Release Date – November 29, 2014
Victorian Essence Press
Trade Paperback ISBN ~ 978-1-891437-06-9
eBook ISBN ~ 978-1-897437-07-6
Editor - Julie Luongo
Cover Design – Janet Taylor
Blog – sallysmithorourke.com
It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think of as our present existence, as a dream. Edgar Allen Poe
Fate sometimes conspires to right a decades-old wrong. And the 6.8 earthquake that strikes Southern California one warm March night is the fateful event that brings family therapist Ann Hart and trauma specialist Ted McConaughy back together.
In search of her cell phone after the tremor, Ann picks up a shard of vintage cut glass from a collection she and her husband gathered during the four years of their marriage. For the millionth time she thinks about the day six years ago when he disappeared on a search and rescue mission in the Sierra foothills. Sitting atop the shattered crystal, a small silver cigar lighter glistens in the beam of her flashlight. Gently she returns the Victorian piece to the shelf. What does it mean that something she and Ted, her ex-fiancé, bought together survived when Alex’s beautiful glass is smashed to dust? Ann tells herself that it doesn’t mean anything more than glass breaks and silver doesn’t.
Sara Jane McConaughy has never experienced a strong earthquake, and as her father comforts his 16-year-old daughter, his mind is flooded with memories of the Northridge quake in 1994. He was living with his fiancée, his ex-fiancée, and even after all these years he doesn’t know what caused the split, but he always loved her. And he’d been sure she loved him.
Volunteering with the American Red Cross in the aftermath of the earthquake brings Ann and Ted face-to-face for the first time since their break-up, twenty years ago. Angry, flustered, excited, and bewildered by Ted’s sudden appearance and unusual behavior while she’s teaching a small group of people relaxing exercises, Ann demands he leave. Just as excited and bewildered, Ted rushes away. His exit leaves both of them wondering about … everything.
The earthquake (or is it seeing Ann?) ignites a series of recurring dreams peopled by total strangers in places Ted has never been. Accompanied by short lapses of time and sleepwalking, the dreams take a heavy toll on his waking hours. Sara Jane’s concern sends Ted on a quest to discover the cause and find a cure. When all medical possibilities are exhausted, he turns to a colleague, whose diagnosis leaves Ted more baffled than ever. Tom Alderman believes that the dreams are memories of past lives. The lives live in his subconscious, and the cure is hypnotherapy.
After several months of suffering with these increasingly emotional recurring dreams, Ted turns to Ann for help. One of Ann’s specialties is hypnotherapy and since he must be able to trust the hypnotist, Ann is his only salvation. Ann’s agreement to try and help (at the urging of a mutual friend) sends her carefully regimented and calm life into complete turmoil.
The garden gate they pass through together sends them on a journey that defies time and reason, forcing them to rethink their past, present, and future. Now, each must reconsider their capacity for love and forgiveness.
Things are not always what they seem.
Days of Future Past is available for review in print and eBook.
The Author
“Where shall I begin? Which of all my important nothings shall I tell you first?” (J.A. June 15, 1808)
That I reside in the Victorian village of Monrovia, California; a mere two miles from my place of employment, The City Of Hope. COH is a cancer research hospital where I spend most daylight hours in the operating room as a scrub nurse.
That I am a native Californian, having been born in Glendale, and spent most of my life here with a relatively short span of years in Reno, Nevada where I attended school. Returning after graduation I have remained in sunny SoCal.
That I was widowed some time ago. That I have very domestic hobbies like sewing, cooking, baking, candy making and cake decorating. Oh, yeah I write, too. Mike, my late husband and teacher, taught me that writing has to be treated like a job so every day no matter how tired I am I edit, research one or more projects and write.
My Thoughts
Do you believe in reincarnation, or past lives? I know I do, why not? I am sure there are lots of skeptics that will say that such a thing is not possible at all. Maybe, maybe not. Days of Future Past is a story of past lives and how a man who keeps having dreams or rather blackouts and can't understand what is happening to him and why. Ted McConaughy, a trauma specialist has had recurring dreams since he was little but they usually only surfaced when there was a traumatic event that occured in his life. Ted had been engaged to Ann Hart, a family therapist twenty years ago but the wedding was called off by Ann, she thought he was cheating in her. She left him and went on to have her own life, getting married. She has been grieving for about 6 years though as her husband's plane , a pilot, goes missing on a routine flight and he was never found. Ann has a hard time letting go, she thinks that he will turn up one day. Ted had also moved on, he also married and has a daughter, Sarah Jane.
California experiences a 6.8 earthquake and this event brings Ann and Ted back together. Ann still wants nothing to do with him, still experiencing the pain of his betrayal. This event has started Ted's dreams again and he seeks Ann's help in trying to figure out what is going on. It appears that he not only is reliving a past event but it is of two separate men in different times. As Ann and Ted do hypnosis and travel into Ted's dreams, she and Ted start to have feelings once again for each other. Ann has met Sarah Jane and is captivated by the young lady. Can Ann ever forgive Ted for a past transgression or will she hold a grudge forever? Will Ted ever be able to tell Ann that he has always loved her? Well if I told you the answers to these questions I would give away the story.
I really liked this novel, a story about love past, present and future, romance and forgiveness. With a bit of mystery thrown in to keep the reader turning the pages. I highly recommend this book if you want a great engaging book!!
Ms. O'Rourke is the author of The Man Who, Loved Jane Austen, Yours Affectionally, Jane Austen, The Maidenstone Lighthouse and Christmas at Sea Pines Cottage.
I received a copy of the book for review and was not monetarily compensated for said review.
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