if you sign up for my monthly newsletter you’ll get updates on my book tour and free eBooks several times a year exclusively for subscribers.

The Time Traveler Professor Series

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Elizabeth Crowens. There will be eight(8) winners. One (1) winner will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card and seven (7) winners will each receive Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens (eBook). The giveaway begins on August 18, 2019 and runs through September 23, 2019. Void where prohibited.

Crowens has worked in the film and television for over twenty years and as a journalist and a photographer. She’s a regular contributor of author interviews to an award-winning online speculative fiction magazine, Black Gate. Short stories of hers have been published in the Bram Stoker Awards nominated anthology, A New York State of Fright and Hell’s Heart. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, The Horror Writers Association, the Authors Guild, Broad Universe, Sisters in Crime and a member of several Sherlockian societies. She is also writing a Hollywood suspense series.

Click here to view the The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens Participants