Guest Spot Blogger: Ian Fydell, author of "Breathing Space: Book One Of The Exodus Trilogy"

I've made a lot of friends of Twitter.  Meet Ian Fydell, a science fiction author that wrote up a guest blog post for yall to read...
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How many of you have ever looked up at the stars and wondered what's out there? I bet many of you have. When I was seven years old my parents took me to see a movie some of you may know. It was a "little" film called Star Wars. I can remember pulling up to my house and when I got out of the car, I lagged behind and stared up at the stars wondering...was there a Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker out there battling for control of the universe? Or were there other forms of life somewhere in space...and that's where it all started for me. Later on in Junior High School, my English teacher would encourage me to continue writing as I did well in creative writing assignments. This was before we had computers at home and I remember handwriting many short stories and sharing them with my teacher and family members. Before I knew it, along came my teen years. Friends, cars and girls took up most of my free time. In my junior year of High School, I had met the girl I'd eventually marry. Flash forward a few years and I was working a full-time job, then came children, a house with a mortgage and big responsibilities. Writing was always in the back of my mind, but I never could find the time to write. Unfortunately, one day at my job I was severely injured by a piece of machinery. This injury forced me into a new role...Mr. Mom. It was a tough adjustment going from bread winner to bread baker. It was a stressful time in my life and I was told I should look into a hobby. Playing sports and working out weren't an option because of my injury. One day it hit me! I thought, why not go back to that time when I was a seven year old kid who loved to look up at the stars and dream.
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Breathing Space: Book One Of The Exodus Trilogy takes place in the year 2095, and the Earth is in severe ecological decline. Pollutants, wars, deep mantle mining, and everyday disregard for our planet have finally taken their toll, and now earthquakes, droughts, volcanic eruptions, and plagues are regular occurrences. Within a few decades, a century at most, Earth will no longer be habitable. Terra-forming and conservation efforts have been ineffective; it's just too late to stop the decline.

The novel's action focuses on veteran Air Force Captain John Lewis, commander of Triton Station, an American space habitat dedicated to sending out probes to nearby stars in an attempt to find habitable new worlds. John is a troubled man faced with a daunting task, plagued by memories of his life back on Earth. Especially haunting are the recollections of his participation in the Third World War, and of those he lost during those dark days.

It takes 17 years, but the quest to find a new Earth pays off: a probe locates a habitable planet eight light years away. The Exodus-class probe transmits a video-feed back to Triton, allowing them to see what it discovers. The new world is teeming with life, including (to their wonder and dismay) a primitive species of aliens who appear to be the builders of a series of amazing pyramidal structures. The U.S. government immediately clamps a tight security lid on the discovery. After weeks of debate, the President and his advisors decide to put together a small advance team to explore the new world and to forge an alliance with its natives. 

Given his decades of leadership experience and previous knowledge of the Exodus situation, Captain Lewis is tapped as the team leader. After a brief but intense period of training, the team heads for the new planet, Exodus, in a cutting-edge faster-than-light vessel that appears to have been reverse-engineered from alien technology.  After a six-month flight, they arrive to find much more than they'd bargained for. 

             

A malfunction strands them in a sea of tall grass hundreds of miles away from their intended landing site. As they make their way across the plains, they encounter a variety of animals, including intelligent felinoid predators. Eventually the team makes contact with the primitive Toborg, furry hunter-gatherers who appear to have constructed the great pyramids observed by the Exodus probe.

Soon after, they find that they are privileged to make first contact with not just one alien species, but two. The protectors and mentors of the Toborg, the highly advanced Zeta Reticulans, arrive several weeks into their stay. The Zetans are spindly humanoids with large heads, gray skin, and huge almond-shaped eyes who closely resemble the gray aliens of UFO lore. The Zetan spokesman reveals details of humanity's origin and history that were previously unknown to the humans, including the fact that Earth is one of only a number of planets with human populations. Seventy thousand years before, the Zetans saved humanity from a fate similar to the Toborg's. They remain in danger, however: two malevolent alien species, the Skreeeyep and the c'Cassra-fik-pta, plan to invade Earth and enslave Terran humanity. The Zetans are aware of the U.S. government's plan to start colonizing Exodus, and approve of the plan if for no other reason than to save some of the human population from the invaders. 

As a parting gift, the alien gives Captain Lewis a pyramidal ark containing various blueprints for more advanced faster-than-light drives and other tools they can use against the invaders. It is during the six-month ride back home that John Lewis discovers that the Zetans themselves aren't all that they pretend to be...
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I spent almost a year writing Breathing Space and about three more months of working with my publisher on editing and cover design. After it was all said and done, I was nominated as a finalist in the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category. The Long Island Authors Group recently accepted my application after reviewing my book. I also signed over 200 copies of my book at Book Expo America NYC and made several guest appearances on Sci-fi talk shows such as, The Kevin Smith Show, Cover to Cover and That Sci-fi Show. I will also be a guest on the VRO show on 8/24 @ 9pm and from 10/13/11 - 10/16/11. I will sign copies of my book at Comic Con NYC. My dream is to see the pages of my trilogy leap onto the silver screen and entertain moviegoers just as I was entertained when I was a seven year old boy. 

I am not a fan of "predictable endings." Why should the guy ALWAYS get the girl...why does the good guy ALWAYS have to win? When reading my trilogy, I warn my readers to expect the unexpected. If you'd like to order a signed copy of my novel, you can go to my website, IanFydellExodusTrilogy.com or you can purchase a copy from Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com. Feel free to check out the website for news, interviews and more about me. I am also on Twitter: @IanFydell and Facebook: Fans of Breathing Space: Book One Of TheExodus Trilogy. Feel free to contact me, I'd love to chat with you.