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Maybe Some Other Time
She drove out of the past… and straight into her future.
Thelma Van der Graaf was the perfect 1950s housewife—charming, stylish, and unquestionably devoted to her family. On Hemlock Street, she was known for her tasteful jokes, immaculate garden, and the kind of chaste flirtation that never garnered attention. Even her secret lover, Sandy, understood the love had to be hidden, tucked away behind lace curtains and closed doors.
But one foggy night, racing to the market while her son lay sick on the couch, Thelma vanished into a heavy fog…
And reappeared in 2018.
There’s no way back… only forward.
Her husband and Sandy are gone. Her now-elderly son, bitter and confused, believes she abandoned him. Struggling to make sense of the internet, new Christian dogma, and seatbelt laws, Thelma finds unlikely allies in a college-aged granddaughter and a support group for other accidental time travelers.
And then there’s Gretchen, a neighbor whose down-to-earth views and affable personality instantly catches Thelma’s heart.
As Thelma adjusts to the twenty-first century, she rediscovers who she truly is beneath the golden curls and red lipstick. For the first time in her life, she doesn’t have to hide. In this bold new world, she has the chance to reclaim her voice, pursue new love, and finally become the woman Sandy would have been proud of.
All while enjoying the same Californian sun she has known for decades.
MAYBE SOME OTHER TIME is a time-travel story that is equal parts women’s fiction and romance. It is low-spice and has a HEA—albeit an unconventional one.
Thelma Van der Graaf was the perfect 1950s housewife—charming, stylish, and unquestionably devoted to her family. On Hemlock Street, she was known for her tasteful jokes, immaculate garden, and the kind of chaste flirtation that never garnered attention. Even her secret lover, Sandy, understood the love had to be hidden, tucked away behind lace curtains and closed doors.
But one foggy night, racing to the market while her son lay sick on the couch, Thelma vanished into a heavy fog…
And reappeared in 2018.
There’s no way back… only forward.
Her husband and Sandy are gone. Her now-elderly son, bitter and confused, believes she abandoned him. Struggling to make sense of the internet, new Christian dogma, and seatbelt laws, Thelma finds unlikely allies in a college-aged granddaughter and a support group for other accidental time travelers.
And then there’s Gretchen, a neighbor whose down-to-earth views and affable personality instantly catches Thelma’s heart.
As Thelma adjusts to the twenty-first century, she rediscovers who she truly is beneath the golden curls and red lipstick. For the first time in her life, she doesn’t have to hide. In this bold new world, she has the chance to reclaim her voice, pursue new love, and finally become the woman Sandy would have been proud of.
All while enjoying the same Californian sun she has known for decades.
MAYBE SOME OTHER TIME is a time-travel story that is equal parts women’s fiction and romance. It is low-spice and has a HEA—albeit an unconventional one.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2025
36 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Hildred Billings
149 books318 followersHildred Billings is a Japanese and Religious Studies graduate who has spent her entire life knowing she would write for a living someday. She has lived in Japan multiple times in multiple locations, from the heights of the Japanese alps to the hectic Tokyo suburbs, with a life in Shikoku somewhere in there too.
Currently, Hildred lives in Oregon with her partner and two cats. When she's not commandeering the corner of the neighborhood coffee shop on hours on end (it's okay, she's on a first-name basis with the baristas) she's probably parked on the couch watching Bob's Burgers or screaming at a Zelda game. (Seriously, Link, why don't you move right?)
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Twitter: @hildred
Currently, Hildred lives in Oregon with her partner and two cats. When she's not commandeering the corner of the neighborhood coffee shop on hours on end (it's okay, she's on a first-name basis with the baristas) she's probably parked on the couch watching Bob's Burgers or screaming at a Zelda game. (Seriously, Link, why don't you move right?)
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/3rgEzLz
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3c7Lcf4
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3vPLpvd
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/3lDutn5
Twitter: @hildred
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 13, 2025
All a bit nutty: liked the first 40% but became bored after that and skip read the last half. It had no surprises. Sci-Fi has never been my story of choice so don’t let me be your judge.
December 22, 2025
4 Stars
Time travel stories are compelling when they are written well. I preface my review by stating—yet again—that this topic is not new and has been used as foundation time and time again. It is therefore the author’s responsibility to ensure their take on time travel stands out from the rest by offering something distinctive and memorable.
Maybe Some Other Time by Hildred Billings was distinct in that it forgoes the science of time travel and instead focused on the emotional effects it had on the traveller. It wasn’t flashy, loud, or shiny, nor did it rely on the usual bells and whistles common to the genre. Rather, it was emotionally and intellectually realistic, which is precisely why the plot worked.
The author’s main focus was not only the emotional toll of leaping forward decades, but also the effect on the main character’s lineage and the repercussions of such a sudden and unexpected disappearance. The way the author layered the protagonist’s persona—her life decisions in the 1950s, her identity, and the role she resigned herself to—juxtaposed with the life she was abruptly thrust into, was a masterclass in the study of mental processes.
Worth noting as well was the fashion, music, and period-specific language, all of which added depth and nuance to the time periods depicted. Maybe Some Other Time is an enjoyable and delightful read.
Time travel stories are compelling when they are written well. I preface my review by stating—yet again—that this topic is not new and has been used as foundation time and time again. It is therefore the author’s responsibility to ensure their take on time travel stands out from the rest by offering something distinctive and memorable.
Maybe Some Other Time by Hildred Billings was distinct in that it forgoes the science of time travel and instead focused on the emotional effects it had on the traveller. It wasn’t flashy, loud, or shiny, nor did it rely on the usual bells and whistles common to the genre. Rather, it was emotionally and intellectually realistic, which is precisely why the plot worked.
The author’s main focus was not only the emotional toll of leaping forward decades, but also the effect on the main character’s lineage and the repercussions of such a sudden and unexpected disappearance. The way the author layered the protagonist’s persona—her life decisions in the 1950s, her identity, and the role she resigned herself to—juxtaposed with the life she was abruptly thrust into, was a masterclass in the study of mental processes.
Worth noting as well was the fashion, music, and period-specific language, all of which added depth and nuance to the time periods depicted. Maybe Some Other Time is an enjoyable and delightful read.
September 24, 2025
(rounded down from 4.25)
This was an engaging story about a housewife from the sixties who finds herself suddenly thrust more than a half-century forward in time, and the life she mourns leaving behind, and the new opportunities this opens up for her. I found the characters loveable and mostly engaging, although I wish we had a bit more depth to most of the side characters. Thelma has an interesting journey reconciling with modern sensibilities, religion, her own queerness, and the suddenness of her grief at losing her husband and also her best friend/secret girlfriend to old age and missing her children grow up. This was definitely worth checking out for the emotional journey.
This was an engaging story about a housewife from the sixties who finds herself suddenly thrust more than a half-century forward in time, and the life she mourns leaving behind, and the new opportunities this opens up for her. I found the characters loveable and mostly engaging, although I wish we had a bit more depth to most of the side characters. Thelma has an interesting journey reconciling with modern sensibilities, religion, her own queerness, and the suddenness of her grief at losing her husband and also her best friend/secret girlfriend to old age and missing her children grow up. This was definitely worth checking out for the emotional journey.
October 9, 2025
Looking for the usual BDSM book that Hildy writes? Well, this isn't it! But, oh my goodness, what a delightful, creative, and engaging book it is! I absolutely loved it. Thelma is one of the few protagonists in sapphic literature that I will remember. HB does a wonderful job of interspersing Thelma's old world with her new world in such a way that it speaks to what sapphic women in the "olden times" endured to ensure their survival and the costs they were willing to pay for it, juxtaposed against the freedoms that women now have to be who they truly are. Now, Hildy, no one wants you to give up your spicier endeavors, but I wouldn't be mad if you wrote more books like this.
September 4, 2025
There is one word that keeps popping into my mind to describe this book: MAGICAL. Maybe Some Other Time exceeded my expectations as it weaved a fantastical tale full of desires, dreams, and deep emotions. I even found myself shedding a few tears while reading. I really appreciated the Afterword at the end of the book that revealed personal insight into the author’s life, letting us glimpse where and when her inspiration came from.
One of my favorite comfort movies is the 1986 Kathleen Turner/Nicolas Cage movie Peggy Sue Got Married and I kept thinking about that movie as I was reading this book. I even had to pause my reading to rewatch the movie again. If you’re not familiar with the movie it involves a woman attending her 25th high school reunion where she faints and wakes up back in time to 1960. Before her fainting episode she laments she would have done things differently if she knew then what she knew now. Of course the charm of the movie is that she realizes everything worked out the way it was supposed to.
Maybe Some Other Time was also full of charm but the time travel happens in the opposite direction. Our main character Thelma is a 1950s housewife who finds herself suddenly transported 60 years into the future after she drives through a mysterious fog. In the future the FBI is expecting to receive a time traveler so they were there to great her and help her get acclimated to her new reality. While the FBI is aware of the mysterious fog that produces time travelers it is still a very secretive phenomenon that the general public is not privy to.
Thelma is a housewife and mother of two, who also happens to be having a lesbian affair. She’s living her best life in 1958, when she suddenly finds herself in 2018. She has lost everything that was important to her but she has gained a freedom in 2018 that women didn’t have in 1958. Fortunately her two children are still alive and her son resentfully takes her in after being debriefed by the FBI. He’s resentful because he thought her disappearance when he was a child was by choice. Unfortunately her daughter has early dementia and lives in a memory care facility so their reunion is bittersweet.
Thelma learns to navigate life 60 years in the future while trying to repair the relationship with her son. She also gets to explore being in an open lesbian relationship, something that never would have been possible in her old life. One dimension of the story that really resonated with me was how Thelma held onto her faith, frequently referring to scripture that she clung to like a lifeline. She even finds a church to attend after talking with members at a Pride event booth.
Hildred provides a music playlist to accompany this book and it is full of oldies and a few modern songs. I’ve always been drawn towards the oldies myself as it’s what my Boomer mom always played in the car when I was growing up. This book and the playlist filled me with lots of nostalgia. Maybe Some Other Time was so fantastical, surprising, and magical. I absolutely loved it.
One of my favorite comfort movies is the 1986 Kathleen Turner/Nicolas Cage movie Peggy Sue Got Married and I kept thinking about that movie as I was reading this book. I even had to pause my reading to rewatch the movie again. If you’re not familiar with the movie it involves a woman attending her 25th high school reunion where she faints and wakes up back in time to 1960. Before her fainting episode she laments she would have done things differently if she knew then what she knew now. Of course the charm of the movie is that she realizes everything worked out the way it was supposed to.
Maybe Some Other Time was also full of charm but the time travel happens in the opposite direction. Our main character Thelma is a 1950s housewife who finds herself suddenly transported 60 years into the future after she drives through a mysterious fog. In the future the FBI is expecting to receive a time traveler so they were there to great her and help her get acclimated to her new reality. While the FBI is aware of the mysterious fog that produces time travelers it is still a very secretive phenomenon that the general public is not privy to.
Thelma is a housewife and mother of two, who also happens to be having a lesbian affair. She’s living her best life in 1958, when she suddenly finds herself in 2018. She has lost everything that was important to her but she has gained a freedom in 2018 that women didn’t have in 1958. Fortunately her two children are still alive and her son resentfully takes her in after being debriefed by the FBI. He’s resentful because he thought her disappearance when he was a child was by choice. Unfortunately her daughter has early dementia and lives in a memory care facility so their reunion is bittersweet.
Thelma learns to navigate life 60 years in the future while trying to repair the relationship with her son. She also gets to explore being in an open lesbian relationship, something that never would have been possible in her old life. One dimension of the story that really resonated with me was how Thelma held onto her faith, frequently referring to scripture that she clung to like a lifeline. She even finds a church to attend after talking with members at a Pride event booth.
Hildred provides a music playlist to accompany this book and it is full of oldies and a few modern songs. I’ve always been drawn towards the oldies myself as it’s what my Boomer mom always played in the car when I was growing up. This book and the playlist filled me with lots of nostalgia. Maybe Some Other Time was so fantastical, surprising, and magical. I absolutely loved it.
September 1, 2025
This story is a departure from the usual Billings/Dane book but an enjoyable read. It's a hard thing to imagine if time travel existed and only worked one way, how would one respond to finding that out, let alone experiencing it. That's where Thelma finds herself during a quick milk run. While I enjoyed the story, I felt Thelma reacted remarkedly well (even with the government therapy and program before being released) to finding herself 60 years in the future with half of those in her life no longer alive and meeting her grown, elderly children. I felt some sections of the story were a bit rushed through where they could have been explored more or the overall impact of the situation was glossed over a bit. Overall, I liked Thelma's journey in accepting herself, the new world she finds herself in, and the nuances in trying to adapt to new family dynamics with Robbie and Debbie while finding love unexpectedly.
September 14, 2025
Wow, I really enjoyed reading this. To me it took time travel to another level. For the price the family left behind payment can be high. The lives that have to figure out what happened and how it shapes them. Thelma's unexpected travel from 1950s to 2018 has her learning to live over again. New language, new technology, new food, even dealing with new feelings. Thelma's experience left me feeling a melancholy for what was and confusion over what is. But our girl is strong and slowly starts getting a grip on 2018. I also enjoyed the afterword. Hildred left it all out for us to see where this story comes from. I give this a big 5 star rating, just for something so different.
September 25, 2025
did you say time traveling.
Not exactly what I was expecting. Time traveling. This story will have you laughing and possibly shedding some tears. Thelma heads out one night in 1958 because her son who is sick wants some milk. Rather than getting to the market she ends up in 2018. She has two children her daughter Debbie is in a care facility with dementia. He son Rob now retired takes in his 28 year old mother. The book takes you back and forth between Thelma’s past and present. Her best friend is her granddaughter who helps her try and get adjusted to her new future.
I enjoyed the book think everyone would.
Not exactly what I was expecting. Time traveling. This story will have you laughing and possibly shedding some tears. Thelma heads out one night in 1958 because her son who is sick wants some milk. Rather than getting to the market she ends up in 2018. She has two children her daughter Debbie is in a care facility with dementia. He son Rob now retired takes in his 28 year old mother. The book takes you back and forth between Thelma’s past and present. Her best friend is her granddaughter who helps her try and get adjusted to her new future.
I enjoyed the book think everyone would.
September 27, 2025
A Wonderful Time Travel
Thelma in 1958 goes out to the store to get milk, but the Fog is so thick that she has traveled in time to 2018. At twenty eight years old she is trying to figure things out and how her family survived after sixty years without her. Then there is the flip side She can do things like hold a woman's hand while walking down the street without getting thrown in jail. That she can marry a woman and be open about it, to truly just be herself. This is a wonderful story very different from MS Billings other books. I hope we get to read more about Thelma and how she is adjusting to her in life in 2018 and the years to come.
Thelma in 1958 goes out to the store to get milk, but the Fog is so thick that she has traveled in time to 2018. At twenty eight years old she is trying to figure things out and how her family survived after sixty years without her. Then there is the flip side She can do things like hold a woman's hand while walking down the street without getting thrown in jail. That she can marry a woman and be open about it, to truly just be herself. This is a wonderful story very different from MS Billings other books. I hope we get to read more about Thelma and how she is adjusting to her in life in 2018 and the years to come.
October 6, 2025
Maybe Some Other Time is the tale of 1950’s housewife Thelma who jumps sixty years forward, from 1958 to 2018, in a matter of minutes. The story delves into many possible complications of such a transition and the difficulties a jumper may have adapting. For Thelma, some of the most startling differences are in the opportunities available to women. A diverse supporting cast variously helps and hinders Thelma in her quest for a new normal. This is a very interesting read with an unusual story arc and a satisfying conclusion.
September 12, 2025
The story of accidental time traveler Thelma Van Der Graaf and the woman she falls for in 2018, Gretchen Stewart, is a gentle tale of love, persistence, self-discovery, and ultimately acceptance of the things that Thelma can’t change.
There’s a little spice in this story but not a lot, and as a kind of palate cleanser, it fits the style and feel of the book.
I won’t go into spoilers but I will say that this was an easy fun read, one that I recommend others consider as well.
There’s a little spice in this story but not a lot, and as a kind of palate cleanser, it fits the style and feel of the book.
I won’t go into spoilers but I will say that this was an easy fun read, one that I recommend others consider as well.
October 9, 2025
Sapphic time-travel!
The three main characters were well written and developed in mannerisms and talk. The plot was one for the books. I would love to see this book adapted to a movie or even a tv show.
The minor characters were less developed- Gretchen, Pauline, Emma felt quite 1/2D, unremarkable and hard to remember or envision.
But great story for me at this time in my life.
The three main characters were well written and developed in mannerisms and talk. The plot was one for the books. I would love to see this book adapted to a movie or even a tv show.
The minor characters were less developed- Gretchen, Pauline, Emma felt quite 1/2D, unremarkable and hard to remember or envision.
But great story for me at this time in my life.
October 10, 2025
Oh my god, why am I reading this book? It's painful right from the start.
This woman has a son and a daughter, but she only has eyes for her son.
I can't get any further
This woman has a son and a daughter, but she only has eyes for her son.
I can't get any further
October 27, 2025
PSA This should be a movie!! This book was beautifully written. This was a bit different to what I’ve read from this author. It’s not the usual sapphic romance pick—time travel and rediscovery drives the story more than the romance—but I fell in love with Thelma and was drawn in by her journey. Thrust from the 1950s into 2018, she’s forced to confront losing 60 years of her life, the pain of leaving her children behind, and the haunting secrets of a hidden queer past. Romance is present and grows but the progression of the relationship is subtle; the heart of the story lies in Thelma’s reckoning, with her sexuality in a more open era, with the faith that once sustained her, and with the woman she used to be.
It’s also about reconciling the lost love and experiencing new love, quiet, tender, and very sweet. Thelma’s connection with Gretchen was sweet and grounding, but I found myself wanting more from that thread. What stayed with me most was Thelma’s self-discovery: her authenticity, her 1950s style that made her stand out even when that wasn’t her intention, and her ability to navigate a world that had moved on without her. A quietly powerful story about becoming you, again…
It’s also about reconciling the lost love and experiencing new love, quiet, tender, and very sweet. Thelma’s connection with Gretchen was sweet and grounding, but I found myself wanting more from that thread. What stayed with me most was Thelma’s self-discovery: her authenticity, her 1950s style that made her stand out even when that wasn’t her intention, and her ability to navigate a world that had moved on without her. A quietly powerful story about becoming you, again…
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews