THE GIRL IN THE TIME MACHINE



excerpt:

It was one in the morning and I had a golden opportunity for revenge. I couldn’t help myself. I took her to the lab. She was not too drunk to walk up to the third floor, but she was definitely too out of it to realize that my telling her to lie down on the ‘massage table’ was not going to end well for her.
I chose that day’s date and some random coordinates close to what was already on the screen. What did I care?
Poof, the bitch was gone. And nobody was going to think anything other than that she ran away from home.
I locked up and stepped outside. The dark monastery in the middle of the woods was creepy enough after midnight, but before I could open the car door I heard far off shrieks, like the sound a rabbit makes when a bobcat pounces. The screams were faint at first, then frantic. And human. I grabbed the flashlight from the car, pushed the gate all the way open and ran for the path to town. Between the ghastly moonlight and the fairly strong beam in my hand I followed the trail to the rusty car. The cries were growing less frequent.
“Help me.”
Erica was impaled on the bumper of the old vehicle. Part of her left leg was buried in the ground along with her left arm up to her elbow. She looked like someone rising out of bed, but sinking down at the same time. Blood dripped into the dirt.
I choked back bile to keep my hysteria at bay. “Shh, I’ll get you out. Stop screaming.”
I searched around for something to dig with and used a couple of sticks to free her leg and arm from the ground. I pulled on her to help her stand and the shriek that pierced the night was unearthly. A rusty shard of metal broke off and more blood gushed.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” I really was. She didn’t deserve what was happening to her, not for being mean to me, or for being a bully, or anything. But what could I do? She’d seen the time machine. Even drunk she had to realize she traveled from the lab into the forest, into the ground actually, by incomprehensible means.
I tore off my shirt and tied it around her, hoping to stem the flow of blood. I needed her to walk back. We got halfway back before she dropped to her knees. She’d soaked through my shirt and neither of us could hold enough pressure on the wound.
“I’ll carry you,” I said. I bent down in front of her and told her to climb on my back. She managed to keep her legs around my waist all the way to the lab door, then she gave up. I dropped the flashlight and used both hands to lug her all the way up to the third floor.
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EXODIA and OUT OF EXODIA Launch Simultaneously Today





By 2093 American life is a strange mix of failing technologies, psychic predictions, and radiation induced abilities. Tattoos are mandatory to differentiate two classes, privileged and slave. 


Dalton Battista fears that his fading tattoo is a deadly omen. He's either the heir of the brutal tyrant of the new capital city, Exodia or he's its prophesied redeemer. Shy, handsome, smart and in possession of powers he doesn't yet realize, he escapes an order for his execution by fleeing the city with the help of Lydia, who quickly captures his heart. But can he escape a destiny that will force him to marry another girl and return to Exodia as its liberator?

In this sequel to EXODIA, Dalton Battista takes on his prophesied identity as Bram O'Shea. When this psychic teen leads a city of 21st century American survivalists out from under an oppressive regime, he puts the escape plan at risk by trusting the mysterious god-like David Ronel. With Ronel's ulterior motives under suspicion, Bram's loyalties questioned, and a mutiny imminent, this large group of outcasts faces multiple problems. What should have been a two-week journey lasts for months as they engage in battles against new enemies. Bram's unusual abilities and a special weapon supplied by Ronel help them overcome obstacles but can they reach the "Promised Land" before time runs out?

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Based loosely on the ancient story of Moses, this two book dystopian journey (EXODIA and OUT OF EXODIA) crosses genres, combining young adult, new adult, sci-fi, magical realism, and speculative fiction for an adventure full of symbolism, hidden codes, and thematic imagery.

ENTRY for THE WRITER'S VOICE

Title: TIME SLEEPERS
Genre: YA, time travel

QUERY:

Dear Agent,

I’m currently seeking representation for my young adult novel, TIME SLEEPERS. Given your interest in sci-fi I thought this might be a good fit for you.

Before Laken Mitchell is born her parents are using their time machine to check up on her. By the age of seventeen Laken is secretly using the machine too. With a Dexter-like code for choosing girls she has a grudge against, she sends them into the past. But she may also be sending them to their graves.

She really isn’t an evil person though. Honest. When she realizes her mistake she convinces her best friend Skylar to time travel with her to 1994 so they can rescue one of her victims. The problem is the girl dies as soon as they return to 2020. Laken and Skylar time travel back to un-rescue her but that creates a paradox — that, and the fact that Laken accidentally leaves Skylar in the past.

Laken returns alone to an aftereffect she couldn’t have imagined. If she tries to change the past one more time she, or her best friend, will cease to exist.

TIME SLEEPERS is complete at 50,000 words and the manuscript is available upon request. I’ve been writing for teens for twelve years and have been indie-published in the US and traditionally published in Germany. I've included the first 250 words below.

Thank you,
Debra Chapoton

First 250:

Anybody who did what I did would eventually kill someone. Accidentally … or not so accidentally. Sometimes you can see death on someone’s face and there’s nothing you can do except move on.
“You’re going to have to pull the switch,” I told Skylar as I stumbled past the controls and toward the time machine. “I don’t think I can run and leap like I did before.” I climbed up onto the cushioned white platform, curled myself into a ball around my giant purse—which should have held what we’d need to return—and prayed we’d make it.
Skylar stood by the panel of coordinates biting her nails. “Do I change anything?”
I couldn’t imagine why she’d need to change anything, but my head was mud and my vision was fading so I said, “Make it plus six for the far right elevation. Then hit the lever and run.”
I heard her squeal and though I couldn’t see her I knew the instant she landed next to me on the machine.  I heard another voice too, then a popping sound, like weak firecrackers, and I smelled the electricity. We fell that time—our second time travel. Six feet of sudden drop. It was hardly long enough to comprehend what was happening. I landed on my back and then I slid head first a few feet, my bag tumbling from my arms. I thought I’d never be able to suck in the air. It was a horrible, helpless feeling having my breath knocked out of me.
***

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Exodia by Debra Chapoton

Exodia

by Debra Chapoton

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Now available for pre-order on #Amazon #Kindle: EXODIA 

By 2093 American life is a strange mix of failing technologies, psychic predictions, and radiation induced abilities. Tattoos are mandatory to differentiate two classes, privileged and slave. 

Dalton Battista fears that his fading tattoo is a deadly omen. He’s either the heir of the brutal tyrant of the new capital city, Exodia or he’s its prophesied redeemer. Shy, handsome, smart and in possession of powers he doesn't yet realize, he escapes an order for his execution by fleeing the city with the help of Lydia, who quickly captures his heart. But can he escape a destiny that will force him to marry another girl and return to Exodia as its liberator? 

Based loosely on the ancient story of Moses, this two book dystopian journey crosses genres, combining young adult, new adult, sci-fi, magical realism, and speculative fiction for an adventure full of symbolism, hidden codes, and thematic imagery.

Pre-order your copy of EXODIA  now. Thank you!