Have you ever started researching a topic only to discover
you’ve spent the better part of an hour going from one site to another to
another? Those pesky side links. If I'd been at the library, my table would've been covered with books.
In a HubSpot (marketing site) article about bad habits, the
author wrote about Black
Hole Browsing. Although I’d never heard of that term, I knew exactly what it
meant. I’ve fallen victim to that bad habit more than once. In fact, while
researching the topic of ghosts for this post, I visited way too many sites.
Casper is my idea of a ghost. Although I’ve never seen a
ghost, I believe others have because they believe they did. What how could I
possibly write about ghosts when I write science fiction? That took some
researching and before I knew it—Wham!—I’d fallen into that Black Hole.
Back on topic. I do believe the spirits of our deceased
loved ones still care about us and watch over us. My main character in Mission
to New Earth does, too. (Funny how that works.) An only child, Sara was
suddenly orphaned at 26. We don’t think of adults as orphans, do we? After
author Pauline Baird Jones
wrote about losing her parents and thereby making her an orphan, I thought
about myself. I guess you could say I’m an orphan, too, since both my parents
are gone, though not as traumatically as Pauline’s or my character, Sara. My
parents died of old age and complications of COPD and Alzheimer’s. My sibs and
I had plenty of time to prepare.
Losing her parents made Sara’s decision to sign up for a
one-way trip to a new planet a lot easier. Then I started to wonder. What would
Sara’s folks think about her leaving the teaching world and going into training
to be an astronaut? Would they approve, be fearful for her, or caution her to
be safe and stay home? Would they like her choice of mate, Marsh Rayburn,
former SEAL and her second in command on the mission? I never go into that in
the story, but I like to think they would watch over Sara, keeping her safe.
More like guardian angels than ghosts.
Mission to New Earth
Blurb:
Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet?
Would you do it to save humankind?
Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the
United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible
new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear
winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four. Sara
Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way
trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants?
Before time runs out.
Throughout the month of September, I’m running a Giveaway
for a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Pop over to my blog to enter.
