Ever since Scharlette’s parents gave her a name no one can pronounce, she’s been stuck in a bit of a rut. She hates her job in airport security, making people take their belts off before they fly away to exotic locations she can only dream about. She owns a small apartment with large repayments, drinks bargain bin red on a couch that swallows gym memberships, and misses her little sister – lost to an exploding sandwich press, ten years ago.
Scharlette fears she might live her whole life without doing anything or mattering to anyone. Still, it comes as quite a surprise when a handsome time traveller arrives from the future and tells her she is correct – that, according to his records, she doesn’t matter at all.
Scharlette isn’t super thrilled by this news, but as she soon learns, her complete lack of impact on the timeline leaves her free to blast off into outer space, and have amazing adventures with heedless abandon.
“The book is charming and riotously funny. The most enjoyable aspect of the story is its unpredictability.” – Aurealis Magazine
Excerpt
Scharlette rubbed her temples as she woke, hastily compiling information. She was in a spaceship, high above the Earth, speaking with Gordon, an advanced AI from the future. Or perhaps she was in an insane asylum talking to a mouse? It was difficult to be sure. One thing was certain – she was definitely going to be late for work.
‘Gordon,’ she said, and then so many questions jostled for attention she had trouble focusing on one in particular.
‘Yes, Miss Scharlette?’
‘What’s the time?’
‘I’m afraid that is quite difficult to answer, as perspectives tend to differ wildly. However, internal ship time is currently 64:38:91.’
‘Right.’
‘PM.’
“It’s hard to describe why this book is good without spoiling a single part of it.” – Two Doctors Media Collaborative
Reader Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “So refreshingly different” – Goodreads
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “a solid sci-fi romp, and this is one of the few times when "romp" is exactly the right description” – Goodreads
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I have never laughed so much while reading a book!” – Amazon US
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “absolutely the best treatment of time travel all wrapped up in chuckles and spurts of laughter punctuated with moments of sheer terror culminating in a very satisfying ending.” – Amazon US
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The time travel genre has a great new top candidate” – Amazon US
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Scharlette is intelligent, real, relatable and very witty.” – Goodreads
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “dazzlingly colourful, endlessly endearing” – Goodreads
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “genuinely fun ... a proper joy.” – Amazon UK
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “remarkably easy and enjoyable to follow” – Amazon AU
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I loved this book much more than I had expected” – Goodreads
Sam Bowring began writing at a young age, and had his first book published when he was nineteen. Since then he has written a bunch of other books, as well as several stage plays and for various television shows. Sam also works as a stand-up comedian. He lives in Sydney, Australia.
