STATE OF THE TIMELINE!

The Past, A Wrinkle In The Present, & A Wormhole To The Future!

Dear members of the timeline,

I’m taking a moment to update you on where this newsletter is at, and where its headed.

Alternate Timeline began with my self-imposed objective of writing multiple short sci-fi stories a month inspired by current events. I’m glad I gave myself that goal — if only because it helped me realize how difficult prose writing is (short or not). My skills are primarily based in the world of television and film, yet even in the brief existence of this space, I’ve grown so much in the expanded world of writing. It feels so good to have a complete story that doesn’t require production to truly exist!

However, the growth of Alternate Timeline will require making things less about me and more about our collective love of the genre. I will dedicate the remainder of 2023 to expanding what’s produced for you here, while also keeping you excited and involved. I’m thrilled that you’ll be tagging along for the ride.

- Tim

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• The Past: A recap of the stories written here so far.

• A Wrinkle In The Present: A short explainer on why things are briefly on pause

• Wormhole To The Future: What you can look forward to!

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THE PAST

Back to the Future (1985)

Let’s recap the stories that I’ve written so far!

• Object of Desire:

  Object of Desire

  • A story from the perspective of the gold that’s used to create Academy Awards.

• Watching Ghosts:

  Watching Ghosts

  • Inspired by the June 5, 2023 unveiling of Apple’s Vision Pro goggles, we follow a tech journalist as she utilizes ‘time goggles’ to solve the mystery of her father’s death.

• Foreign Document:

  Foreign Document

  • Inspired by the June 9, 2023 indictment of Donald Trump, this story centers on the paranoia of a young man with the strange job of moving boxes in an empty mansion.

• Black Man With a Whip (and the Terror From Tech-Town):

  Black Man With a Whip (and the Terror From Tech-Town)

  • Inspired by the July 28 premiere of ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ as well as the June 21 controversy over the A.I. generated title sequence in Disney+’s ‘Secret Invasion’ — we follow a mysterious Black man with a whip who begrudgingly helps a town owned by tech billionaires.

A WRINKLE IN THE PRESENT

A Wrinkle In Time (1962)

There will be a pause in updates here as I get married and go honeymooning this month! But I plan on getting things back in proper order in October. What does ‘proper order’ mean? It’s all explained, once you go through the …

WORMHOLE TO THE FUTURE

Doctor Who

Here’s my plan of action: The stories that I post here will continue to be inspired by current events, however, instead of attempting to write a short story every week or two (which I’ve already failed at doing), I will post one story at the end of each month inspired by the general zeitgeist. And at some point (when I’m in a more financially stable position) I’d like to invite others to submit stories under the same set of parameters. This system will hopefully allow me to write short stories that appear elsewhere and maintain a level of quality that I feel is important.

THE CHOICE IS YOURS…

The Matrix (1999)

For the two people who have paid for subscriptions here so far, I don’t want you to feel like you aren’t getting your money’s worth this year — so feel free to downgrade to a free subscription if you feel that is best for now. I won’t be weird about it, I promise!

I’ve separated elements of this newsletter into sections, and you can now choose which of them get sent directly into your inbox. As someone who is subscribed to many newsletters, I understand how daunting it is to get too many emails at a time. With that in mind, here is a breakdown of each section so that you can make those choices for yourself. A few of these sections are new, and won’t have updates until October or beyond.

• Stories — My monthly short stories inspired by current events.

  • (CLICK IF YOU’D LIKE TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM Stories)

• Behind The Story — Breakdowns of the writing process for each story.

  • (CLICK IF YOU’D LIKE TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM Behind The Story)

    Note: These are only available to paid subscribers.

• Wormhole — These WILL BE once-daily sci-fi quotes, interviews, and words of inspiration.

  • (CLICK IF YOU’D LIKE TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM Wormhole)

    Note: These will be free for all subscribers this year, however posts from Wednesday - Thursday will be behind the paywall in 2024.

• Interviews — Pretty self explanatory, but these WILL BE either audio or text interviews with people who work in the science fiction space.

  • (CLICK IF YOU’D LIKE TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM Interviews)

    Note: These will be free for all, however, paid subscribers will have early access.

Now, I’m off to get married. And I’ll be back with a new short story in October…

Engage!