Books with author C. Downing

It is 1940, and American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old graduate student, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets perky and intuitive Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest. Aided by the Inklings — that illustrious circle of scholars and writers made famous by its two most prolific members, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien — Tom and Laura begin to suspect that the fabled Spear of Destiny, the lance that pierced the side of Christ on the Cross, is hidden somewhere in England.

Winner of the Best Science Fiction Novel for 2014 in the USA Best Book Awards.The wall began to ripple. She felt a jolt, like a low voltage electric current pass through her body then it was over. She shook her head. It was, Shaina decided, time to begin her adventure. She grabbed the handle and pulled hard on the heavy, wooden door. It opened with a groan. Outside, it was overcast. But, it didn't smell all that bad after all.At least not at first.This is how Shaina Brewer arrives at what she thinks is her destination, and is one of the stories in Traveler's HOT L. The remaining seven stories are accounts of time travel by means of one of Earth's two Harmonic Overlapping Time Locations. The stories reveal a unique use of the HOT L by a former mental patient, a pair of counterfeiters, a detective, and four other individuals. As the travelers move through time, they try to repair the damage to the time fabric, attempting to use time as the ultimate hiding place, choosing the "other fork in the road," and righting wrongs.What happens to ex Army sniper, Roselyn Reynolds, while she plays the video game "Battle for a Far Planet" will leave you in doubt about the wisdom of immersing yourself in an electronic fantasy world. She is just one of eight characters who journey across time in adventures that will forever change them.

Andrew Walker, a 17-year-old serial killer, is haunted by his horrific childhood and controlled by two things: the burning coal of anger inside him, and his psychotic best friend Tyler Richards, who thrives on other people’s screams. When Andrew grows restless with his lifestyle, Tyler sets him a challenge: ‘pick a victim and make them fall in love with you’. Felix Grant is a 19-year-old student with the face of a model and the mind of a writer. He too is haunted, by his homophobic father, and abusive ex-boyfriends who still subject him to violence. He is determined to never let himself be hurt or trapped again - but when he meets Andrew he decides to give this odd, intense boy a chance. The boys date and, as Andrew unravels Felix’s past and personality, he is terrified to find himself falling in love with him. Instead of killing him, he resolves to take him away from this world where people hate him and hurt him, and lock him in his house where he'll be safe.What Andrew didn't count on was Felix not loving him back.

It is 1940, and American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old graduate student, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets perky and intuitive Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest.Aided by the Inklings — that illustrious circle of scholars and writers made famous by its two most prolific members, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien — Tom and Laura begin to suspect that the fabled Spear of Destiny, the lance that pierced the side of Christ on the Cross, is hidden somewhere in England.

It is 2014 and Seth Jackson is a British gay teenager who, frustrated by the prejudices he feels are still present around him, creates a queer protest group out of a desire to change the world. However, at the same time, he meets a boy called Patrick, who feels that Seth’s anger is at least in part misplaced and who wants to help him find peace.As he and Patrick get closer and the protesting begins to spiral out of control, Seth feels that there is something Patrick is not telling him. Seth has enough of his own secrets to contend with, but he can’t help wishing he could know more about this boy, who seems to be so worldly but at the same time so innocent.

Over uncounted millennia, telepathic Glieseians have assumed the roles of observers, investigators, and interventionists, helping determine the developmental pathways taken by inhabitants of other planets in the Milky Way. With mollusk-like bodies and frail arms that move on lubricated, muscular feet, their brains account for nearly sixty percent of their body weight, As Observers, Mxpan and Zerpall are expected to perform only that role―contact with natives of planets to which they are assigned is unacceptable. However, since M and Z are the Frick and Frack of the Glieseian Ministry of Observation, Investigation, and Intervention (MOII), they are imprisoned twice, banished from two solar systems, threatened with selective destruction by targeting their DNA, trapped in android bodies after a faulty brain essence transfer, and forced into an ethically convoluted situation after uncovering a secret about their distant predecessors. The Observers is a comic sci-fi trip across the solar system that will keep you thinking and laughing. (Chuck Downing)

Art Castillo disappears on his morning run two days after his honeymoon. His wife, Kaz, contacts the police who find nothing out of the ordinary and suspect Art has a case of cold feet. Kaz begins her hunt for Art, visits the Traveler’s HOT L, and ends up trapped with Art and a Time Synchronizer in an antiparallel dimension. Directions are reversed in the antiparallel dimension, and the passing of time is impossible to measure. Even wrong seems right.Find out what happens during almost two months inside the timeless singularity called the rabbit hole! For Middle Grade through adult readers.

From C. R. Downing, Winner of the Best Science Fiction Novel for 2014 in the USA Best Book Awards with Traveler's HOT L.Over uncounted millennia, telepathic Glieseians have assumed the roles of observers, investigators, and interventionists, helping determine the developmental pathways taken by inhabitants of other planets in the Milky Way. With mollusk-like bodies and frail arms that move on lubricated, muscular feet, their brains account for nearly sixty percent of their body weight, As Observers, Mxpan and Zerpall are expected to perform only that role--contact with natives of planets to which they are assigned is unacceptable. However, since M and Z are the Frick and Frack of the Glieseian Ministry of Observation, Investigation, and Intervention (MOII), they are imprisoned twice, banished from two solar systems, threatened with selective destruction by targeting their DNA, trapped in android bodies after a faulty brain essence transfer, and forced into an ethically convoluted situation after uncovering a secret about their distant predecessors. The Observers is a comic sci-fi trip across the solar system that will keep you thinking and laughing.

The wall began to ripple. She felt a jolt, like a low voltage electric current pass through her body then it was over. She shook her head. It was, Shaina decided, time to begin her adventure. She grabbed the handle and pulled hard on the heavy, wooden door. It opened with a groan. Outside, it was overcast. But, it didn’t smell all that bad after all.At least not at first.This is how Shaina Brewer arrives at what she thinks is her destination, and is one of the stories in Traveler’s HOT L. The remaining seven stories are accounts of time travel by means of one of Earth’s two Harmonic Overlapping Time Locations. The stories reveal a unique use of the HOT L by a former mental patient, a pair of counterfeiters, a detective, and four other individuals. As the travelers move through time, they try to repair the damage to the time fabric, attempting to use time as the ultimate hiding place, choosing the “other fork in the road,” and righting wrongs.What happens to ex Army sniper, Roselyn Reynolds, while she plays the video game “Battle for a Far Planet” will leave you in doubt about the wisdom of immersing yourself in an electronic fantasy world. She is just one of eight characters who journey across time in adventures that will forever change them.

It is 1940, and American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old aspiring doctoral candidate, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets perky and intuitive Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest. Aided by the Inklings-that illustrious circle of scholars and writers made famous by its two most prolific members, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien-Tom and Laura begin to suspect that the fabled Spear of Destiny, the lance that pierced the side of Christ on the cross, is hidden somewhere in England. Tom discovers that Laura has been having mysterious dreams, which seem to be related to the subject of his research, and, though doubtful of her visions, he hires her as an assistant. Heeding the insights and advice of the Inklings, while becoming aware of being shadowed by powerful and secretive foes who would claim the spear as their own, Tom and Laura end up on a thrilling treasure hunt that crisscrosses the English countryside and leads beyond a search for the elusive relics of Camelot into the depths of the human heart and soul. Weaving his fast-paced narrative with conversation based on the works of the Inklings, author David Downing offers a vivid portrait of Oxford and draws a welcome glimpse into the personalities and ideas of Lewis and Tolkien, while never losing sight of his action-packed adventure story and its two very appealing main characters.

Art Castillo disappears on his morning run two days after his honeymoon. His wife, Kaz, contacts the police who find nothing out of the ordinary and suspect Art has a case of cold feet. Kaz begins her hunt for Art, visits the Traveler’s HOT L, and ends up trapped with Art and a Time Synchronizer in an antiparallel dimension. Directions are reversed in the antiparallel dimension, and the passing of time is impossible to measure. Even wrong seems right.Find out what happens during almost two months inside the timeless singularity called the rabbit hole! For Middle Grade through adult readers.