Field Station Delta: Author's Note

A brief introduction to my upcoming serial novella.

When I started writing Field Station Delta, I never planned for it to become a novella-length work. In fact, it began as a sequel to the short story “Operation White Phantom” which can be found in the collection The Third Crown and Other Weird Tales by my good friend

Paul Leone

.

Paul and I were swapping proposals for a possible collaboration. After a few dead ends, I hit upon an idea for a follow-up to “White Phantom.” I liked the protagonist, Senior Airman Emily Metzger. Her no-nonsense attitude, her cynical streak, her steadfast loyalty to her comrades, and her general badassery all combined in a perfect action-heroine cocktail. Of all of Paul’s characters, Metzger might be my favorite. “White Phantom” ends with several loose threads dangling in the wind. So, I decided to tug on one (or a few) and see what happened.

Image courtesy of Paul Leone. Artwork by Jackson Tjota.

In my original outline, Delta was supposed to be a short story, maybe 5,000 words or so. Before I knew it, I had a 12,000-word behemoth on my hands. And I couldn’t stop writing! All sorts of things I had stored up in my imagination during my teens and twenties came pouring out on the page: Michael Crichton technothrillers, paperback spec-ops novels, The X-Files, Stargate SG-1, old episodes of Unsolved Mysteries and Leonard Nimoy's In Search of…

Honestly, I never thought any of that stuff would resurface in my stories. For years I’d fantasized about writing fiction, but I’d always pegged myself as an author of epic fantasy or genre-defying science fiction in the vein of my literary heroes (J.R.R. Tolkien and Ray Bradbury, to name just two). I never suspected that I had any knack for writing sci-fi thrillers. Yet, looking back on the all the novels and TV shows I consumed during my formative years, it now seems almost inevitable. The Muse can defy our narrow expectations and self-imposed limits. Sometimes the best we authors can do is get out of the way and let her get down to work.

Over the summer of 2024, I expanded Field Station Delta into a novella. On Paul’s recommendation, I sent the manuscript to freelance fiction editor Crayle McDonald, who provided insightful feedback and helpful pointers. Since then, I’ve been working on a new round of revisions and sharing scenes with the Stories: LIVE video-chat critique group that meets every two weeks over at the

LegendFiction

online writers community. The response from my critique partners has been enthusiastically positive! The manuscript currently clocks in at just under 26,500 words. Delta is far and away the longest book I have written to-date.

Beginning on May 9, I will be publishing Field Station Delta as a weekly serial right here on Substack. Each excerpt will run about 1,000-2,000 words. Delta can be read as a standalone novella, but if you want extra context for Airman Metzger’s adventures, I highly recommend checking out Paul Leone’s original short story “Operation White Phantom.”

I’m very excited to release my first serial! Field Station Delta is so wildly different from the writing I’ve become “known for” (Catholic spirituality and children’s nonfiction) that at first I was tempted to publish Delta under a pen name. But I’ve decided to trust my gut and to trust my readers. Sometimes we writers spend so much of our attention on building a consistent personal “brand” that we can forget to simply have fun, to experiment, and to let our imaginations surprise us.

So, prepare to take a journey with me into the borderlands of the “uncanny.” I hope you enjoy the ride!

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One Final Note: Field Station Delta is a paranormal military thriller. Parents and sensitive readers are advised that this story contains PG-13 violence and language.