'A Passenger in Time' out of print

 

Back in 2009, I self-published a novel for children called A Passenger in Time. The story was set in 2005 and involved a young teenager – Jessica Martyn – who inadvertently travels back in time to 1955 in an adventure that involves a heritage railway. Almost as soon as it was published this book (which centred on the vagaries of time) became a victim of the real-life passage of time. In 2005, the central character Jessica did not have access to a smart phone but only a basic ‘flip phone’ while her younger brother, (with Spotify a decade away,) listened to his iTunes music on an MP3 player. Both devices play a role in the plot so, sixteen years post-publication, Jessica’s ‘present day’ of the 2000s would seem as odd and antiquated to today's children as the 1950s seemed to Jessica.

This problem (of the present dating as much as the past) was less of an issue for authors of earlier time travel books. Philippa Pearce’s classic Tom's Midnight Garden, for example, was published in the 1950s and involved time travel back to the 1880s but the technology is broadly the same in the book’s 'past' as it is in the book’s 'present.' Whether it's 1885 or 1955, railways use steam locomotives, telephones are not portable.

In 2010, I created this blog – Passengers in Time – partly to promote my book (and other books) and also to explore my other interest of music. That’s why the blog has the semi-serious ‘strapline’ adventures with books, music and time travel. Over the past fifteen years I’ve continued to blog about music and books that I like books and, less often, ‘time travel’ (by which I mean real-life travel often combined with a feeling of nostalgia, rather than – sorry to disappoint – actual time travel.) The blog moved on while the book that started it became more and more forgotten (by me, as much as by any potential readers.) The longevity of the book wasn’t helped by the publisher going out of business in 2016. As it was only ever available on print-on-demand, the publisher’s demise meant the handful of printed copies I held were the only ones available (apart from those that could be borrowed from public libraries and the copy held in the good old British Library.) A few kind friends and readers had suggested I republish it but, for all the reasons above, I felt it was something that had dated and was best left as a thing of the past.

I had all but forgotten about A Passenger in Time. And then, a few weeks ago, I performed at a folk club and was surprised when the host introduced me as ‘Tony Gillam – a singer-songwriter and writer,’ and went on to announce, ‘Tony is the author of a time travel novel involving steam railways...’ I’ve never had A Passenger in Time referred to at any of my musical performances and I wasn’t sure what the audience would make of it. I wasn’t sure what I made of it, to be honest.

The upshot of this mention of the book to the folk club audience was that, the following day, I received two enquiries from people who wanted to buy a copy. And the upshot of this unexpected level of interest was that, after sixteen years, no more copies of the book remain. A Passenger in Time is now, well and truly, out of print. The end of an era.

And what does this all tell me? First, that it might be possible to find a readership for my books in the audiences at my gigs. Second, it’s high time I got on and wrote another book.