In Battle Creek, Michigan, time doesn't always flow the way it should. Elias Foster discovers this truth when he inherits his grandfather's mysterious pocket watch-a timepiece that can literally stop time. As a trans man seeking a fresh start in his grandfather's hometown, Elias initially sees the watch as a tool for navigating difficult moments. But in Battle Creek, where the scent of cereal production mingles with deeper magic, nothing is quite that simple. When he meets Cameron Barnes, a local teacher with his own family connection to Battle Creek's hidden history, Elias learns the watches are more than mere magical objects-they're pieces of the city's conscious heart, given to those who might help guide its transformation. As they work to establish an LGBTQ+ youth center, Elias and Cameron discover Battle Creek itself is awakening, ready to reveal its true nature as a place where time pools and eddies like water, creating space for people to become who they truly are. But some truths are too vast to be revealed all at once. As Battle Creek's magic grows harder to hide, Elias and Cameron must help the city find a way to express itself without overwhelming those who aren't ready to understand. With the help of a diverse community of artists, dreamers, and truth-seekers, they learn that the real power isn't in stopping time-it's in helping it flow naturally toward transformation. "The Pocket Wacth" is a magical realism novel about finding your place in a world where reality is more fluid than it appears, and transformation is the truest magic of all

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