London, September 1888

An aged Queen Victoria rules. The threat of anarchy hovers in the air. A new kind of evil lurks in the back alleys of Whitechapel. Enter Jacynda Lassiter, a Time Rover on a mission—find an overdue ‘tourist’ and return him to 2057 before he changes history.

Victorian London is a dangerous place for the unwary. Mysterious shape-shifters haunt the streets,  making friend and foe indistinguishable. When a fellow Time Rover is murdered, Jacynda's mission becomes personal. Can she trust the two gentlemen who come to her aid, or do they harbor their own dark secrets? In a few days, Jack the Ripper will add to his bloody legacy. But old Jack isn't the only threat in Whitechapel. Unless Jacynda can outwit a madman, her Victorian sojourn will rewrite history— and end at the point of a blade.

Click HERE to see Sojourn's magnificient cover (front & back) Artist credits and websites at bottom of page.

SAMPLE CHAPTERS HERE.

Where to Purchase: Barnes & Noble

How the book came to be....

Why 1888 London? Good question. You can blame the psychopath dubbed Jack the Ripper for that . In 1888 the East End of London was a hotbed of anarchists, a potpourri of immigrants (mostly Jews escaping Czarist Russia) and a cesspool of poverty. It was a primordial stew waiting to generate a killer of Jack's magnitude.

After spending countless hours at Casebook: Jack the Ripper, an excellent website not only devoted to the crimes but providing an overview of the geopolitical environment in which Jack thrived, I attended two Jack the Ripper Conferences . The Ripperologists, as they're called, continue to work the ultimate 'cold case'. Contrary to some claims that the murderer has been unmasked, the work continues  with new theories and amazing discoveries. Each new theory is examined and fervently debated just like any scientific investigation. I admit it, I'm hooked.
 
My fascination with Late Victorian England led to an idea for a five-book Victorian murder mystery series which is still in the works. In the meantime, my latest work, Sojourn, was given the green light courtesy of Dragon Moon Press. The plot allows me the thrill of combining science fiction (time travel), fantasy (shape-shifters) and history (the Whitechapel murders). For this writer, it doesn't get any better than that.


About the book...
I started with the premise that 'recreational' time travel exists by 2057, at least for those with seriously deep wallets. Building on the work of the 'granddaddy' of all Time Rovers, Harter Defoe, companies offer  academic time travel. An academic travels to his or her special period in history, conducts research and then returns with enough knowledge to write dozens of articles and make the rounds of the Vid-Net talk shows, increasing the reputation of their particular educational institution.

Jacynda  (Cynda) Lassiter is a Senior Time Rover employed by Time Immersion Corporation (TIC). Her job is to ride herd on these academics and keep them from inadvertently screwing up history. Being a  Rover is a perfect job for Cynda. Diagnosed with with ARD (Adrenalin Reactive Disorder), society believes she's an adrenalin junkie,  Cynda is only allowed to work in certain industries for insurance purposes. Time Immersion is one of those approved industries. As the mantra of the second half of the 21st century is safety and security, risk has been programmed out of peoples' lives. For Cynda, that's like a straitjacket. Unless she's willing to take medication to control her supposed ARD, roving is her best chance to escape society's dull existence.

Being a Rover pays well, not only in salary but with a comp apartment, but it has its drawbacks. 'Leaping' large gaps of time without adequate rest leads to increasingly severe hallucinations. Think massive jet lag, only worse. Eventually, the Rover's body can no longer cope.  Cynda's days are numbered, but so are TIC's. After the last buyout, layoffs and longer hours are the norm. Now TIC's cutting corners, sending tourists into dangerous situations to garner additional revenue. The train is off the rails and no one has a clue how to stop it.
 
Suffering from near crippling 'lag', Cynda enters Victorian London at a perilous time. The murders in Whitechapel have the city in an uproar.  The Transitives (shape-shifters) are fretting the killer might be one of their own. Why else would the fiend be so hard to catch? When she encounters Dr. Alastair Montrose, a shifter who is denying his heritage, the stage is set for a confrontation between those who wish to remain hidden and those who seek to change the course of history.

Visit the Victorian Tidbits  portion of the website.

Cover Art by L.W. Perkins  (c) 2006
Cover Design by Christina Yoder  (c) 2006
Photograph  "Abandoned Street" by Peter Zelei  (c) 2001