OMG!    Wow!  Just goes to show you that they have a name for everything!    :  *giggle*  Poor Edward.  No, I didn't mean it that way!  I just love the name, and since it's both unusual and sounds ordinary, it worked perfectly for my story.  A good friend of mine named one of her sons Gar, which is where I first heard it. 

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I would have to agree.


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That coupled with Virginia's unreadable look, classic!

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He's a man that doesn't need muscle to be masculine. He just is. Feline, I agree. I don't like Mr. Universe types of men, either. I had a close male friend several years ago that had started working out in the gym, and I didn't have the heart to say to him I didn't think it was flattering when he spurted more muscle. Straker's intellect is attractive to me, too.

Behind the Scenes of
Gar Barusch
by Denise Felt 2011

I think this is the first story I’ve written for UFO where the commander wasn’t caught up in an instant attraction with the female lead.  Not that she wasn’t an attractive woman, but it was secondary and unimportant.  It wouldn’t have mattered if she was plain.  He falls in love with her over the course of their sessions as he experiences her kindness and compassionate nature, which is not at all what he’s used to back on Earth.  She, on the other hand, is caught from the very beginning, as we see in the first line.

Chapter 1 – It’s fairly easy to figure out where the title comes in, because when we begin the story, he is called Gar.  So we know what they’re calling him.  But anyone who has read my work before should recognize the commander, even though he isn’t known as Straker in this world.  This is another mystery story, one where we learn bit by bit where he is and why he is there.  And even those things are subject to change at any given moment.  This story was also the first time my beta tester refused to critique each chapter as I wrote it.  Her only comment was: Yes, it’s good.  Write more!

Chapter 2 – We find out a great deal in this chapter.  First, that he missed a session.  Then we learn why.  Unlike a lot of UFO fanfic writers, I’ve never killed off Alec before.  It was surprisingly difficult.  And in the end, I never do say definitively that he is dead.  But since Straker is irrevocably separated from his best friend (even though the reader may not know that yet), it didn’t seem to matter much that I keep Freeman alive.  And the fact that he might be dead is what spurs the commander on to search for his homeworld.  That search is the heart of the story.

I’ve written a lot of amnesia stories over the years.  It’s a fascination of mine really, and one that I haven’t fully explored even now.  So, beware.  There may be more amnesia stories in the future!  But this is the first time Straker is the one with amnesia.  And that makes this time extra special – for me and (hopefully) for the reader as well.

Chapter 3 – In this chapter, we meet another player in the game: the Director of Interplanetary Affairs.  And we learn a bit more about our commander.  His presence here has serious implications for the planet.  Well, what else is new?  Straker always makes waves wherever he goes! *grin* I never fully explain what these concerns are, but I hope the reader gets the overall gist of it by the end of the story, once the full truth is revealed.

I got several comments about the technology shown in this chapter, especially the doctor’s unit in her office (the one that gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘desktop computer.’)  I’m just as excited about it as my readers (and Straker) were and wish I had one in my office too!

Just a note: I thoroughly enjoyed his ‘needle in a haystack’ comment and her subsequent confusion.  It was priceless!  One of those times where the perfect phrase just came to me as I was writing.  I can hardly take credit for those instances, since they’re as much a surprise to me as they are to everyone else!

Chapter 4 – In this chapter we learn just how serious his injuries were.  We already know that his spine was broken.  Now we find out that he was also badly burned and had extensive brain damage.  Not a pretty picture.  And we can understand his gratitude to the people who cared enough about a stranger to put him back together.  The sunset scene is one of my favorites in the story as we see him accepting this new world for the first time.  It’s a paradise, after all.  Why shouldn’t he enjoy it?

He plays Xardoni with Daja and likes it even more than chess.  And we find out what Gar Barusch really means.  It’s a character from a folktale and is a different form of ‘Mr. Nobody.’  Sort of the 26th century’s equivalent to John Doe – just a bit more exotic.

Chapter 5 – His past comes back in a rush in nightmare form, overwhelming him, but of course he assures the orderlies that he’s fine.  That’s Straker all over!  We finally get to meet Dr. Ramov, who up to this point has just been a name spoken in passing.  But although he’s a caring doctor, he’s no match for Straker, and so Daja has to come to the rescue.  She finds Gar in despair, his memories so vivid and terrible that he can’t handle them.  Alec’s dead, and Earth is doomed.  Why keep trying to get back?

But she gives him hope, reminding him that his people are not the passive type to lay down and die when confronted with invaders.  They discuss the situation further and figure out that the aliens’ time freeze device must have been the culprit that brought him so far away from home.  She tells him about the alien that survived, and he realizes how much she has cared about him from the very beginning – back when he was a wreck of a man.  He kisses her, and then in his own sarcastic way refuses to apologize for it.  I have to say, when Straker is sarcastic is when I love him the most!  So I know just how Daja feels here. *grin*  She finds out his real name, and the scene – so fraught with trauma and pain – ends quietly as they both head back to sleep.

Chapter 6 – When Straker makes another archaic comment, I hope the reader is expecting Daja to react the same way she did with the ‘haystack’ comment.  But she’s a psychiatrist, and so Rorschach tests are known to her, no matter how ancient the term.  How?  Because Coriandus is Earth – just Earth far into the future.  I loved writing the hillside scene where he finds the constellations!  I didn’t cry, but I definitely teared up when I wrote it!  It’s just such a powerful moment.

I also greatly enjoyed bringing in Temporal Security.  They were so hilarious in the Trek series that I felt they needed reviving.  And Daja welcomes him home.  This was the second time my eyes teared up in this scene.  It’s just such a sweet thing for her to say.  And his reaction was all that it should have been! *sigh*

I suppose it was obvious in the next scene why I called the colonel Bishop.  Just a small tribute to the man who made the commander such a legendary character.

Epilogue – Straker gets to meet the Director finally, but somehow that is eclipsed by the second man present at this meeting: Ford.  I love Ford’s character, although I don’t always show it in my stories.  But to me, he’s one of the unsung heroes in the war against the aliens.  So it was fitting that his progeny gets to be in command in the future Earth – and even to look a lot like him.

We finally learn exactly what happened when the commander crashed here, and it was a much bigger deal than either he or Daja thought.  Somehow he brought the entire alien armada with him when he came through time.  Their foolproof plan to take out the heads of SHADO and take over the planet all in one fell swoop was foiled by the suicidal act of the commander, who was trying to thwart them any way he could before he died.  And Earth in the future was quite capable of stopping their attack. *grin* I do love it when the good guys win!

Another joyful moment for me was when we find out what SHADO stands for now.  Again, this version of its acronym just came to me in a flash, so I ran with it.  But it made me smile when I wrote it – and it affects me the same way every time I reread it!  I hope my readers feel the same.  It was necessary to know that SHADO continued into the future of the planet – that the loss of their beloved commander and his second-in-command were not enough to destroy the organization. 

And Daja gets a job offer she won’t refuse!  Not when it means that she can continue to work with her dear Edward.  I really enjoyed Daja as a counterpoint to Straker.  In fact, I almost want to write a sequel to this story, just so that I can peek into their lives six months down the road and see how they’re doing.  And I may have to someday, simply to have the pleasure of working with her again.

Several readers have commented on how much they enjoyed reading about a kinder, gentler Earth in the future.  Like Roddenberry, I don’t believe it’s a given that the future will be dark and grim.  Mankind has the capacity to be noble and heroic as well as self-destructive.  There’s no guarantee that just because we’re on a certain course now that our path won’t ever change.  I prefer to think positively.  And if I would rather write about the greatness man can achieve rather than the destruction, who does it hurt?

Alison was the one who first made me rethink my image of Ford.  In her story 'Collecting the Set' he is the one who saves everybody and gets them all together again.  And I realized that I wasn't acknowledging just what a cool character he actually was.  Since then, I've written him very differently.  I really enjoyed the fact that you let him accompany Straker into the past to rescue Ginny.  He's a wonderful character really -- hardworking and loyal to the bone.  You can't ask for more than that, now can you?

Alison went pro, you know. I had her book for a while but I don't have it now, it was Christian publishing. She left write mice to go pro. Alison always had a really distinctive style, really nice.
I finally was a little kinder to Ford in Maelstrom, after the whole so you think it's difficult error, it's easy enough to abuse him. I felt I was stereotyping him, so I gave him a beloved grandfather. (I myself had a incredibly loving grandfather)
Denise, I was struck at how you describe your story, as if you hadn't written it. As if you were reviewing it. That's such a mysterious process, huh? Once I write something, it's as if I had nothing to do with it. When I'm writing, and the story goes in a different direction than I intended, I know it's flowing. I've seen some writers say that's a legit phenomenon and others say no, the author always is in charge, but for me, and judging from your essay, you, it happens. I've always considered it magical 

I think you get obsessed with your characters, the way I sometimes do  For instance I have Angel in my head, I think oh, Angel would enjoy this situation.   

  Writing is a privilege sometimes. Just like reading. I don't kn ow what it is that makes people into writers, but I can stand outside my work and say, how the heck did that happen? or WHAT??  Jay Noland was one thing and in Maelstrom he was another and I went WHAT?? and my husband, cool under most situations just told me to let it go where it wanted to go. (Which is funny, considering he didn't believe in all that character takes over stuff when I first told him how to write  Now he's saying it to me. )

In Gar barusch I didn't see the part about it being earth coming    I did see the suggestion of romance coming but that's only because you would have a romance between aliens  because of your appreciation for a romance.  Denise, not only do romance writers make good money, some of them are men. Romance is going to be around a long, long time, long after its detractors are pushing up daisies. I happen to like mysteries, so does my husband (he's currently into the Inspector Barnaby stuff (Troy is sooo funny ) and the same can be said of mysteries.
You might like this, and the rest of the guild too, even if you just read.
http://zenhabits.net/best-8-ways-to-deal-with-detractors/

My husband just said  Troy is the Paul Foster of the Inspector Barnaby books 
and Matt, my husband said you project your personal values into stories, your themes, your style reminded him of the Jan Karon stories, my husband was sick one night and we went to the library where we live (okay its one bookcase in the lobby) he found a Jan Karon Father Tim book. Normally he doesn't like Christian fiction, neither of us do, but her Father Tim stories can be read without any need to follow Christian precepts. The stories have subtle values but don't hit the reader over the head with them. You might like them.
http://www.mitfordbooks.com/  Deborah, you might too because you like Father Blackie.

Father Blackie rocks! 

(Just saying.)

Yes, Amelia, most of the time anymore I just get the initial scene for a story and let it run its own course till the end.  It's almost like reading the story rather than writing it, except that I have some control over what is discussed.    When I began writing UFO stories 11 years ago, I always had an outline and tried my best to stick to it.  But over time, I've learned to trust my muse and just go with the flow.  Somehow my stories still stay on theme and manage to tell an entertaining tale without my micro-managing.  :  And those moments when the story surprises even me are my favorites.  Magical is definitely the right word for it! 

I am a diehard romantic and since I find nothing at all wrong with that, I don't intend to change.  I have several favorite romance authors that I read and reread, and they have influenced my writing.  Nora Roberts -- of course, since I mention her so often! -- as well as Kay Hooper, Jayne Ann Krentz, Barbara Hambly, and the queen of the historical novel: Georgette Heyer.  You may notice that none of my faves feature simpering females and testosterone-pumped men.  I like strong women who speak their mind and men with enough wisdom to appreciate them.    Fortunately for me, most of these writers also wrote mysteries, which is a second love of mine.  Until recently, I never tried to emulate them there, but I seem to have found my voice in that arena now and hope to continue writing mysteries as well. 

Sci-fi will always be my first love though, so everything I write will probably end up being first, science fiction, and then romance, and possibly some mystery thrown in for good measure.  How's that for a mix? 

I'm so glad to hear that Alison got published.  What's the title of her novel?  I'll check it out.  Now that my daughter beta tester has finished writing her novel, she's been on me to finish both of mine, so that we can get an agent at the same time.  (I think she's nervous about it, actually, and wants the moral support.)  But I have no drive to write just so I can get published, so they remain unfinished.  I enjoy writing what I love, and I haven't tired of Straker and Co. yet.    I'm a member of a few other forums where I've been encouraged to write for other sci-fi fandoms, but I just can't wrap my mind around Mal or Picard right now.  They'll have to wait their turn until I've tired of a certain pale blonde commander.  In the meantime, I've been blessed to write stories that I love to read -- and I've found others who've enjoyed them too.  What more is there to ask for?   

Bravo Denise!

You should let more of this see the light of day.