The Alan Scarlett Saga comprises three different series. The Alan Scarlett series is the lead off and still being written. Alan Scarlett and the Scarlett Virus is the first book of the series and currently available on Bookapy. The second book in the series, Alan Scarlett Two out of Three, will premier on Bookapy soon, and I think its title is a fun play on words (and a clue of what is happening).
The third series is called the Scarlett Planet series and is still being outlined and will premier after the Alan Scarlett series is completely released.
The second series is the Captain Scarlett series, and the lead off story is Captain Scarlett Saves Mars. It's the first Sci-Fi story I published, and I did it as a lark. Sometimes a writer steps away from what he usually does, which in my case is contemporary erotic romance. Sometimes you have to spread your wings and take a chance, and this was my chance.
I am a huge fan of classic science fiction, and I miss reading a new story by one of the Grand Masters every month. I fondly remember collecting my paper route money and heading up to the local drug store to buy the latest copy of Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine where I read the most amazing stories of intergalactic derring-do. I wanted to bring back that era and that feeling.
Recently I read an article that pointed out a glaring error in a story by Issac Asimov (say it's not so!) so I wrote my own version. In Captain Scarlett Saves Mars, I tried to capture the feel and the science that was used to write Mars centric stories 75 years ago. The words Astronaut and Cosmonaut are not used because they didn't exist in 1950, so all my spacemen are simply called spacemen. I also put the navy in charge of space because… well, mostly because I could. NASA didn't exist during the days of Asimov and Heinlein and somebody had to run the show.
The scattered colonies of Mars are running out of water. Since the spaceships in the future will use water as "reaction mass" Earth ships to Mars refuel with Martian water, adding to the problem. Soon they will reach the point where there will be no water to power the evacuation fleet. They've known it was going to happen for years, but nobody did anything to fix the situation. (Sound familiar?)
Enter Captain Scarlett, a retired spaceman who has an outrageous plan to restore water to Mars and guarantee Mars' independence from the two huge political powers that control earth and space. Publicly, it's known as the Lake Jezero project, but its true name is a clue to his inspiration. He calls it the Asimov Plan. Of course, the Navy is interested because if his plan works, it will solve a huge water problem with the three big Luna colonies, the huge orbital Venusian colonies and the mining concerns in the asteroid belt.
But will his plan work? Everyone says no, but some investors provide the equipment he needs and the Navy takes an active hand in oversight of the project. Admiral Walter Schirra takes a personal interest in the project because Alan is his son-in-law. Alan needs to overcome the nay-sayers, the vast distances involved and the possibilities of Eastern Bloc spacemen and pirates interfering.
And how did Captain Scarlett survive the slaughter that history records as The Battle of Venus Prime? He's the only survivor of the three squadrons that were blown out of space, including his own unit, the Strike Force Berserkers… who found his body and put him back together? And will Marine Colonel Pandora Vermillion help or scuttle the Lake Jezero project?
You can say I started with episode 4 just like Star Wars did, and you would be right. It worked for them, and it seems to work for Captain Scarlett. All three books in the Captain Scarlett series are novellas and they can be purchased as a set at Bookapy.
This is a link to all of my books. Thank you for your consideration of supporting my writing.