It's the trip of a lifetime – a mind-bending, heart-breaking time travel tale unlike any other...
Title: How Soon Is Now?
Author: Paul Carnahan
Publication Date: June 10, 2024
Pages: 462
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/Time Travel
A troubled ex-journalist launches a perilous mission into his own past after being recruited by a mysterious group of time travelers.
Luke Seymour uncovers the secrets of the eccentric Nostalgia Club as he battles to solve the riddle of their missing leader, honing his newly discovered – and dangerously addictive – talent for time travel and plunging ever deeper into his own time stream … where the terrible mistake that scarred his life is waiting.
Set in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the 1980s, 1990s and near-present, ‘How Soon Is Now?’ is a gripping new novel loaded with unforgettable characters, intricate storytelling, dark humour and a unique twist on the mechanics of time travel – all moving towards a powerful and emotional climax.
Available at:
Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/How-Soon-Now-powerful-travel-ebook/dp/B0D1RG2GL5
Amazon U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Soon-Now-powerful-travel-ebook/dp/B0D1RG2GL5
It started with a note: Blue ink on a slip of paper you might mistake for a Christmas cracker joke, with these words written in a plain and precise hand: ‘We know. We can help. Come to the Thrawn Laddie, Edinburgh, 7.30pm Wednesday.’
I was at the off-licence, digging for change in the outside pocket of my suit jacket, when I found the note. I was down to one suit that still fitted and wore it most days - I was, more or less, still keeping up appearances - so the note might have been curled up there for hours, days or even months. I glanced at it without really reading it and stuffed it back into my pocket, where it stayed until I made it back to the flat with the evening’s beer supply.
Once the bottles were safely in the fridge, I emptied my pockets, throwing a fistful of old train tickets and crumpled till receipts into the bin. The note nearly joined them, but something about the neatness of the script caught my eye, and I read it properly for the first time. ‘We can help’. Who could help? How could they help? Where had it come from? I left it on the kitchen table for the rest of the week; a minor mystery pinned under a beer bottle.
It was a long week. Alison still wasn’t talking to me after The Incident at our college reunion, and even Malcolm wouldn’t return my calls. I eyed the note every time I passed the kitchen table on my way to the fridge and, by Wednesday evening, had convinced myself a minor mystery might be just the distraction I needed. One Glasgow-to-Edinburgh train and a 20-minute cab ride later - an extravagance, considering I was trying to make my redundancy money last - I was standing on Morningside Road, outside the Thrawn Laddie.
That October night was cold and crisp, and a wall of heat hit me as I opened the door. The pub - a dusty jumble of antique clutter and old-world charm - had changed so little in the 30-plus years since it had been one of our preferred student haunts that I half-expected to spot the old gang huddled in our favourite corner, but the place was now a near-empty refuge for elderly locals and a few wine-sipping post-work professionals. The students had moved on.
I checked the clock above the bar: 7.10pm. I could fit in a couple of pints, if I was quick. I ordered a Guinness and settled at a single table with a clear view of the door. By 7.30, the only new arrivals had been a pair of old gents who went straight to their friends at the end of the bar without looking in my direction. I finished my drink, ordered another and took it to my table. My second glass was nearly empty when the bored young barman, a skinny youth labouring under a misjudged haircut, loomed over me.
‘Mind if I give your table a wipe?’ he said. I lifted my pint glass and drained the remnants.
He ran a damp cloth over the table, gathered my empties and asked: ‘Another Guinness?’
‘No, thanks.’ I slipped my hand into my pocket, and my thumb and forefinger pinched the little note. ‘Maybe you can help me with something, though. Has anyone been asking for me? I’m supposed to be meeting someone.’
He stared at me, waiting for something. He cocked an eyebrow - the one pierced by a silver stud - and I added: ‘Seymour. My name’s Luke Seymour.’
He shook his head. ‘No one’s been looking for you, as far as I know,’ he said. ‘Who are you meeting?’
‘I’m not sure.’ He looked puzzled, so I added: ‘It might not be a person. It could be a group.’
The barman stuffed the cloth into his back pocket. ‘Might be the crowd back in the function suite, then. Are you one of them?’
‘One of them?’
‘The good old days mob,’ he said. ‘They rent the back room on a Wednesday night. Had an early start this week for some reason. You could try giving them a knock.’
‘I might,’ I said. ‘Who are they?’
‘The Nostalgia Club, they call themselves. They might be who you’re after. Past the toilets and turn right. You can’t miss it. Follow your nose.’ He pointed towards a corridor leading off the end of the bar.
I thanked him, left my table and followed my nose. As I turned the corner, the barman gave a soft cough.
‘Word of advice,’ he said. ‘I’d knock first. Good luck.’
After a brief stop at the gents, I followed the corridor off to the right. At the end was a dark oak door bearing a brass plaque: ‘Function Suite’. Below that, stuck to the door with a strip of sticky tape, was a sheet of A4 on which was written, in the same precise hand as the note in my pocket: ‘NOSTALGIA CLUB. PRIVATE.’
Paul Carnahan was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in the new town of Cumbernauld. After studying journalism in Edinburgh, he began a decades-long career in local and national newspapers.
‘How Soon Is Now?’ is his first novel. The second, the Britpop-era romance ‘End of a Century’, will be released early in 2025, and a third is currently a work in progress.
Interview:
I’m from Scotland. I was born in Glasgow, grew up in the new town of Cumbernauld, went to college in Edinburgh and now live in semi-rural central Scotland.Where are you from?
I’ve just completed the design and formatting of my next book, the Britpop-era romance ‘End of a Century’, which is due for release on Valentine’s Day, 2025.
Tell us your latest news?
I began writing as a child, because I adored stories. English was always my strongest subject at school.
When and why did you begin writing?
Apart from a brief early period when I was convinced I was going to be a zoo keeper, writing of some kind was always my aim. By my teens, I was always writing something or other – scripts based on my favourite TV shows, short stories, poems … anything! By then, though, I had decided journalism was the career for me - and it was, for nearly 30 years.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
There were a few smaller projects and false starts along the way, but ‘How Soon Is Now?’ is really my first novel. It was inspired by one very simple idea, which I’d tried at various points over the years to turn into a proper book: What would it be like to be able to travel back to relive any previous point in your life?
What inspired you to write your first book?
Years of journalism - latterly as a sub-editor - trained me to keep everything clean and clear. There’s room for all kinds of writing, of course, but my preference is for unshowy, persuasive writing which quietly and subtly draws readers into the story without drawing attention to itself. I’ll allow myself a few flourishes for specific passages where necessary, but in the main I’d rather, as a writer, remain entirely invisible.Do you have a specific writing style?
For a long time, the work-in-progress version of ‘How Soon Is Now?’ was titled simply ’The Nostalgia Club’, after the eccentric group of time travellers at the centre of the plot. But then it became clear to me that, for a book about memory and nostalgia centred on a troubled man who was an obsessive fan of 1980s UK indie music, there was really only one title. So I ‘borrowed’ it from the song by The Smiths, and it’s a perfect fit.How did you come up with the title?
Again, as a writer I like to keep myself quietly off to one side and not tell readers what they should think. In fact, I worked hard to create enough ambiguity in certain characters and situations to leave space for the reader’s imagination to get to work. The book covers a lot of themes – guilt, redemption, loss, love, memory, the dangerous pull of nostalgia – but it’s not up to me to tell readers how to feel about them. In fact, I believe readers will feel more strongly about a story which leaves room for their own interpretations.Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Hopefully, everything except the fact that some characters have the ability to travel in time. It’s a fantastical, unlikely notion, so it had to be tackled in a very down-to-earth manner and be experienced by believable characters in order to guide readers into the story. The time travel ‘hook’ allows for plenty of thrills, twists and paradoxes, but it’s there as a way to examine how real people cope with extreme situations.How much of the book is realistic?
I drew on a few real-life experiences and used several familiar settings. Like my lead character, Luke, I worked as a journalist and lived in a top floor flat in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow. But I’ve never faced any of his troubles and, so far at least, have no noticeable talent for time travel. Some of the scenes set in 1980s Edinburgh were inspired by my own student days in that beautiful city. Other than that, the book is all a mix of imagination and thorough research.Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
At either end of the cultural respectability spectrum, I’d say the ‘Doctor Who’ novelisations by Terrance Dicks, which I devoured as a child and which really fired my love of reading, and James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’, which I read before I was educated enough to know I was supposed to be intimidated by it, and which opened my mind to the infinite possibilities of great writing.What books have most influenced your life most?
As usual, I’ve got several on the go at the same time. Iqbal Hussain’s 'Northern Boy’ is a witty, characterful and touching novel, while my current non-fiction read is 'Searching for Dexys Midnight Runners’, in which Nige Tassell tries to track down as many former members of Dexys as he can (and there are many, many ex-members of Dexys Midnight Runners).What book are you reading now?
I'm still doing anything and everything to promote ‘How Soon Is Now?’, because I love the book with all my heart, while preparing ‘End of a Century’ for release next year. I’m also in the early stages of work on my third novel, which will be a return to some of the the characters and themes of ‘How Soon Is Now?'What are your current projects?
I have a big list of names, but for brevity I’ll just say I owe huge thanks to an extremely kind-hearted and patient online community of writers and readers who offered invaluable advice and support throughout the writing of ‘How Soon Is Now?'Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members?
I'd very much like your readers to know that ‘How Soon Is Now?’ is available now as a hardback, paperback and e-book, and that if they like strong characters, surprises, twists, paradoxes, laughs, tears and a unique approach to time travel, they’ll love it. Also, there’s a cat called Harry in it, and several dogs named Biscuit.What would you like my readers to know?
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ www.paulcarnahan.com
Twitter ➜ https://twitter.com/pacarnahan
Instagram ➜ https://www.instagram.com/paulcarnahan6/
Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211423352-how-soon-is-now
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