Journeys: Three Stories with Unexpected Twists and Turns: UPX, 84 North, Schism

by Will Young

Journeys is a compilation of three novellas set in very different times - the near future, the distant past, and the present. At the heart of each story is a journey, but each is a different kind of journey. No travelogues here. Instead there is an ancient mystery, a peek into the future, and a bizarre road trip. UPX – United People Xpress explores a possible solution to the difficulties of long-distance air travel. Wouldn't it be nice to go to bed somewhere exotic like Bangkok and wake up in your own bed at home? (Something like a low-tech version of Star Trek's “beam me up, Scotty”.) Fortunately, technology could make this possible in the near future. Unfortunately, human error and technology glitches could turn such journeys into nightmares. Schism is a mystery set in and around Medina in the early seventh century, the time of Muhammad and the first caliphs. The story grew out of a question the author asked a guide in Morocco. Why did Islam split into two factions that have continually fought each other for centuries? The answer triggered the idea for a mystery story that takes place on a trek in the Arabian desert. Politics. Power. Deception. All could have played a role in the split of a faith. 84 North, the third novella, takes place just a few years ago on an unusual road trip in northern New Mexico. Was the journey real? Or imagined? Both the scenic highway and the story have have a lot of surprises along the way. Love. Violence. Mystery. While these stories are very different, the three journeys have their own problematic "bumps in the road". Things are never quite as they seem. Nothing goes according to plan. These are set in exotic locales, but the stories in Journeys are certainly not traditional travel tales.

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 8, 2016

About the author

Will Young is an English singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the worldwide Idol franchise.