The Time Being

In this humorous novel, a young man named Tim finds himself on a quest to rescue a mysterious old man called "The Time Being." The Time Being has been kidnapped by flying creatures called "Time Flies." Tim is accompanies the rescue team mainly because it includes a pretty girl named Desi, and he wants to impress and get to know her. Quirky, and off beat, this entertaining story is all about how we view time in our modern world.

When new graduate Tim Etters finds himself at a party of strangers on New Year’s Eve, he is just starting to feel at ease when flying creatures burst through the skylight and kidnap the guest of honor, a mysterious old man known as The Time Being. In an effort to impress Desi, a pretty photographer at the party, Tim volunteers to help rescue him, and the resulting tale is The Time Being, a completed Fantasy/Science Fiction novel of 66,000 words. Tim is accompanied by an odd bunch of characters. There is Cronum, the stern leader of the Minute Men; Defining Moment, Tim’s personal helper; Fugi, the leader of the Time Flies who have kidnapped The Time Being; Seren, a beautiful woman with a mind of her own; the Fort Knight, a stalwart helper who is hopelessly long-winded; and others. Along the way they must travel through bizarrely different sections of The Second City (The High Time Quarter, The Mean Time Quarter, The Lots of Free Time, etc.), an alternative world where time is the key to everything. Eventually they track The Time Being to the compound of the Procrasti Nation, where he has been sequestered by the Time Flies. The evil Procrasties have dire plans for him, unless Tim and the group can get there in, well, time. This humorous, offbeat, and entertaining adventure story takes a timely look at how people view and spend time.

Craig Newton is a writer and musician who lives in Southern California with his wife and two dogs. This is his first novel.