Being the author, I have a small bit of guilty knowledge about the characters, etc. I’ll also confess here and now that anything good or interesting in my stories is solely due to my muse, whereas I myself bear any burden of bloopers or poor writing.

I have to say, however, that one of the most intriguing things my muse has ever come up with is the biological symbionts that are introduced in chapters 3 and 4 of First Contact. Don’t ask me where she comes up with this stuff; I just type out whatever she tells me.

But imagine a species that has advanced to the point of leaving machinery and computers as we know them behind, while creating biological matter such as the healing gel or the black matrix material and being able to employ it without any type of artificial intervention.

Now, putting myself in the shoes of McClaren and his crew, it’s hard to imagine, let alone fully capture in words, both the wonder and terror they must have felt when confronted with the first contact with another sentient species.

As my wife and I were discussing today, they should’ve just run for it to inform Earth. But hindsight, of course, is 20/20. The truth of it, I think, is that it wouldn’t have mattered: the Imperial warships were so advanced that any attempt by the Aurora to leave would have met a similar end.

My last observation would be the introduction of the alien warrior priestess. Yes, she has a name that you’ll learn soon. She also has the distinction of being the only character other than the enigmatic Empress to appear across six of the nine (which will – hopefully! – become 10 soon) novels of the series.

It’s hard for me to choose a favorite character, as they’re all like my muse’s children, but if I was forced to choose, I suspect it might be her. In the coming chapters and books, you’ll learn why.

I hope you’ve enjoyed it so far! Chapters 5 and 6 tomorrow!