America has splintered into various independent republics after a brutal civil war. Against this backdrop, space exploration is on the cusp of new technological breakthroughs. Jim Atteberry, a mid-30s English professor at City College in San Francisco, spends his free time listening for alien signals on the amateur radio astronomy bands. His life as a single parent to his precocious daughter is turned upside-down when he hears an intelligent cry for help from the Ross 128 system and realizes we are not alone. This signal unleashes a chain of events pitting Jim and his brilliant, mysterious colleague Kate against a power-hungry scientist with his own secret agenda. Jim must learn the truth about the signal, the strange disappearance of his wife Janet, and the meaning of true love before it’s too late in this first contact thriller.
Excerpt
“I hadn’t thought about all that.”
“I’m sure if you spend any time at all on this question, you’d come up with a list of 50 organizations all wanting to know how you discovered the signal, and how to use that for their own goals.”
Whitt replaced the cover on the computer and wiped his hands on his coat. “There’s someone else you may want to consider, too. Someone closer to home as it were.”
“Who’s that?”
“I hesitate to say because I recognize how close you are.” He put his tools back in a small pouch.
“Who is it, Dr. Whitt?”
“How well do you know Kate Braddock? I mean, how well do you really know her?”
Atteberry threw his head back and laughed. “That’s insane! I trust her more than anyone in the world.”
“Oh, I understand, truly, I do. But the work she did in the past was highly specialized and top secret. Where does she come from? What kind of dubious alliances has she forged over the years? In short, she may have been playing you all along.”
“No, no, I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Fair enough, Mr. Atteberry, but if you’re considering who could be behind this mysterious tracer, I think you have to consider all possibilities. Even the ones that appear impossible.”
Guest Post
I am lucky and blessed to be able to write and create for a living. It wasn’t always this way, of course. After I graduated from the University of Western Ontario, I took a job with the Canadian government and drifted around in there for many years before teaching part-time at Carleton University and offering writing workshops.
So here’s a typical weekday for me.
I usually wake up between 4:30 and 5:00 in the morning. The first thing I is make the coffee for me and my wife, then I settle in for some early morning reading. I have a routine of reading ten chapters from the Bible every day (following Professor Horner’s reading plan), and then a chapter or two of whatever fiction I’m reading at the time. Currently, I’m reading the James SA Corey “Expanse” series. I’ll also check my email and social media for any overnight fun things, then hang out with Susan until she goes off to work at 7:30.
When I’m writing, I spend the next couple of hours at the dining room table working from 7:30 to around 10 or 10:30. That way, I get my own writing work done. After that, I usually work on one of the many other projects I’ve got going. For example, these days, I have two collections of short stories from my workshop that I’m busy editing and preparing for publication with DeeBee Books (www.deebeebooks.com), and I’m also working a writing client on his novel. I’m helping a colleague at Carleton University prepare a graphic novel for his students too. So depending on the current priority is at this time, that’s what I’ll focus on until lunch time around 12:30.
After lunch, I usually change things up a bit. If the weather’s nice, I’ll go for an hour long bike ride. If it’s lousy (or if it’s winter), I’ll often knit and listen to an audiobook or music. I’ll do that for an hour or so, then get back to my writing projects.
Around 4:30 or so, I’ll start getting supper ready for us. We’ll eat together, and then I’m off to teach a workshop.
Finally, when I get home from that, I’ll catch the end of a ball game or some other sport before getting to bed. I try not to watch the news—too depressing—but I do follow some interesting space and science discussions and other human interest stories. I eschew politics as much as possible, unless I’m looking for new story ideas!
David Allan Hamilton is a teacher, writer, and multipotentialite. He is a graduate of Laurentian University (BSc. Applied Physics) and The University of Western Ontario (MSc. Geophysics). He lives in Ottawa where he facilitates writing workshops and teaches. When not writing, David enjoys riding his bike long distances, painting, and knitting.
Author Links:
Buy Links:
Giveaway
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
No comments:
Post a Comment