Karen & Al Collier
In Prisoner of Time, the first of the Luke’s Quest series, Luke Bradley discovers a journal from 1881 written by a time traveler who is trapped in the past. Not only does Luke uncover a murder plot, but he also meets a woman he has seen in his dreams for years. Luke's love for Lisa presents a few problems. A few months from now Lisa may be murdered or may murder someone else, and Luke is not sure which. Meanwhile, both Luke and Lisa are attacked and nearly killed, and he tries to find out who is behind those attacks and why. Lisa's husband is one suspect. A rejected lover is another possibility. Or it could be the head of security for the secret government time-travel research project where she works, or even all of them working together. Will Luke live long enough to save Lisa, or will she die too while another time-traveler is trapped in 1881?
Most of the action takes place in modern-day Arkansas, but also includes a trip to Scotland as well as a journey back to Jacksonport, Arkansas, in 1881. It is a love story, adventure and mystery all rolled into one. Without intending to, Luke finds his life taking a different path from what he had ever expected it to and discovers healing in the process of helping others.
Karen and Al Collier are a unique writing team. Al experiences severe epileptic seizures and ‘blackouts.’ During these blackouts he sees visions or mental movies, which he later describes to Karen, who then helps him convert these stories into novels. Al’s seizures cause dyslexia and other reading problems as well as writing difficulties. Karen translates and weaves his ramblings into a magical tale.
Prior to the onset of the seizures, Al worked in both print and broadcast journalism as well as being a paranormal investigator.
Karen and Al share a love of history, especially of the ancient Americans, and genealogy. For more information about them visit the web sites: http://www.alcollier.com or http://www.lukesquest.com.
“But how did you find me in Rosslyn, Scotland? It is a long way from Arkansas.” I said, again dropping back to the stern, analytical tone that John used. “I could take this as some very serious stalking.”
“Others might see it as a very deep case of love,” she teased. “Besides, Willie told me you were coming here today.”
“We need to talk about that,” I said.
“The love or the stalking?” she said with a wink and a smile. She knew her smile could melt my heart, but I tried to resist this time.
“Listen to me, Lisa,” I said as we walked. “You are a married woman. Someone is trying to kill us. You have never been totally honest with me about your past and work. To make matters even worse, you don’t know why I know so much about you and your work.”
I knew she suspected that I knew she was really a time-traveler, but I was not about to confirm that just yet to her. We still had other things to work out first, plus I did not want to risk changing the time stream.
I was slipping into a more passionate rambling, but I continued, “There are things about to happen in your life that I know in detail. Yet you have no clue about those events. My life is all twisted with this web of deceit and fear, and the only positive thing I find is that I am crazy about a married woman who wants to offer me sex and fairy tales. I just do not know how much longer I can continue with everything the way that it is.”
“I traveled all night to get here, just to tell you I missed you and I love you. Then I get this!” she said fighting back tears.
She was wanting to talk about our love, and all I could think about was how in two months time she might be trapped in 1881 for the rest of her life and I would never see her again unless I could find a way to save her. Even if she returned from 1881 there could still be an attempt on her life. I could not tell her the truth, not yet.
I held her hand as we walked farther away from the main building. “I never meant to become involved with you. You are so very special to me, but being involved with you complicates things more than you can imagine.”
“So why did you come over here so suddenly?” she asked.
“To think,” I said. “I wanted to get things clearer in my head, and I had to be away from all the problems that Arkansas holds for me right now.”
“So, Luke, you wanted to run away from me?” she asked.
“I am never sure if I am running away from you or toward you,” I said, “and I mean that with all my heart.”
“So it should be clear to you that I was willing to come all this way to tell you exactly how I feel about you,” she told me looking into my eyes.
“My heart says so,” I told her, still returning her look, “but there are still those future events that I have on my mind.”
