Summary

Author Terry Trafton's third novel Forever Time

  Forever Time is a journey into the supernatural by way of an alternative reality. After a woman is discovered hanged beneath Harker’s Covered Bridge in Southern Indiana, and a few days later another woman found drowned in the Anderson River, people in the scenic town of Bristow, Indiana declare an ancient curse responsible. Investigating authorities have no leads and identities of the two young women remain unknown.  The mystery deepens when both bodies disappear shortly after they are recovered.

       Indianapolis Star reporter Abby Kline soon realizes that local psychic Becca Mitchell knows much more about both incidents than she reveals.  Becca is deeply troubled by visions of another time and place and resorts to deception to protect herself from Abby’s probing questions.  Strange unexplained events prompt Abby to enlist the help of Sheriff’s Deputy Brady Willis and anthropologist Niles Robey. 

       One morning in Jillian’s restaurant, a distraught young woman enters in a gust of cold wind and moments later vanishes. Fogyish faces in rain, voices on a primordial wind, Dr. Robey’s provocative theory explains how an entire town can suddenly vanish and an early 19th century community emerge out of an anomalous mist. Will Abby uncover the dark secret of 1847 Harker’s Landing without the help of the self-proclaimed witch Arlena Selwyn?

       Who are Emme and Emma Selwyn and why were they buried in unconsecrated soil?  Why are there two empty graves in Chalk Ridge Cemetery and two others covered in concrete and stamped with the mark of a pentagram?  When Abby learns the true identities of the Selwyn sisters, she reveals this information to Indy Star science editor Ben Lemon. During one unforgettable night in the Chalk Ridge Forest, Ben personally experiences vivid paranormal phenomena he cannot explain, and tells Abby she has uncovered a story that is better left untold.

       Disillusioned by his faith and angered by Pastor John Bedford’s increasingly liberal sermons, Elwyn Kipps renounces the church where he served as a deacon for 20 years and declares himself the new messiah called to save the sinners of Harker’s Landing.  Only he can absolve their guilt.  But in the great Chalk Ridge Forest, the mysterious spook lights expose the hypocrisy of this counterfeit preacher and illuminate a pathway which leads to further mystery and adventure.  At a prehistoric site known as Stone Hill, Dr. Robey uncovers several archaic petroglyphs, and it is in these same glyphs that he glimpses Forever Time.  

       What is the purpose of the primitive chamber on Stone Hill and how is it connected to seven monoliths nearby?  After spending an eerie night in The Chalk, Niles sees the miracle of the stones and realizes their astonishing powers.  When time is bent, significantly altered, instead of passing from one minute to the next, it becomes possible to pass from one minute to the same minute and from one day to the same day.  A government man David Foley is also investigating Stone Hill and attempts to obtain Robey’s research by coercing Abby Kline, who continues to solve her own mysteries.  After they witness witch Arlena Selwyn’s bizarre ceremony under a blood moon, Abby mentions an old Chinese proverb meant to caution Niles Robey who has fallen in love with the enigmatic Emme Selwyn.  Do not challenge the supernatural unless armed with the sword of truth. 

       Supported by several minor characters, Forever Time is a suspenseful paranormal thriller which will keep the reader’s attention from its gripping beginning to a memorable and poignant conclusion that will leave readers questioning their own realities.

Hardcover: TBA pages

A Fox Lane Book

Publisher: Gatekeeper Press (Fall 2020 Release Date)