Sci-Fi
Date Published: 03-06-2023
Publisher: Alien Vision
20 years in the future, humanity has been decimated by climate change and waves of fatal plagues released by Islamic terrorists.
In this new world, Special Operative Mary Carpenter of the Commonwealth of Independent States takes on deadly opponents, including white supremacists, cells of the Everlasting Caliphate, and an international organization of smugglers called Hammerhead plotting to dominate the planet with an all-powerful fear gas.
Join Mary Carpenter in four fast-paced, futuristic adventures that might be in tomorrow's headlines-
Interview with Wesley Britton
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I've published four non-kfiction books on literary and media spies; I've issued six sci-fi novels and three short-story collections in the Beta-Earth Chronicles. Throw in a poetry collection, Cracks of Consciousness, and my doctoral dissertation, and I guess that covers the lot. So far.
My favorite? Depends on when you ask that. I know which is my least favorite but I will leave it at that.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
As of now, I think the Beta-Earth Chronicles are complete and I just don't have any new stories after Hammerhead.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
After the first four books, I have tried very hard to make each volume readable as a stand-alone. In books six through nine, there are connections to the main trunk of the saga but you can pick up any of the stories and enjoy that experience without need of much preparation.
Gratefully, some reviewers tell me they were able to jump into things very quickly after the introductions.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
The Blind Alien, Book 1 of the series, was obvious. All the rest took time to invent. Hammerhead, book 9, took a lot of time to come up with after I used it as the name of a giant criminal organization in two of the stories.
How long did it take you to write this book?
Several years, off an on. I worked on it at the same time as I wrote Behind Alien Lines.
What does the title mean?
It's the name of a large international criminal organization which creates a fear gas with which they want to rule the world.
What did you learn when writing the book?
I learned a lot about islands in the Caribbean about which I knew nothing. And ships in the sea. And making descriptions more sensual.
What surprised you the most?
Just how valuable a writers' group can be. Especially when believability can be improved and unnecessary scenes can be dumped.
Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
Yes, one in particular my wife related to. So I brought her back as a spirit-the character, that is.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
Mostly, by observing them dealing with all the situations they get involved in and the characters they interact with. If they have developed back-stories, a lot of situations fall into line with what you'd expect from that character.
About the Author
Dr. Wesley Britton is the author of four non-fiction books, Spy Television (2003), Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film (2005), Onscreen and Undercover: The Ultimate Book of Movie Espionage (2006), and The Encyclopedia of TV Spies (2009).
Starting in fall 2015, his science fiction/ mystery/ espionage series, The Beta-Earth Chronicles debuted with the ground-breaking The Blind Alien. Throughout 2016 to 2019, eight sequels followed including Return to Alpha, Wesley's first stand alone novel. Alpha Tales 2044 was the first of three collections of Beta-Earth short stories.
Britton earned his doctorate in American Literature at the University of North Texas in 1990. From 2007 to 2015, he was co-host of online radio's "Dave White Presents" broadcast over KSAV.org. For DWP, Wesley contributed interviews with authors, musicians, actors, and many entertainment insiders. In 2022, Wes picked up from where he left off with his own “Flashback, another interview show broadcast over KSAV.org and now also archived at his Remember When podcast page.
Wesley taught English at Harrisburg Area Community College until his retirement in 2016. Wes is blind due to the progressive genetic disease, retiniteous pigmentosa. Wesley served on the Board of Directors for Vision Resources of Central Pennsylvania for 14 years. He has been writing book reviews for sites like BlogCritics.org and BookPleasures.com for nearly 30 years. Wes and Grace and their menagerie live in Harrisburg, PA.
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