An Australian shamaness traveling in the body of a Chicago bartender leads to a surreal rendezvous with a presumed-dead rock star. An OkCupid encounter turns into blissful madness when souls connect over a national tragedy. A bloody accident at a city bus stop gives way to an absurdly rewarding feast.

This collection of seven short stories poses the question: What phenomena are occurring under our nose, right now, that appear completely random but are consistent and solid periodic events we simply lack the scope to see, the comprehension to grasp, or the vocabulary to name? Time is a Fine White Lie may be the closest thing we have to a traveler’s journal from that latent, ephemeral possibility—at once a tribute, warning, antidote, and gateway—to that which we take for granted.

Karen Strassman

Stem