I’m writing a first-contact novel! The Blue will be character driven sci-fi with a dash of romance. Geeks need hugs, too.

The Story

The Blue are coming.
Zero words πŸ™

The Blue – Progress

thebluearecoming.com

26,025 words (29%)

The Blue are here!β–ˆβ–ˆ
88,888 words πŸ™‚

Wrote 825 words on 5 July 2025. Young Bakana had a very bad day.

August 1977. Somewhere within our solar system, a dying alien spacecraft sends a message to Earth. A woman in Australia fights for her life during childbirth. Human bones are discovered in a South African vineyard. Three separate incidents with a deep connection.

Fast forward to now. Another radio transmission reaches Earth. This time, there can be no doubt. We are not alone.

More messages arrive. We soon realize this is more than just hello. The aliens are trying to tell us something. And they want us to respond. Can we? Will we? Should we?

A kick-ass astrophysicist works with a grumpy counterpart to find answers. A too-smart-for-his-own-good teenager stirs up shit in Indonesia. A failed entrepreneur has nothing left to lose. A military man needs to decide how best to serve his country. A fanatical humanist will do what it takes to prevent the aliens from setting foot on Earth. An incompetent spy has a debt to pay. Old bones have a story to tell.

And of course there are The Blue. What do they want? Why are they coming? Are they a danger to us?

If you want to know where this story is headed, check out Roast My Chapter. Every few weeks I drop a new scene or chapter for you maniacs to tear apart. Of course a rave review would be nice. If you suggest something I really like, it’ll go into the novel.

The Wow! Signal

August 1977 was an interesting month. The Voyager 2 space probe was launched into space, Radio Shack came out with the TRS-80 microcomputer, and Elvis Presley died at the age of 42. Important to my novel is another real-life event known as the Wow! signal.

On 15 August 1977, the Ohio State University “Big Ear” radiotelescope intercepted a radio signal from the direction of Sagittarius. The transmission lasted less than 72 seconds. Unfortunately, the receiving equipment was not capable of recording the signal. It could only detect frequency, relative strength, and direction. All we have is the metadata – any information it may have contained was lost forever.

Despite thousands of searches over nearly five decades, nothing like the Wow! signal has since been found. Debate over what it was and where it came from continues to this day.

Could it have been an interstellar radio transmission? Was it military radar or some other local interference? Did a nearby comet burn off hydrogen as it approached our sun? Was it a hoax?

The signal was real, alright. Yet its origin was closer than the mythical archer – about twenty-five thousand light-years closer. The source was neither terrestrial nor from a natural body. It was a message – and the messenger wasn’t calling Elvis home.

The Blue are coming. Are you ready?

My First Blog Entry

Read and respond to my ramblings about writing in Writing’s a Bitch.

Latest Comment

  1. Hiya, Laura… Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m glad you like it πŸ™‚ I’m afraid the poor little scout…

Post comments on The Characters and Roast My Chapter.

More places and reasons to kvetch coming soon!

The Last Paragraph I Wrote

From Chapter 13 – Sushi and Pygmalion (5 July 2025).

Quoted and Noted

About Me

I grew up in a small American city known for suspicious mill fires and the Lizzie Borden murders. Could it someday be the birthplace of a published sci-fi writer?

I work as an Applications Engineer in a large automotive drivetrain company. I write software and develop hardware for battery-powered motor drive systems.

When I’m not working to make the world just a little bit greener, I enjoy trailrunning, woodworking, reading – and yes – writing.