I am interrupting my day at work because of this unbelievable happening, and I simply had to share it with you! I have gotten the highest honor I have ever received for my writing! I was notified a few minutes ago by @Matthew Isaac Sobin, the syndicate lead of the GREAT SCIFI for the 21st CENTURY and BEYOND SYNDICATE that Mission 51 is their July selection!!!!

Like I told Matt, this honor has left me spinning with feelings. I am humbled that anyone would think of me and my work like this. I am overjoyed! And I feel like a funny fear has been lifted, a fear that my thoughts and words are insignificant. This honor is very encouraging!

Here is what Matt had to say:

The SciFi syndicate is thrilled to support Mission 51 with our July selection! Ferd Crôtte has created something truly intoxicating. The perfect premise, which takes one of the great mysteries / intrigues of the 20th century and puts us directly in the alien’s shoes; it’s SciFi and historical fiction wrapped into one. In addition, there is special artwork which illuminates the story with a deft touch. We can’t wait to read more, and for this story to become a book on our shelves. We encourage our fellow Inkshares authors and readers to support this praiseworthy project!

Matt, thank you very, very much from the bottom of my heart for those words of gold and this valued honor! I am re-energized to continue making Mission 51 the absolutely best it can be! Thank you!!!

This is a reminder about the Mission 51 Raffle. Only a few more spots remaining! Don’t miss out on your opportunity to win this one-of-a-kind Idan Carré sketch! Click here for details. :-)

On my blog, The Best Parts, I shine a spotlight on Mission 51 artist Idan Carré. Check it out! :-)

To Authors in Draft Mode:

For much of my life I have felt like an outsider, out of place. I am older now, and I have come to believe that this is a common way for many if not most human beings to feel. I have my personal reasons.

My family came to this country from Mexico when I was six years old. Then we moved back to Mexico for one year when I was eight, then back to the US. It was a lot of moving, a lot of goodbyes, a lot of losses. I remember my mother crying, she felt so alone much of the time. She had very little support. Telephone communication to Mexico was difficult at that time, and expensive. She didn’t speak English very well, making her feel even more isolated. As kids, we pick up languages faster and more easily, so I remember having to help her communicate from time to time. We had no other family to lean on. I know now how scary it was for my parents, and how brave they were to face the challenges of immigration, all in order to give their children a shot at a better life. They are true pioneers.

So I grew up in the US without extended family, and when we did visit our family in Mexico, it always felt too brief for the sense of disconnection to totally disappear. Even though I have made many, many friends and acquaintances over the years, and I now have a family of my own, I still carry that feeling of being alone, etched into my soul from my early experiences.

I’m totally okay with all of that now. I have an incredible lot to be grateful for. I am okay with my life’s story, with my challenges, with my successes and my failures. I am in a good place spiritually.

So why am I saying all this? Answer: for you to know a little background information about the spirit of Mission 51. My protagonist Mat is an alien from space, the ultimate outsider! He is the one who came in 1954 to southern Nevada, the place we now know as Area 51. My parents were married that same year, and then came to the US, in their mid-twenties. I was born here in 1955. Mat’s story is an immigrant’s story, like that of my parents. He encounters the challenges of fitting in, the difficulties in mastering a different language and culture, he has to deal with loss, and has to adapt to survive. Mat does these things, like my parents did. He finds freedom. He pursues happiness, as is our American right. And he almost finds peace at the end of Mission 51. If the book makes it to publication and finds an audience, Mat’s story will continue in book two, already taking shape in my crazy head.

So that’s it, a little background information for you to better understand why I wrote this story. Thank you all, for your interest and your support of me and Mission 51!

Peace! :-)

Today has been a memorable one for Mission 51! With the help of super-fan Sally Reed, her family, and our co-workers, Mission 51 received 12 pre-orders in just one day! Our best day yet! WE (all of us together) have now blasted past the half-way mark to Inkshares’ Quill publication services! Just 122 more pre-orders in the next 42 days and this book becomes a reality!

I want to thank each and every one of you for your pre-orders and your words of encouragement! I will keep working hard to continuously improve the book, so when we hit our mark, it will be ready to go. I can’t wait for you to read it! :-)

Our next goal is a fun one! At the 150 pre-order mark, the Mission 51 Raffle kicks in. Those who have purchased one of the first 150 pre-orders will have a chance at an original Idan Carré signed sketch, a study she drew in preparation for a drawing in the book. It is a one-of-a-kind sort of thing, a great memento of our group effort to get Mission 51 off the ground. You will want to be a part of this!

Thanks again, everybody! I am sincerely humbled. I find it a bit overwhelming to be at the receiving end of so much love and support!

Please continue to help pushing Mission 51 to family, friends, and even to perfect strangers. We still have a ways to go and 42 short days in which to do it! Getting this book published by Inkshares is a group effort. You can send your people this link:

https://www.inkshares.com/books/mission-51?referral_code=13a0d0cd

Peace and love to all!

Ferd. :-)

This is the first time I do two updates in one day, but I’m not apologizing because this is super-cool!!!

Idan Carré has done it again! Here is yet another fab painting by this gifted young artist! Her waters just kill me! Fascinating!

In this depiction, the good ship Janusia has made the 50 light-year voyage to Cerulea’s (Earth’s) planetary system. At this point in the story, Mat awakens from cryo and manages the next year on a damaged and dying ship as he approaches his final destination. Enjoy Idan’s work:

First of all, a hearty welcome bear-hug to all new readers and followers! I am really glad you are part of the Mission 51 family!

Calling all friends and fans! I would like Mission 51 to reach 125 pre-orders by the end of the week. That’s just 15 more than what we have now! For those of you who have already pre-ordered, thank you, and perhaps you can encourage a friend or two to do the same. That would really help!

For those who have yet to order, this is the time! There are only 52 more days to reach the 250 pre-order requirement, and time is flying!

If you are an Inkshares author, contact me for a pre-order swap.

Please share this link with family and friends! We must reach 250 pre-orders. - To quote myself (in the Preface): "The story must be told."  :-)

https://www.inkshares.com/books/mission-51?referral_code=13a0d0cd

Thank you, everyone, for your amazing support! :-)

Peace!

Ferd. :-)

Here is another fantastic rendering of an iconic image from Mission 51. In this scene, Petrus presents the finished ship, Janusia, to his son Mat. Artist Chris Pyke has captured it beautifully, a touching moment between father and son, the continuation of a painful goodbye. - Chris, all I can say is... Wow!!!