A few years ago my mid-teen daughter asked me, why aren’t there many all-out adventure novels featuring girls as the main characters?

I shrugged, as I hadn’t given the subject much (ie. zero) thought. What about TWILIGHT, HUNGER GAMES and stuff like that, I responded, revealing the full extent of my knowledge. “They are all right,” she said, “but they’re filled with vampires, romance, misery, dystopian teen angst and kids with missing or deceased parents.”

Her words got me thinking and led to the writing of BLURRED VISION.

I had a story bubbling along in the back of my mind that, the more I considered it, the more it appeared to be perfect. An all action science fiction story filled with humour and ideally suited to feature two confident, resourceful, no-nonsense girls as the main characters.

The idea floating around the enormous amount of space between my ears was about a teen schoolgirl who swaps places with a girl from another planet. The working title was TEEN ALIEN, but I decided not to go down the alien path. I wanted space to be filled with humans, inhabiting a chaotic, ancient and growing galactic confederation the people of Earth (which is yet to be invited to join) don’t know exists.

This premise allowed me to explore many more of my own interests in addition to those suggested by my daughter.

When I was a child I loved Enid Blyton’s SECRET SEVEN and FAMOUS FIVE stories. Those kids didn’t muck around. They were fearless and jumped into danger at the drop of a hat and, by George!, they were going to solve the mystery at hand. I wanted Polly and Kylie, my BLURRED VISION characters, to take the same no-nonsense approach to life and to danger. An overall attitude of, in the words of my wife, ‘be scared and do it anyway!’

I also grew up reading classic science fiction and non-fiction alien invasion and flying saucer books, so I now had the opportunity to set the record straight with the ‘real’ explanation and history of interstellar contact with Earth over the centuries and particularly since the 1940s flying saucer craze.

In addition to these elements, I had to invent an entire universe, complete with its own history, laws and conventions. Not an easy task, even though it was a very enjoyable one. I decided on a mainly human universe, filled with extremely diverse people who are also recognisably human, with all the good and bad that suggests. Based on my own general ignorance – I wouldn’t survive five minutes in a dystopian world – I decided the general population of ‘my' universe would also suffer a lack of knowledge. Here on Earth, most people can drive, but they wouldn’t have a clue how a car works, let alone build one. I watch TV, but how it operates might as well be magic. Electricity, the same. Phone, building a house, hunting for or growing food, assembling a boat; all of them alien to me, if you will pardon the pun.

In the universe of BLURRED VISION, humans using advanced technology way beyond anything seen on earth generally don’t have a clue how anything works. Just like us (well, me anyway).

All of these elements meant I could have a lot of fun and employ a great deal of humour and I hope BLURRED VISION works for readers of all ages and on a variety of levels.


Details & links at https://stormingtime.com/blurred-vision/