Moving at the Speed of Time – The Modern Marijuana Novel

If you look at any of the various lists online of great marijuana books, you’ll find that most of the books on the lists are non-fiction. Surprisingly, few fiction writers have celebrated the herb we all love so much. That’s changed now. A new novel has arrived that shamelessly embraces and celebrates the herb. Let me introduce you to Moving At The Speed Of Time by Jon Christopher, available from Traveling Shoes Press on April 20, 2018.

Moving At the Speed Of Time is a quick and fun read. The stories of an artist, a soul-searching guru, a lottery winner, and an ex-con are intertwined through a meandering tale of consciousness, marijuana smoking and human reality. Moving At the Speed Of Time is full of delightful asides, digressions, and tidbits of cannabis lore.

Here’s Jon Christopher in his own words from the prologue of Moving At The Speed Of Time:

The muse of our story is a plant. The cannabis plant. Mary Jane. The Herb. Pot. Ganja. If I could, I’d make this a love song to the herb. But this isn’t going to be a song, it’s a novel, so I’m going to tell a story about marijuana instead. And if the story turns out to be about something else, at the least there will be the lingering smell of marijuana wafting from the pages. Right now I’m looking forward with little idea what kind of story is ahead. It’s all quantum possibilities at this point.
I just got a new baggie of marijuana from my collective for the adventure ahead – an ounce of delicious looking buds of a strain called Girl Scout Cookies. I’m rolling up a big fat joint to smoke before we get this story going. I’m using the king size rolling papers. I’m thinking, if this baggie of pot doesn’t help me kick out this story, nothing will.
I’m looking out over Joshua Tree National Park from our home in the hi-desert as I roll up this fatty. It’s late in the afternoon, right around 4:20. The light is beautiful. A roadrunner is darting around the yard. He visits often, and I’ve named him Clack Clack. It’s that magical time of the day so, as they say, “light ‘em if you got ‘em”.
We’ll be moving at the speed of time in this story, which is the only speed to go when you’re good and stoned. Of course, that might leave you wondering how fast time is going. Maybe down the road we’ll answer some questions about time, but then again, maybe we won’t. Time will tell.

You might also be wondering, why this veneration of Mary Jane? What is so special about this herb that would inspire such devotion? Well, there are many reasons, as we’ll discuss in the pages ahead but right now, in this prologue, it’s because she’s going to tell me a story, or help my intuition find the tale that’s already out there in the collective consciousness. You could say I am the consciousness that is turning the quantum possibilities of this moment into reality.

What are readers of Moving At The Speed Of Time saying? Here are a couple reviews which I’ll share with you:

Nora Novak, author of Los Feliz Confidential, A Memoir:

“Skillfully crafted, Moving At The Speed Of Time is a surprisingly fast read, I could not put it down. Christopher’s engaging and original storytelling draws the reader right in as you follow his wonderfully captivating and fully realized characters on their intriguing journey. With his personal and friendly prose, he meshes insightful cosmic theories with his love of cannabis, human nature and the hi-desert. This novel is a refreshingly unique and pleasurable read and is also an education in the world of ganja. It should be available at dispensaries where I’m sure it would fly off the counter along with the edibles and vape-cartridges.”

 

Rich Soos, editor of Cholla Needles Magazine:

Jon Christopher just doesn’t understand old people like myself. We really need sleep. Truly. But will he listen? Nnnoooo…
He keeps writing books that won’t let us sleep. For example, on every other page there’s a small laugh. Sounds innocuous enough – but think about it. When I laugh I take in more air. More oxygen. As tired as I am it gives me enough energy to read two more pages, then another laugh, and – well it’s endless. It’s not like he’s trying to be funny. He just is.

He also makes sure to stop and make me think too. For example, he writes “let’s take a peek behind the writing curtain… Have you ever thought about words and what a miracle they are?” Sounds simple – but if you follow his advice like I did, and just stop and think! Yes! They are miraculous. And on top of that miracle, getting excited about the miracle of language causes me to wake up even more! It’s almost like magic – I’m excited, get back to the page, and another wow on top of it! Well, this is a funny wow – but I was both excited and laughing – worth four more pages of staying awake: “…for the most part we’ve lost the magic of what it means to be able to put words on paper. There is a reason they call it spelling, because it’s a form of magic, it’s the ability to cast a spell over someone’s mind.”

See, sneaky – he knows exactly what he’s doing. How do I know that? ‘Cause this is the second book I’ve read by him in less than a year and they both kept me up all night. He pulled the same great author tricks in Somewhere Out There In The West. Just peek at this trick: “He didn’t have to change his beliefs, he just had to take them to heart and actually believe in his beliefs, which can be harder than one thinks. ”
Yep. If that doesn’t get your neurons wandering faster than normal, well what can I say. Jon is not changing his ways just so we can get our beauty rest. He doesn’t believe any of us should sleep. But if he wants to make the NY Times Bestseller’s list he’ll take some sage advice from an old man. Jon, you’re supposed to write books that bore you to sleep, and take a year to read. They’re such a chore to read that people talk about the book every day for a year, and everyone thinks it must be great. If you keep writing books that really excite people they’ll stop going to movies, stop sleeping, stop watching TV. You’ll cause an awful change to the American way of life. The only good thing I can say is that thankfully there is only one author like Jon Christopher, and I can’t wait to read his next book.

Jon Christopher’s novel will be available on 4.20, of course, on Amazon.com, Lulu.com, and BarnesandNoble.com. You can also buy hand-signed copies from the book website: moving.travelingshoespress.com

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JON CHRISTOPHER was born and raised in Southern California. He lives with his love of more than 30 years, Tania, in the hi-desert overlooking Joshua Tree National Park. Jon’s either writing, creating music, painting or designing books for Traveling Shoes Press – and always spending time with Suki the dog.