My grandfather introduced me to science fiction when I was very young, and I’ve loved the genre ever since. I grew up reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Heinlein, Fred Saberhagen and Ray Bradbury, to name a few. I also had a passion for medieval history, so stories that included swords and ray guns, like John Carter of Mars or Carson of Venus, were especial favorites.
In 1977, I went to see Star Wars with a couple of high school buddies. While I enjoyed the movie, for some reason it just didn’t click with me. There are a number of reasons why, but that’s a discussion for another day. I did enjoy the original Star Trek television series, which I watched with my family in the 1960s (yes, I’m dating myself!). I’m not a real fan of any of the later series, but Kirk, Spock and the original crew of the USS Enterprise struck a chord with me. The episodes I’m most fond of are the ones that present a more military aspect (Balance of Terror, The Enterprise Incident, etc.).
I was born in Jasper, Alberta, into a family of outdoorsmen. I spent a lot of my youth tramping around the Rockies camping, hiking and fishing, so I love the outdoors. When I was 12 years old, some friends and I were bivouacking in the woods one night, staring up at the stars. To our shock, one of the stars began to move. It had been stationary at one side of the night sky, and in a matter of moments, it moved to the opposite side and stopped. There it remained. We conjectured that it couldn’t have been a satellite, so it must be something else. Around the same time, I was reading “Chariots of the Gods,” so I began reading about UFOs. A year or two later, I was at home sick with the flu, and while all I could do is listen to the radio, I stumbled on a talk program where the DJ interviewed an anonymous guest about a flying saucer that had crashed in New Mexico in 1947, and how the debris and several unusual bodies had been shipped to an air base in Ohio. My interest was piqued, and I began a life-long quest to find out as much as I could about the UFO phenomenon.
I’ve been writing since grade school, and even won an award for a short story I wrote. I worked in the Military History Department of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary for eight years, and then spent 25 years running a business making reproduction medieval armour. Throughout those years, I continued to write–mainly magazine articles, but I also wrote numerous short stories. Then in 1999, I wrote my first novel about a Viking settlement in North America that survives undetected to the present day. I didn’t do anything with it, just self-published it and had several copies printed to give away as Christmas presents. A few years ago, I underwent surgery on my shoulder, which was unsuccessful. At the time, I was engrossed with writing more so than I had been earlier, so I decided it was time for a career change. Solar Warden is the result–combining my love of science fiction and the military with my interest in the UFO phenomenon.
Title – Solar Warden
Author – Peter Fuller
Genre – Military Science Fiction
Book Blurb –
“US Air Force combat pilot Colonel Steve Richardson suffers a severe head injury when his F-35 crashes in the mountains of northern Afghanistan. With help too far away, death appears imminent. When an unusual craft appears and rescues him, Richardson is convinced he's hallucinating. It conveys him to a massive spaceship in orbit, where he is treated for his wounds. Once he recovers from his injury, Richardson is introduced to a covert space force called "Solar Warden." This secret space program utilizes futuristic technology to defend earth against a paranormal alien threat intent on destroying earth's inhabitants. When Richardson joins the program, he learns that his new comrades are losing the conflict. Can he learn to operate technology half a century ahead of what he has been trained for in time to be an asset? Or will he become just another casualty in an interstellar war?”
Excerpt –
“Sir, you’re losing the neural link! I can feel it!” Williams targeted two enemy saucers at once and opened fire, but his pilot jinked to port to remain with the flight lead, and William’s lost the target lock. His shots went wide as they were hit again by enemy fire.
“Sir, shields are down to 60 percent.”
“Try to firm them up, SO,” Scarecrow ordered as he fought to maintain the neural link.
“Drawing power from non-essential systems. If we take many more hits, I don’t think it’s going to be enough.”
“Do your best–”
At that moment, Scarecrow’s flight lead took fire from three bandits and exploded in a blinding flash. Scarecrow fought to avoid secondary fire, but was only partially successful. He took another hit, sending him into an uncontrolled tumble.
“Right us so I can return fire, Commander,” Williams said as he struggled to target the three bandits that were approaching them. “My tactical display looks like a snow globe that’s just been shaken!”
Scarecrow felt the neural link slipping from his mental grasp as they continued to cartwheel out of control. The enemy opened fire on them again.
“Shields down to ten percent, Commander. One more hit, and we’re done for.”
No matter how hard he tried to regain control of his bird, Scarecrow could not restore the neural link. Weapons fire flashed around them.
Williams and MacPherson held their breath as they braced for the inevitable …”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub) –
Barnes and Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/solar-warden-peter-fuller/1136544573?ean=9781543999952
Bookbaby - https://store.bookbaby.com/book/solar-warden
Books a Million - https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Solar-Warden/Peter-Fuller/9781543999952?id=7849096654113#
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51920880-solar-warden?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=CUSTAOH3m2&rank=3
Rakuten Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/solar-warden
Author Biography –
Peter Fuller worked in the Military History Department of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for eight years. He has studied military history for decades, written numerous articles and lectured at major museums and universities on the subject of military history. He has also been a regular panelist at NORWESCON since 2017. He has studied the UFO phenomenon since grade school. He is a member of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), and has had a few "close encounters" of his own. Most recently, he interviewed the son of a United States military officer about his late father's work on several special access projects for the secret space program.
Social Media Links –
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/solar_warden_novel/