Scolded Raw

Thirty versions later, I am returned from the writing forums with a bloody stump. That well is dry. It’s up to you now.

Earth is on a slow-motion slide into a light pole. The gods of Egypt were hirsute adventure tourists. Atlantis was a vibe, not a place. The sun goes micro-nova on an approximately 17,000-year cycle.

Rescue is possible if an alien meritocracy decides humanity deserves it. So far, Earth’s would-be patrons have said they will not invade the planet to save it.

Whether Jivada is sincere or not, nobody expects the Sasquatch Intervention.

Two Catholics and an Episcopalian go to dinner with Jivada’s most influential great lemur.

The Space Pope asks, “What’s everyone doing this week?”

U.S. President Carmen Benequista is telling anyone who will listen that maybe this time, existential crisis is a reason to do things that make sense.

Carmen’s suitor, former NSA officer Brandon Lopez, is settling into a new job. Company space van. Swank apartment on Jivada. Space Mafia sigil on the business card.

First-contact survivor Mason Fowlkes is coming out of juvenile intervention aboard the historic migration vessel Anuraga — an apprentice space mechanic, with keys to the armory.

They’re busy, trying to change the world.

Literary space opera. Political suspense. Romantic tension. And the discovery that everything important is within arm’s reach.

Read the book at https://marolitango.substack.com