# Outrageous Fortunes: A Novel of Alternate Histories



## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Shy amateur historian Randy Sullivan, age 23 and unhappy with his life, is approached by his double from a parallel Los Angeles, a bombastic physicist and inventor who calls himself "Sully." Together they step out of this reality and visit versions of Earth stranger than Randy has ever imagined... and those so eerily close as to be just out of reach.

But all is not well back home. Randy's out-of-control adolescent brother and sister are left in the care of his cool-headed and gorgeous neighbor Penelope - the love of Randy's life. They are stranded by encroaching California wildfires. The flames are drawing near and time is running out.

And Sully, genius and connoisseur of a thousand worlds, has a secret plan of his own - and it does not involve Randy Sullivan ever getting home alive.



"Sully takes Randy on a journey across the multiverse, showing him bizarre Earths and the wonders they contain. Yet not everything is as it seems... a delight to read." - Alternate History Weekly Update


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks, Betsy & Ann.

Here is an interview I did with Alternate History Weekly Update. We discuss Outrageous Fortunes and touring the multiverse, among other things.

http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-steven-w-white.html


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

The same folks at AHWU reviewed the book. Result: A-

"_Outrageous Fortunes_ was a delight to read."

http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-outrageous-fortunes.html


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Poor Randy Sullivan.

Not his day.  Not his life.  Not his world.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Down to just 99 cents this week!


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

That was fun. Still a steal at $2.99.

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

I was interviewed by Alternate History Weekly Update:

http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-steven-w-white.html


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

A few words from a fan's email about Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories:

"I downloaded it to my Kindle yesterday and am loving it! Just wanted to let you know. I'm an avid reader and am always thrilled to find a new author I like. You're it!!"


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

What if... long ago... you had gone the other way?


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Just got another 5-star review.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

"One of the new brilliant creators in fiction." - Author Doniella Boaz, re: New World

"Just the right amount of tension and action." - Barry North, re: Turing's Revenge and Other Stories

"Obviously has a great knowledge of both history and science." - Author Kevin E. Lake, re: Outrageous Fortunes

"Fun adventure... a delight to read." - Alternate History Weekly Update, re: Outrageous Fortunes


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Earned a couple of back-to-back 5-star ratings on Goodreads.

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

"A good fast read... and intelligent reflections on the nature of the multiverse." - Stig Olsen, Goodreads

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

What in the worlds is "sideways time travel"?

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks, Keith!

Here's that description again:

Shy amateur historian Randy Sullivan, age 23 and unhappy with his life, is approached by his double from a parallel Los Angeles, a bombastic physicist and inventor who calls himself "Sully." Using a form of sideways time travel, they step out of this reality and visit versions of Earth stranger than Randy has ever imagined... and those so eerily close as to be just out of reach.

But all is not well back home. Randy's out-of-control adolescent brother and sister are left in the care of his cool-headed and gorgeous neighbor Penelope - the love of Randy's life. They are stranded by encroaching California wildfires. The flames are drawing near and time is running out.

And Sully, genius and connoisseur of a thousand worlds, has a secret plan of his own - and it does not involve Randy Sullivan ever getting home alive.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Robots, check.  Dinosaurs, check.  Flying cars, check.  Jetpacks, check.  Getting home in one piece?  That's another story.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

The premise behind "sideways-in-time travel" (and Outrageous Fortunes) is the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics -- a very real hypothesis among physicists.

It suggests that any statistically random quantum event, from an atomic interaction to a human decision, goes both ways, causing a new universe to form. Those universes are out there, right now.

All I did, as author, is give some characters the technology to reach them.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Page one has this:

Author's Note:
The _many-worlds interpretation_ resolves a variety of paradoxes in quantum theory. It was first proposed by Princeton physicist Hugh Everett in 1957, with the help of his thesis advisor, John Archibald Wheeler. Wheeler worked with Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman, and coined the term "black hole."


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

The first version of Los Angeles Randy sees is one in which humans never made it across the Bering Strait.  Point of Divergence: 22,000 years ago.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Altogether, Randy meets two other versions of himself, both of whose universes diverged from his when he was an infant. One is Sully, of course, and the other is... "the Brain."
Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

I love this quote at the novel's opening:

"Ere Babylon was dust,
The Magus Zoroaster, my dear child,
Met his own image walking in the garden."

- Percy Shelley, _Prometheus Unbound_​


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Sully has a flying car. It's a used 2006 Tucker Torpedo.
Remember Tucker? His wildly innovative car company went out of business in the late 1940's... in our world, anyway.
Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Poor Randy Sullivan.

Not his day.  Not his life.  Not his world.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Another 5-star review! "I was quite pleasantly surprised..."

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

I was quoted in an interview a while back about the dangers of sideways-in-time travel.

http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2011/11/dangers-of-crosstime-travel.html


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

What if... long ago... you had gone the other way?


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

What in the worlds is "sideways time travel"?

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Robots, check.  Dinosaurs, check.  Flying cars, check.  Jetpacks, check.  Getting home in one piece?  That's another story.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

This is Randy Sullivan's blog:
http://www.roguehistory.com


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Latest review:

"I love alternative history, and was thoroughly entertained and thoroughly delighted with the adventure! And very proud of myself because I had the insight to read this book first!"

How wonderful is that? I'm blessed to have such insightful readers.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Page one has this:

Author's Note:
The _many-worlds interpretation_ resolves a variety of paradoxes in quantum theory. It was first proposed by Princeton physicist Hugh Everett in 1957, with the help of his thesis advisor, John Archibald Wheeler. Wheeler worked with Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman, and coined the term "black hole."

(Extra trivia not in the book: Hugh Everett's son is the lead singer of The Eels.  )


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

New review received!  In part, "I would definitely recommend it."


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

The first version of Los Angeles Randy sees is one in which humans never made it across the Bering Strait.  Point of Divergence: 22,000 years ago.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Another review this week, saying "a fast and entertaining read."

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Robots, check.  Dinosaurs, check.  Flying cars, check.  Jetpacks, check.  Getting home in one piece?  That's another story.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

What in the worlds is "sideways time travel"?
Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories​


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

"A good fast read... and intelligent reflections on the nature of the multiverse." - Stig Olsen, Goodreads

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

By the way, can you name everyone on the cover?

(No points for Lincoln.)


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Nobody? There are four people on the cover. One is Lincoln. Who are the other three? Here is a closer look.

​


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Okay, this is Robert Goddard, the father of American rocketry.








That's one.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

And this is Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of Russian rocketry.








That's two.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Now, who is this?








Anyone? Anyone?


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

You might as well guess, because I'm not telling.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Okay, here is a hint:


Spoiler



Her big hit was published in 1813.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

I give up. It's


Spoiler



Jane Austen (I love the spoiler text function)


. She has a big influence on Penelope Darrow, a character who faces down some true nastiness in the novel: wildfire, looters, and an earthquake.

"A good fast read... and intelligent reflections on the nature of the multiverse." - Stig Olsen, Goodreads

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Page one has this:

Author's Note:
The _many-worlds interpretation_ resolves a variety of paradoxes in quantum theory. It was first proposed by Princeton physicist Hugh Everett in 1957, with the help of his thesis advisor, John Archibald Wheeler. Wheeler worked with Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman, and coined the term "black hole."

(Extra trivia not in the book: Hugh Everett's son is the lead singer of The Eels.  )


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

From review #18, just in: "Fun exploration of the multiverse and how the smallest difference in history can affect our present."

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Robots, check.  Dinosaurs, check.  Flying cars, check.  Jetpacks, check.  Getting home in one piece?  That's another story.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

From review #20: "This was terrific."

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Review #21: "It's a fun read and a great escape."


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

What in the worlds is "sideways time travel"?

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

Overworked. Underpaid. Lost in the metaverse. Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

This novel features one of the most innovative ways to achieve space travel I've ever seen.

Go to a timeline where orbital hotels have already been developed, and buy a ticket.


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

"A good fast read... and intelligent reflections on the nature of the multiverse." - Stig Olsen, Goodreads

Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories


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## Steverino (Jan 5, 2011)

The latest review calls it "_Sliders_ done right."


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