(Huey’s top tip: If you don’t want to read this post and just want The House of Woo short story, skip to the bottom of this page. Thank you). Right, on with blog…

I’ve spent the past eight years deep in UFO lore. I’ve always known I was going to write a novel about the subject, but I never knew until I stopped and thought about my particular slant, how I was going to approach such a book, taking account of a) the topic in the round and; b) what my strengths and interests are as a fiction writer.

Firstly, I’m not particularly interested in far-future science fiction. I’m curious about the present, the near future, so I’m never going to write a space opera. Or military sci-fi. So no Star Trek, Battle Los Angeles or War of the Worlds (movies). I’m captivated by the grounded, nuanced, human-centric repercussions of the UFO phenomenon. The right now, if you will. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re living through interesting times where UFOs (or UAPs as they’re now referred to in bureaucratic parlance) are concerned. Check out an earlier post to read more about this. There is just so much going on.

In broader terms too our present world is going through extraordinary change and upheaval. There’s more than enough factual source material – and global events happening – meaning you don’t need to speculate too much to imagine a very different Earth only one generation from now. A case in point is this: when outlining the novel in 2021 covid was only just easing, Russia hadn’t invaded Ukraine, and artificial intelligence (in all its guises, from chatbots, to automating manufacturing, algorithms and artificial general intelligence – or AGI) hadn’t become de rigueur, and the centrepiece of our global zeitgeist, alongside climate change, clean energy, and geopolitical upheavals. I had to start over with the outline to take account of this pace of change. These emerging ramifications affect us all and include what’s happening in the UFO world. Everyday seems to bring forward a new revelation, or credentialed whistle-blower willing to talk about what’s ‘really’ going on. I find it fascinating. Therefore the slant for the book had to be set firmly in the mid-2020s.

I like characters. Plot’s great, but I like character-driven stories. That doesn’t mean these books have to be boring. I want to read about three-, four-dimensional people. Outer action and inner lives. The conflicted, outsiders, loners, damaged or unusual. The uniquely ordinary with quirky, odd internal worlds we never get to see. Basically, folks like you and me. At the end of the day, we’re all unique, and from this writer’s perspective character offers infinite opportunities to explore wider themes we can all appreciate. Besides, books will only resonate with readers if we give them rounded, relatable characters with at least a modicum of depth. You can take it as read, as individuals we’re all extraordinary in some way, and it’s a writer’s duty to draw this out. I love storytelling with a laser focus on the particular, the micro, but with a macro backdrop. To put it another way, how the world we inhabit impacts a person. Or to put it differently again; if you put an average Joe (on the surface at least) in an extraordinary situation, they become the extraordinary.

So anyway, I wrote the book. The Otero County Disclosure will be published this summer. It’s a story about two very different individuals. Father and daughter. He’s able-bodied and anxious. She’s severely disabled with cerebral palsy; this following an accident at birth during which she died three times. I used my older brother as the inspiration and my source material. He too was left with cerebral palsy (spastic quadriplegia) following a nuchal knot at birth (the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, cutting off blood and oxygen to his brain), and he died more than once in those critical first hours. He, like his fictional counterpart, had a fabulous mind; a fact lost on most people who only ever perceived the physical him. To make matters worse, he couldn’t talk. Leaving him trapped inside his useless body. But he thought just like you and me. It was the motor part of his brain that was damaged, not his mental capabilities. Imagine how scary and frustrating that must be. Having to trust others for every aspect of your life. Think how a typical day would be impacted; and this lasts from the moment you’re born until your final goodbye (unless science, medicine and technology intervenes).

The House of Woo

Without giving too much away, the unifying aspect of the father and daughter’s stories is the UFO phenomenon. Seemingly on different narrative trajectories, their tales converge, with UFOs and tangential themes the binding concern. I used their characters to explore very real, timely issues. Matters that affect us all. I like to say the novel’s science fiction for people who don’t like sci-fi. To this end, it’s similar in theme to Dave Eggers’ The Circle (made into a film starring Tom Hanks), which most people wouldn’t recognise as typical science fiction, and the Apple TV series, Severance (both shows exploring the dark side of tech in the workplace). It’s also akin to Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Read the book and you’ll see what I mean (shameless plug!).

The Otero County Disclosure is the main event. But in the year I spent with my editor refining, redrafting, paring it back, I had to make serious cuts. Rather than kill all my darlings, I thought I’d bring some back to life.

This brings me to The House of Woo (the original title for the full-length novel before I got push back from those with experience). The short story is aligned to the novel – from that ‘universe’ if you will. It’s free to new subscribers to my newsletter.

What more can I tell you about The House of Woo? It’s a work of contemporary, speculative fiction. Here’s the brief blurb:

Are chance encounters always just coincidence?

Returning home one evening from an engagement in London, wheelchair-bound teen, Ex, and her dad, Norman, are helped by an odd stranger who seems to know plenty about them.

Who is the unknown man, and why does he want to talk UFOs? This chance meeting takes a peculiar turn. 

But Ex isn’t your typical kid with cerebral palsy, and her dad Norman’s not about to start an ordinary job. They don’t know it yet, but this is where it all begins…

I hope you do read The House of Woo (HoW) and get a sense of what I’m driving at in this post. Speculative fiction doesn’t have to mean fantastical. The clue’s in the word itself. To this end, and in direct relation to HoW, I would urge you to look up and listen to the extraordinary viral sensation non-fiction podcast, The Telepathy Tapes (note, for a time it ranked as the most popular podcast on most major platforms towards the end of 2024). We’re talking actual evolving scientific understanding, real-time developments in an area hitherto dismissed; the unknown capability of the untapped human mind. The point being if you’d heard the very same podcast even five years ago, it would have been filed under ‘Speculative’ or ‘Paranormal’ (which, by the way, means outside of the normal – whatever normal is). It’s staggering how science and understanding is changing.

Beta readers, subscribers and my writing style

So, go right ahead and subscribe, below, and get your free copy of the short story. I’ll be offering it in different formats in due course.

I have my second novel in development and I’ll be looking to my subscribers for beta readers later this year. That means early consumers of my fiction before it goes for publication; to critique and offer feedback. If you’re interested in becoming a beta reader let me know.

Finally, a word on my fiction writing style. I like to think my readers are intelligent. Meaning I don’t want to patronize or spoon feed you. It’s up to you to figure things out, join the dots and fill in the blanks. When I outline my novels I look at the structural aspect. Linear left to right. Imagine it’s a Swiss roll (the cake, not falling down an Alpine meadow). As the author, I like to cut the roll open and serve a piece from the middle to get the story started. So keep in mind when you read my fiction, I’m dropping you right at the heart. It’s up to you to work through the symbolism, the hidden Easter eggs, the references. The who’s who, and what’s what. All these small things put together create something interesting (I hope!). Just like we are as people. Because of our human frailties. And because life doesn’t run straight, on tracks.

Thanks for reading.