Reviews: "A great read that was packed full of suspense and action. One of the best time travel books I've read in awhile." "I started reading this book and before I knew it, it was three in the morning. When I woke the next day I couldn't wait to get back to it because I had to know what happened." A scientist's 'harmless' tinkering, just before World War II, causes a catastrophic change of events which lead to nuclear war in the present. 40 minutes into the war most of North America, Asia and Europe were destroyed. A cycle of annihilation, which once started became impossible to stop. The launch of missiles, detected by satellites, set the wheels in motion for the retaliatory strikes to begin. No nation escaped the cascade that followed; even those neutral in the war. Detonation was the only warning for most that things had escalated beyond reason as the use of thermo-weapons had never been discussed. A huge electromagnetic pulse, which fried all electrical equipment inside the strike zone, shut down power grids and plunged the region into darkness. A microsecond later there followed a flash of intense white light, which filled the sky, as a small sun erupted within the city. As the glare burned the corneas from their eyes, it simultaneously cauterised their optic nerves, but the blindness and pain only distressed for a nanosecond. Superheated air, expanding at a rate of 400 metres per second, dwarfed all previous torment. Skin was seared and lungs disintegrated as a last agonised breath choked in the furnace. On the fringes of the inferno, fires erupted in every direction whilst in the centre, where temperatures reached millions of degrees centigrade, everything was vaporised in a millisecond. The scorching, dust-filled air tore upward in a fiery plume, looking, to all at a distance safe enough to witness the madness, as though hell had broken loose. Seconds later it hit the stratosphere where, cooling, it began to fan outwards, forming the terrifying calling card of man's most destructive weapon. There was no hope on January 28th. The mercy for most was death came swiftly. On a worldwide scale, billions died immediately following the initial strikes, and in the weeks after, millions more from radiation and starvation. None of this had to happen; none of this should have happened; and it wouldn't have happened had it not been for the good intentions of one man.
About the Author: I have enjoyed writing stories all my life. I also have a fascination for astronomy and science and would lie in bed from a very young age looking at the stars. I joined a local astronomy group when I received my first telescope, for Christmas, seven years ago. Since then I've enjoyed many a night, freezing until I can't stand it anymore, looking at the delights of the Universe and the magical wonders of alien worlds. I started my career in computing, but presently I work at a college helping students who are struggling with their maths and English. The rest of my time is worked around my writing. I live in Northumberland, England, with my husband and three cats. Whenever possible, we (not the cats) like to fit in some walking in the magnificent Northumberland and Kielder hills. I have been writing for ten years now. In that time I have written the novella, Time Split, the novels: Distant Suns, Distant Suns - The Journey Home and Islands Beneath the Sea. Time Split was the first story I wrote and published. I strive in my writing to give you a rollercoaster ride of emotions and excitement, mixed in with a good dash of fear - all from the safety of your armchair.