Anachronism by Jennifer Lee Rossman

Release date: June 1, 2018

Subgenre: Time travel

About Anachronism:

 

It's the same old story: Time traveler meets girl, time traveler tells girl she's the future president, time traveler and girl go on a road trip to prevent a war...

Petra Vincent is at the end of her rope - or rather, the edge of a bridge. Her world is falling apart around her and she sees no way out of the meaningless existence the future has in store. But when stranded time traveler Moses Morgan tells her that she will one day lead the country out of the rubble of a nuclear civil war as President of the United States, she's intrigued - and when another time traveler starts trying to pre-emptively assassinate her, she realizes Moses might be telling the truth...

Anachronism is a time-traveling, adventure-filled novella with a whole bagful of danger, twists, and snarky banter.

 

Excerpt:

 

“Whilst in school, you were undoubtedly taught the Gettysburg Address and of Reverend King’s dream.” Moses flicked a switch located at the bottom of the unicorn, and the horn began to pulse with colored light. “In my time, schoolchildren study and recite Petra Vincent’s first inaugural address, unquestionably one of the most inspiring string of phonemes ever to be uttered by the human tongue.”

“What does that have to do with the price of potatoes?” Petra asked, grabbing the unicorn and shaking it in his face.

Though perplexed by her idiosyncratic mention of edible tubers, Moses struck a dramatic pose on the steps of the police station, gazing out over a Clark Avenue brimming with adoring, imaginary supporters, and began to recite.

“‘As I so hurriedly packed my most cherished belongings in anticipation of fleeing underground, knowing in my heart of hearts that I would likely never again feel the nourishing warmth of the sun on my skin, I came across a small, glass horse.’”

Petra raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“‘My father,’” Moses continued, “‘with whom I had been estranged for nearly ten years, gave me that horse on my eighteenth birthday. Until that point, I would have called the idea of reconciliation “hopeless.” Now I know that hopelessness is just a challenge issued by the universe. We did reconcile. We did emerge to feel the sun on our skin. And we will live to see our country in all her glory once again. So if you ever feel that creeping doubt, that uneasy feeling that nothing will ever be okay again, hitch your hope to a glass horse and let it carry us into Reconstruction. May it give us light in the darkest days.’”

He delivered the final line with such resolve and such power that Petra momentarily let go of her umbrage and burst into laughter. “That was the stupidest, sappiest thing I’ve ever heard!”

Moses raised his nose an inch in indignation. “It was spoken by you, Madam President.”

Those words set Petra on edge, as if allowing him to call her by that honorific meant she believed him. “Petra,” she corrected. “My name is Petra, and I am not the president.”

“Not yet,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eye as he marched down the steps and started off up the street. “We shall revisit the matter in forty years. Do keep up,” he added, seeing her lingering on the steps. “We have three hundred million lives to save.”

 

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About Jennifer Lee Rossman:

Jennifer Lee Rossman is a queer science fiction geek from Oneonta, New York, who cross stitches, watches Doctor Who, and threatens to run over people with her wheelchair. Her work has been featured in several anthologies and her debut novel, Jack Jetstark's Intergalactic Freakshow, will be published by World Weaver Press in 2019.

 

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