Passport to Terror (The Passport Time Travel Series) SciFi Time Travel Adventure by Christy Cooper-Burnett ➱ Book Tour with Giveaway
Passport to Terror
The Passport Time Travel Series Book 1
by Christy Cooper-Burnett
Genre: SciFi Time Travel Adventure
What really happened to Jack the Ripper?
They always say, "Be careful what you wish for."
I wish I had been careful.
I could've easily sold my time travel machine for billions and walked away. Instead, I opened The Taylor Travel Group where I take the elite on vacations into history, to a time and place of their choice.
But when a big-time movie studio hired my company, I sold my soul.
What was supposed to be a few days of method-actor immersion in nineteenth-century London went horribly awry. Now America's hottest starlet is dead, and Jack the Ripper is on the loose in modern-day Los Angeles. And it's all my fault.
I was careless enough to let history's most ruthless serial killer slip out of the past. Am I smart enough to match wits with him and send him packing before he vanishes forever?
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Excerpt #1
MADISON
1888, London, England
The rain kept rhythm with my racing heart as droplets of icy water mixed with my tears and spilled down my cheeks. I stood frozen in place. All I managed to do was to blink rapidly to clear my vision. My eyes remained fixed on the lifeless woman splayed out in the alley before me as my mind slowly registered the image. My hand flew to my mouth, and I stumbled backward.
I didn’t want to see her.
I didn’t want to believe it.
This was all wrong.
But I couldn’t pull my gaze away, and it forced me to accept the truth. Alysha Beck lay murdered in a Whitechapel alley in 1888.
How did this happen? No. How could I let this happen?
The woman behind me continued to scream. “Ripper! It’s the Ripper!” she shrieked.
Her cries echoed loudly in the narrow passageway, making the entire scene reminiscent of some horror movie playing out in a seedy, dim theater.
Which was ironic because the slain woman was a film star. And not just your run-of-the-mill average actress. She was one of the world’s most popular leading ladies.
Admired everywhere. Box office gold. And now, very dead.
The man next to me leaned over to be sick. His name was Derek Porter, and he knew Alysha much better than I did. I’d met her just three days ago and only witnessed her entitled, rude side. Guilt surged through me almost instantly. I was sure she had likable traits. Maybe I just hadn’t known her long enough to find any.
A trickle of dread started at my spine and worked its way up as I realized with absolute certainty her murder would affect every facet of my life from that moment forward. I just had no idea how profoundly. Things were about to get much, much worse in ways I never imagined, as this began a seemingly endless stream of events that would change everything. Forever.
They always say, “Be careful what you wish for.”
I wish I had been careful. But it was too late for that.
Excerpt #2
MADISON
2032, Los Angeles, California
I hurried toward the stairs and got as far as the third step before I froze. The lobby was swarming with paparazzi, cameras clicking away furiously. Tyler and Tori were trying in vain to push them out the front door. And in the midst of it all were Alysha Beck and Jake Martin. Alysha played to the cameras, throwing her head back each time she laughed at something one of them said.
I’d never seen anyone exude such confidence, and her perfect posture and relaxed smile looked completely natural on her. She was all curves and cleavage and glossy red lips, and her dress left little to the imagination. And she worked it to her advantage expertly. She probably did yoga in her sleep and considered an olive and a stalk of celery a meal. Or whatever diet drink she was passing off as protein shakes. No one could look like that and actually eat. I was convinced she hadn’t seen an ounce of fat or a carb since she was a teenager. Which was presumably only a couple of years ago.
I glanced down at my simple navy skirt and white blouse and never felt dowdier in my life. Why hadn’t I at least worn some kick-ass heels or trendier jewelry? Well, it was too late now. I had to work with what I had. I wasn’t unattractive but compared to Alysha Beck I felt like a frump.
Alysha had every photographer in the room eating right out of her hand. Jake smiled as he leaned over to whisper something in her ear, his arm around her waist. She shot him a smile, but she looked bothered and immediately turned her attention back to the photographers.
I felt a pang of jealousy with how at ease she was with herself. At least that’s what I told myself. But that was a big fat lie. I was envious of the way she looked. I was already irritated, and I hadn’t even met her yet. I told myself to stop being so petty. I was the CEO of a very successful business. But that did little to boost my waning confidence.
I stood up straighter and started down the stairs again. My movement caught Jake’s attention, and his gaze shifted up to me. I stopped mid-step and gawked at him like a complete idiot.
Walk, Madison. You must look like a twit.
I knew this wasn’t headed in the right direction. But I couldn’t help myself. I was mesmerized. I’d never seen such a handsome man before. His hair was perfectly messy. He had just enough stubble to be masculine without looking unkempt. And those eyes. They were the color of jade. Could that color even be real? He must wear contacts. When he smiled at me, his dimples appeared, and I almost passed out. Instead, I lost my footing and tripped, grabbing onto the handrail as I narrowly missed tumbling down the staircase into an epic faceplant.
I would have preferred fainting.
Excerpt #3
JACK
Los Angeles, California 2032
The door slammed shut, and I stumbled out from behind the box. My time had run out. They would bring others back to search for me. The woman—Madison—unsettled me. I felt it in my bones. She realized what I was capable of. I saw the way she looked at me that morning in London. And now she referred to me as Jack, so I was certain she knew I was Jack the Ripper. An uneasy feeling washed over me like icy fingers clutching my soul. She would be the one to be wary of.
I patted my waistcoat to confirm the knife was there, packed some food into my jacket and crossed the basement to the window. I placed a pail against the wall to stand on and used my elbow to shatter the glass. The sun was setting, so I would have the cover of darkness on my side. I swept the glass shards from the frame and poked my head out. I welcomed the fresh evening air against my face and inhaled deeply. I peered up and down the street and saw no one nearby. Time was of the essence, so I pushed my way through the small opening, landing in a heap on the walkway below. I quickly regained my footing, rose, and brushed the dust from my coat. I glanced left, then right. There were fewer lights to my left, which suited me fine. Unlike most people, I was comfortable in the darkness. I walked away from my prison without ever looking back.
Like a bat from its cave.
Where were you born/grew up?
I was born in southern California and grew up in Chino. Chino used to be a small dairy community but has since grown by leaps and bounds as the dairy farms in the area dwindle. I live in the next city over today, but still have strong roots to my hometown. I graduated from the same high school my parents did, and many of their classmates’ children went on to become my high school friends, and our children became friends as well.
Growing up, my father was a Chino police officer, so I was instilled with a huge sense of community that I still carry with me today.
Chino has been voted one of the best places to live several years in a row. I couldn’t agree more!
How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
I knew I wanted to stay with another time travel theme, and I had this idea about time travel vacations swirling around in my head. I like to write stories where the characters go back in time deliberately, not via a time-slip scenario. I let that idea marinate for a while as I thought about who the clients for such a vacation might be. When the movie studio idea took root, I knew that would be fun to write. Movie stars traveling back to the Victorian era. What could possibly go wrong?
Christy Cooper-Burnett is an award-winning author based in California with a degree in Administration of Justice. After retiring from the new home construction industry she now writes full-time in Southern California where she lives with her rescue beagle, Gertie. She has one grown son who inspired her to write her award-winning debut novel, No Way Home. She began her writing career later in life, but once she started she couldn’t stop. Her work focuses on creating relatable stories and characters that transcend genres and encourage readers to imagine what they would do if thrown into the unique, imaginative situations her protagonists end up in.
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