Writers on the Moon

The story behind the story

The year was 2003. I was twenty-five-years-old, working for Utah State University in the United States of America, creating science camps and courses for children. One evening I was alone in the office, the lights were off, and I had on the Trippensee Elementary Planetarium, a working model of the sun, earth, and moon. The model offers a hands-on experience to study the relationship between rotation and revolution. While the sun shone brilliantly, I watched as the moon ran its course around the earth and the earth around the sun.

I had always loved science and space but somehow in the silence of that moment, as I watched the exceptional work and organizational beauty of these spheres in motion, something forever changed in me—or perhaps, something celestial awoke. An unquenchable longing to belong to this powerful cosmos began. 

Nearly twenty years later—and the longing has not left. When I look to the heavens, I still long to be part of its grandeur. 

Meanwhile, as the dimensions above me sing of order, disorder grows within the world that is my home.  The year is 2021. More and more unrest comes. I feel continuously unsatisfied, starving for more order within the human systems here on earth. 

I look to the future, hoping there is still a way for earth to find the balance and harmony it needs. I write books as my small contribution. But I easily feel lost in the societal noise that offers no redeemable music to the heart. At times, I feel weighed down by the discord, confusion, and disorder that divides rather than unites the residents of the world. 

Then an opportunity comes. A call to find hope by looking upward. Through simple efforts of sharing words, stories, ideas to connect with humanity, I now have a new connection with the moon. My words and wishes could move upward, residing on a natural satellite that looks down on us. 

In its simplest form, the moon offers light in the darkness. It illuminates life’s moments as we try our best in the course of living.

In recent years, as I’ve reached my life mid-point, I’ve considered withdrawing from the troubled state of the world. Turn off the news and leave the chaos behind. 

Peace in hiding. That was the plan. 

Except for a storyline around my condition began to emerge in my mind, an inner debate that would not leave me. A family created a peaceful existence separate from the broken world they saw. However, their daughter, proud and entitled, had never experienced the world left behind, and she could only see what she didn’t have. 

Through the sequence of three novels, she discovers the lies and truths of her existence. She also finds life beyond herself and helps others in meaningful ways as she transitions into something greater than herself. 

At the time of this moon launch, I have published the first book Beyond the End as well as Remember which is a prelude to the series. The other two books Lies a Place and To the Eternal are progressing through revisions and will be published in the months ahead.

The prelude, Remember, is set twenty years before the series begins and sets the stage of why her parents made the choices they did, and how this led to their daughter being solely raised within the paradise they created. 

A theme within Remember is the tradeoffs humans make for technological and societal advancements. A question I struggle with is: If technology advancements hurt humanity, are there ways to change the trajectory we are on while society becomes more reliant on those advancements? Is it possible that the ethics and values of humanity can successfully monitor these advancements, or will the wrong motivations lead to our eventual downfall?

These types of questions of course go deeper. Who should moderate these advancements? Who should hold that control over humanity? And what is our individual responsibility within the human race to advance and support the overall well being of our planet? Tough questions for sure—which is why I turn to fiction. Through storytelling, I have a playground to seek understanding and answers. This entire book series lets me explore such questions, digging a little deeper into the concerns—and the possibilities of solutions. 

The moon has smiled down on earth’s population since the beginning. It has been a great source of comfort and hope. When I look at it, I consider the divine seeds planted within our planet.

The chance to send my words to the moon has felt like a celestial hug, a reminder of the order I see in the heavens above, a reminder of what will carry on. There is a greater system that surrounds us. I belong to something more. 

In 2021, I am grateful to share my words on a mission that looks upward. 

About the Author

Tara C. Allred writes literary novels that dabble in suspense, mystery, romance, and sci-fi genres. She enjoys pulling in psychological themes and likes exploring the triumphs and failings of human behavior through her characters.