Message posted by The Major on January 07, 2007 at 4:18:53 PST:
Marking Jim down for one each... I'll take the liberty of penciling you in for the third book, since it is a trilogy. The last book will be called "The Hanson Prophecy" Terry, that is a mighty fine offer! The book cover is probably the most important factor in getting a book to jump off a shelf and into the reader's shopping cart. I have ideas, but they would probably look like crap and hardly compelling. There is one scene that keeps sticking in my mind... I'll get in touch with you! Joerg, I must start the book signing in Rachel. To start it anyplace else would be... well, wrong! If the only thing we accomplish is drinking all the beer in Rachel, that is just fine with me! Who knows, I'll be sending out several books to influential media types... It might end up being THE social event in Rachel for late July or Early August! Damn Mark! You want to know what a book is about before you buy it? Aren't we the careful shopper! Ha! Seriously, I haven't said much about it other that it is fiction, and there are many references and scenes involving very real and very conjectured black projects. I have spent countless hours making sure that those things which are verifiable are accurate. I even went out of my way during a trip last year to see the Area 51 Gate and the JANET terminal. After all, it is much easier to describe a specific location (JANET Terminal) or area (the high desert surrounding Area 51) if you've actually been there. There are sections of the book that are historical fiction. The characters are fictional, but the events are decidedly real, and I do my best to describe them as a participant would. There is historical fiction that is controversial and extremely difficult to impossible to verify. The time span of the book is from World War II to the present day. In any case, I have been told by everyone who has read it that it is an interesting and very enjoyable novel. One reader (with a PhD in Neuroscience) described it as being every bit as good as anything Clancy or Coonts has written. I honestly do not believe that for a second, but coming from a guy who didn't want to read it in the first place, I was naturally taken back by the assessment. I prefer to think of the book, the Trilogy as a whole, as a cross between Clancy and Heinlein (only in content, not writing prowess). It is not pure action/adventure/science fiction, there is extensive character development and down to earth, everyone-can-relate-to human experieces. Like Heinlein, there are some subtle and not so subtle commentaries on the human condition (but absolutely no "preaching"), and strong female characters. It is a book that doesn't fit into any one genre precisely. One reader suggested "Historical Science Fiction." I guess that is about as good as any. The following is what will likely appear on the back cover: "Cocheta" is a Native American word meaning "that you cannot imagine." To those who worked there, it was an appropriate name for America's "blackest" research facility. Hidden inside a mountain in a remote and inhospitable region of the frigid Canadian Rockies, the massive complex was a high-tech laboratory for a handful of the most brilliant minds on earth. Together, they struggled to understand and duplicate recovered extraterrestrial technology before America's enemies did... and before an unspeakable horror arrived from beyond the solar system. Chief Scientific Advisor, Dr. Benjamin Hanson, groomed from childhood to lead an elite team of geniuses, was the project's greatest resource... and a dying man. His ultimate goal was to unite the world in developing a defense against what he believed to be a coming invasion. To make it happen, he needed a clever plan, one that would topple a well-established culture of secrecy, allow him to evade those who watched his every move, and neutralize a murderous bureaucrat before the cruel tentacles of incurable cancer robbed him of his life. Hanson's elaborate scheme to enlighten the world begins in glamorous Las Vegas and spans the continent, from the Physics Department at UCLA to the seat of America's government. With enormous resources committed to keeping secret the nightmares concealed inside Cocheta Mountain, will his cunning stratagem tear away a decades-old cover-up and shake the planet to its' core, or will he take his frightening revelations to the grave? ----- Remember, this is fiction. However, the science presented in the book, including what I believe to be the universal, evolutionary constants that predict the social development of all intelligent life, is sound. There are no references to the ludicrous. No delving into parapsychology or abduction mythology, or any other such nonsense. While the subject matter is quite fantastic, it is believable, if not (at least by Einstein's standards) very likely. Then, what science fiction is? It is purely entertainment, with a healthy dose of "fun facts to know and tell." It might even make you think about the wisdom of launching interstellar probes. By the way, I do not suggest that Groom, Tonopah, or any other black project facility is involved in anything other than what they really do. I NEED to keep these books respectable, because I am, after all, a scientist myself. Please feel free to post comments. As I have said before, I value your input. In fact, I am completely in awe of the knowledge base that can be tapped into here! Some of you, like lonewolf, must LIVE in the desert around Groom. Tell me the truth, Mr. Wolf, if a Jackrabbit passes gas anywhere within 20 miles of Groom, you know about it, don't you? Seriously, this site, and the people who give it character, is, in my opinion, a national treasure!
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In Reply to: An Announcement posted by The Major on January 04, 2007 at 19:43:26 PST:
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