Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend

A Story by John H. Carroll

Joshua is a manager at FishBurgers who walks home alone every evening. One night, he comes across an unusual blue-haired woman sitting on a bench.

Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend

John H. Carroll

This story is dedicated to my wife who accuses me of having a blue haired alien girlfriend.

***

Lisa was staring with glassy eyes at the last of three tapes for orientation, her chin propped in hands with elbows on knees. She popped the hundredth bubble of a heavily chewed piece of gum.

“And that is how you make the perfect blue-cheese bass burger here at Fish Burgers,” the dork in the TV said as he waved about a perfectly made fish-burger with obvious and embarrassing pride. Lisa pushed the eject button on the VCR, amazed that anyone still used such an archaic device.

Standing up, she brushed off her brown and teal uniform while looking at herself in the break-room mirror. Her hair shoved under a hat puked up by the seventies. The thing Lisa liked most about herself was her green eyes, which seemed brighter than most people’s. The rest of the effect was something she had every intention of ignoring. She left the break-room and walked down the short hall to the manager’s office. “Here you go,” she said, handing the tape back.

Second-Assistant Manager Joshua Collin didn’t seem like most fast food managers in Lisa’s opinion. He gave her an absentminded sort of smile as he said, “I hope you survived with your sanity intact.” The smile made Lisa’s knees go a little weak. It wasn’t that he was extremely handsome, but he had really nice eyes and a quiet demeanor.

“It was pretty bad, but I survived,” she replied with a nervous giggle, hoping he didn’t think her too much of a fool. She took a deep breath, straightened her hat and asked, “So what do I do now, Sir?”

Joshua frowned, his dark eyebrows lowering. “Please don’t call me sir,” he said, running a hand through his curly black hair. “I’ll show you how to work the boards and make some burgers. They won’t look perfect like the ones in the video, but I think they use plastic for those,” he told her with a wink.

“Boards?” Lisa asked in confusion.

Joshua shrugged and explained, “That’s what they call the area where we put burgers together. I don’t know why.” Lisa stared at Joshua as he led her into the kitchen, thinking he must be about six feet tall and in his early twenties. He continued with the explanation, “I think maybe it comes from the saying ‘room and board’ like they used to say at inns in the old days or something.” Lisa gently bit her lip as she studied his nibbleable ears . . . was that even a word? He considered some more then agreed with his own conclusion. “Yeah, boards have to do with food or something.”

For the next hour, Joshua showed Lisa how to make fish burgers. She enjoyed being close to him. He smelled like broiler smoke, but in a nice way. After the hour was done, he gave her lunch, which was free for all employees. Lunch was supposed to be made by someone else, but he let her make her own as he went to work with one of the cashiers.

Caitlyn, the drive through cashier, had an attitude and really knew what she was doing. The girl had been there for an entire three and a half months. She jerked her head signaling Lisa to sit with her. Caitlyn’s blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail and her hat was tilted to the side. Employees weren’t supposed to wear nose rings at Fish Burgers, but when Joshua was the manager they could get away with it. Caitlyn’s nose ring was in the shape of a skull and she wore matching skull earrings, bandana and charm bracelet. She must be really into skulls or something, Lisa thought.

Lisa sat across from the veteran cashier and took a sip of the chocolate shake that wasn’t supposed to be part of the free lunch. “So, new girl huh?” Caitlyn asked, acting cool.

“Yeah, first day,” Lisa responded, not really knowing what else to say.

The drive through cashier leaned forward conspiratorially. “Just watch out for Bob, the general manager.”

Lisa became worried, leaning forward as well. “Why? What’s wrong with him?”

Caitlyn answered in a low voice, “He like, checks all the girls out and asks if you want to see his big bass meat and stuff.” She leaned back. “It’s all gross and stuff.”

“Eww, that sucks,” Lisa responded eloquently. She turned and looked at Joshua who was working behind the counter. “What about him? He seems cool.”

“Caitlyn shrugged. “Yeah, he’s okay. Just don’t tell him you’re bored or he’ll make you clean stuff,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Lisa watched the Joshua work. He seemed so quiet, polite even, but not really saying more than he absolutely had to. Most of the time, it was like he was somewhere else in his mind while going through the motions of reality.

“Oh no, no, no,” Caitlyn said, startling Lisa out of her thoughts. “You’re not crushin on Joshua, are you?” she asked with a sly grin.

“What? He’s kinda okay, you know?” Lisa said, a light blush warming her cheeks.

“Uh . . . He’s like, gay and stuff . . .” the Caitlyn told her as though it was obvious.

No, he couldn’t be . . . Lisa’s gaydar couldn’t be that far off. “No, he’s not gay . . . is he?” she asked in disbelief.

“Uh, yeah. He like, never comes in here with a girl, or talks about girls or anything,” Caitlyn replied with attitude.

Lisa raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t mean he’s gay.”

Caitlyn raised both eyebrows. “Yeah . . . it does.” She continued as though teaching the ignorant, emphasizing points by pushing her finger on the table with each one. “He never says anything, like, harassing or anything, you know? He always walks home alone. He’s so gay. Duh,” she finished, leaning back, spreading her hands out and bobbing her head.

Lisa’s first day at work didn’t seem so great anymore. The cute, nice manager was gay . . . they always were. The rest of the shift went by quickly. It wasn’t busy and Joshua went into the office to do paperwork, only coming out during a couple of minor rushes.

At the end of her shift, Lisa sat down to eat some fries before going home. She watched through the window as Joshua walked off. He was wearing a long black trench coat, listening to his mp3. As if she needed any further proof that he was gay, he never even said goodbye to her.

***

Joshua breathed in the crisp evening air and looking up at the sky, taking a moment to check reality. There were some clouds, but it had only rained for a couple of minutes, just enough to wash away any dust and give the air a really nice rainy smell.

The second assistant manager of the local Fish Burgers had already forgotten about work. Work was a part of reality, which just didn’t interest him. He looked at the sliver of moon hanging just above the mountain range to the west. The sight was so beautiful it actually made Joshua pause.

He wondered what it would be like to be an explorer on an uninhabited world looking at a completely different moon. Perhaps the world would even have two or three moons, which would cause extra earthquakes . . . or other-planet-quakes. Joshua sighed and went back to walking. His head was down, looking not so much at the ground in front of him, but at the worlds and universes swirling around in his mind.

After grabbing a cup of coffee at Moondollars, Joshua went for a walk along the river in the park where it was always peaceful. The sun had set and there was a glow in the sky over the mountains. The only sound he heard was that of the music coming from his mp3. He had listened to the song that was playing a thousand times, but didn’t really know the words. Sometimes words weren’t important; just the sound providing background music for his imagination.

A man walked past without looking up. No one ever messed with Joshua. He was just a guy in a black duster, walking along listening to his music. There was no real gain in bothering him, in fact, most people never even saw him, which was how Joshua liked it. He was largely invisible and preferred to keep it that way. The alternative was to talk to people; alright as a concept, but not so much in practice. Joshua thought about going home to the garage he rented from a friend, but didn’t really want to. It was too nice to go home and he liked to walk the long path along the river for hours.

From a distance, he noticed a girl sitting on the bench who seemed a bit unusual. Joshua noticed everyone from a distance to make sure they weren’t a threat. He didn’t really care about people for the most part, but it was important to know they were there in order to properly avoid them.

This girl was different though. Her hair was blue, which wasn’t unusual in and of itself; two of the employees at Fish Burgers and the barista at Moondollars had blue hair. It was unusual because she was unusual. She was also staring directly at him. People weren’t supposed to notice Joshua, let alone stare at him.

Joshua stopped right in front of the girl. They just stared at each other, losing track of time. “Hello,” she finally said in a voice that was silky, rippling over his body with the single utterance. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He sat down next to the girl, and responded, “Hi.” His greeting seemed deep; not just a word, but so much more. It was as though Joshua was saying ‘hi’ with his soul instead of speaking a casual greeting. At that moment, hello and hi seemed like the most important and significant concepts that existed in the universe.

She appeared puzzled. “Nobody should be able to see me . . . why are you able to?” Her voice didn’t just enter his ears as she asked the question, but filled his entire being. It was surreal.

“Yeah. I’m kinda like that too. No one really sees me, which is the way I like it.”

She frowned. Joshua noticed her eyebrows were blue too; not dyed, but blue all the way to the roots. He leaned in to study them. She leaned in as well, gazing deep into his eyes. Joshua noticed that her eyes were violet and faceted like a gem. It was nice being so close to the girl. She smelled . . . different . . . nice. The scent wasn’t a perfume, but nice . . . like her voice.

“That’s not what I mean,” she said. “I’m invisible, as in: people can’t see me. You shouldn’t be able to see me either,” she explained, mystified. Her face was perfect with smooth, perfect skin. Joshua had an urge to run his hand along her cheek.

“What do you mean? I don’t think I understand,” Joshua replied in confusion. Speaking in full sentences was hard because he just wanted to stare at her. The girl’s lips twisted a bit. Joshua noticed they seemed to have a touch of blue as well.

“What I mean is; I have a device that makes me invisible.” She tapped a round device attached to her utility belt. It had little lights blinking on and off slowly.

Joshua did a double take. He hadn’t noticed the utility belt at first, being too lost in her eyes. He looked at the rest of her. She was dressed in a simple burgundy tunic and a long black skirt. Around her waist was the silver utility belt with devices attached. Many of them had flashy lights like the invisibility device. “Ahh, you’re a Trekkie or something then,” he said with a nod.

Her brow furrowed again. Joshua loved staring at her eyebrows. They were the most amazing eyebrows he had ever seen in his life.

“I am not a Trekkie, whatever that is.” She took a deep breath, which was enjoyable to watch whether she was a Trekkie or not. “I’m not even supposed to be here. I just . . .” she trailed off, looking toward the silhouette of the mountains. The girl seemed worried.

“Are you okay?” Joshua asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. He tried to concentrate on what was going on with her and at the same time, pay attention to how nice her shoulder felt under his hand. He succeeded at neither, his mind exploding in a mixture of sensations.

The touch of his hand seemed to shock her, as though she wasn’t expecting it. She turned back toward him, gently biting her pretty lower lip. Shrugging, she said, “I ran away. I couldn’t take it anymore.” Joshua kept his hand on her shoulder as she spoke, doing his best to ignore the heart trying to pound a hole in his chest. “My life isn’t like what you have here on Earth. It’s not exactly horrifying . . . there is no war or anything, but . . .”

Joshua’s mind was cycling over the error in her words; the one where she implied that she wasn’t from Earth. He squeezed her shoulder comfortingly as he listened. It felt super nice.

“My life has been decided for me,” she continued. “I know what I’ll do for work, who I’ll marry, how many children I’ll have . . . even when I’ll die. I have no say in anything.” Sadness washed over her face and a tear rolled down one cheek, making his pounding heart stop for a beat.

Suddenly, he noticed that he was hugging her, which was not something he normally did with complete strangers. She froze for a moment then hugged him back fiercely, as though trying to hold on for her life. It was the best feeling he had ever felt.

“My name is Mariella,” she told him as they pulled back just a bit. Her voice gently caressed his ears as she spoke. “I’m from a world called Hersiallimith.” She looked into his eyes to see how he would react to the information. Their legs were touching and he had one hand on her thigh while the other was still on her shoulder. Mariella had one of her hands on his thigh as well.

At this point, Joshua didn’t really care where she said she was from. It was just so nice to be touching someone. Plus, it would be like . . . the best thing ever if she really was an alien. All that aside, Joshua actually believed her. He didn’t know why, he just did. “They plan out your whole life for you? That sucks,” he stated.

Her cute blue eyebrows furrowed once more. “You act as though you meet people not of your world all the time, Joshua. I know your people have not had official contact with anyone.” How did you see me? It’s almost impossible to see past the invisibility device . . . and what do you mean; ‘that sucks’?”

He answered the last question first. “It means ‘bad’ or something. Other than that, I don’t know how I saw you. I was just walking along and felt your presence, just like I do with everyone else,” he explained.

Mariella tilted her head, blue locks falling over one of her eyes. She had to be an alien; her beauty was so exotic and breathtaking. “You said you felt my presence. “What do you mean by that?” she asked, interrupting his train of thought.

It was a good question actually. “Umm . . . I don’t know. I just kinda sense people before I see them. I don’t really look for them.” That didn’t really describe how he did it, but it was the best he could come up with.

“Ahh, you must have noticed me with peripheral vision instead of looking directly. You have to glance a little bit sideways to see past invisibility, like you would with a small star.” Mariella nodded her head, satisfied with that explanation.

She began to tell him about the world she came from and how it was part of a large federation of planets and races. They controlled all that went on with individuals and told them how their lives would go and even had set limits on how long one was allowed to live. She had run away in the hopes of finding freedom, but knew it wouldn’t be long before they found her to take her back.

It was all said with such inevitability that Joshua felt even more sympathy for her. He held her hand while Mariella talked. The stars in the sky made her blue hair glow with gentle radiance.

During pauses, they would sit and listen to the sounds of the night. Crickets chirped in the bushes while the breeze gently whispered through nearby trees. The river poured over the rocks nearby on its way to other lands. Her head rested on his shoulder and one of her legs draped over his lap. Joshua sat with this woman from another world and things felt right.

He said very little, for nothing in his life seemed quite as important as what she had to say and he could tell that she desperately needed to talk to someone. After awhile, any doubt in his mind that she was from a different world faded.

Before either of them knew it the sky was beginning to light up again. They had been talking the entire night. Now it was silent and Joshua didn’t know what to do. He was very aware that he didn’t want to stop holding her. “I’m living in a friend’s garage,” he told her. “It’s not much, but I don’t know where else you can go.”

She gave him a trusting look and a small shrug. “I like being with you. I don’t really have anywhere else to go until they recover me.”

Joshua frowned at that. “Can we hide you from them?”

Mariella gave him a sad smile. “No. They have ways of tracking that I can’t hide from. I just don’t know when they’ll be here.” She rested her head on his shoulder again and he wrapped his arm around her.

“That’s really messed up.” He thought for a moment. “What about your ship?” he asked.

Mariella looked at him with amusement. “What ship?” The sun was beginning to shine and she looked beautiful in the morning light.

“Umm . . . you came here on a spaceship, didn’t you?” he asked.

Her gentle laughter was even more wonderful than her voice. It washed over him like the nearby river washed over the rocks. “No silly. I live in a completely different arm of the galaxy. It would take lifetimes to get here by spaceship.” Mariella’s eyes twinkled. “I don’t really know how to describe it. You take a path and end up where you want to go . . . although this world is very, very illegal to travel to.” She was especially serious about that point.

“Why is it illegal? Because we’re not advanced enough or something?” Joshua asked.

He watched the blue hair dance around Mariella’s shoulders as she shook her head. “No, I don’t have any idea why, but it’s really bad. I’ll be in big trouble when they find me.” She shrugged. “It’s okay. They’ll just send me to be re-educated on how my life is to be lived and my visit here will become a dream.” Mariella stood up and took his hand. “I want to see your garage.”

Joshua stood up as well. “Yeah, you bet.” He looked at her with a frown. “Umm, how old are you and stuff?” he asked.

She looked at him in surprise and though about it for a moment. “Don’t worry. I’m old enough,” she said with a smirk then laughed at his blush.

They spent that day and the next night in the detached garage he rented. It was the most enjoyable time either of them had ever experienced. They fooled around a bit. It turned out that humans and aliens were compatible in certain ways, but mostly they just touched and talked. Mariella told him more about the galaxy and the different beings that existed.

As his blue haired alien girlfriend lay against his body, Joshua listened intently and imagined the worlds she described. The details of the government and the absolute control it had over the people terrified him. Mariella didn’t like having her life mapped out, but seemed to accept it nonetheless. That seemed more horrible to Joshua than the rest of it. The concept that a person had no control over what they did with their life was as alien as his new girlfriend.

He asked her why no one had ever come to visit Earth. It turned out that they had. However; Earth was forbidden for some reason and the only individuals to visit were special agents of the federation. Another problem was that Earth was in an arm of the galaxy that wasn’t heavily populated and there was little reason to visit a small, insignificant world even if it hadn’t been forbidden.

The next day, Joshua had to go back to work. It was payday, so he didn’t want to skip, though he loathed leaving Mariella. She laughed and hugged him before telling him to go. She would be there when he got back. It would be awhile before the people would find her to take her away.

***

Joshua walked home that evening thinking about all that had happened the night before. As far as Mariella being an alien went, he had given that a lot of thought and really didn’t care. She was the most wonderful woman with the most beautiful blue hair on this world or any other.

The barista at Moondollars ran fingers through his ratty, blue-dyed hair as Joshua walked up and gave his order. “I’d like a mocha spice caramel latte please.”

The barista replied, “Sure, how’s things at Fish Burgers, dude?”

Why did people always ask how he was doing? It took Joshua a few seconds to think about how his day was each time they did. He never wanted to say that he was doing well, just in case the universe heard him and decided to change it. “Uh . . . yeah. I’m doing good.” He even said that with some confidence, which was unusual.

“Cool. Hey, I’ll give you this drink on the house if you give me a meal next time I’m in.” The barista put the drink down in front of him. It looked like the guy had started making it when Joshua walked in. He’d have to order something else one of these times, just to throw the b*****d off.

“Yeah. Right on. Come in and I’ll even U.S. size it for you,” Joshua replied.

U.S. size was the current campaign by Fish Burgers. “We take the U and one of the S’s out of Fish Burgers and it becomes the U.S. The U.S. is big, so U.S. size all your meals!” The commercials were considered some of the lamest ever made.

The barista handed him his coffee. “Sweet, dude. I’ll see you tomorrow before my shift then. Joshua walked out, already having forgotten about the barista’s existence.

He felt a surge of panic when he realized that Mariella wasn’t on the park bench as she said she would be. They must have come back and taken her. That sucked! Joshua sat down on the bench, trying to think of how to rescue her. He felt something touch his leg and about jumped out of his skin.

Then he heard her laughter. It was still the most wonderful sound ever. The noise of the river intermingled with it, bringing a symphony of bliss to his ears. “Where are you, Mariella? I can’t see you anywhere.

She laughed again before suddenly appearing right next to him, her hand sliding up his thigh. “You can’t look at me directly when the invisibility device is on. You have to look at me out of the corner of your eye like you do with stars, remember?”

Her smile was radiant and he instantly knew the perfect thing to say. “You are brighter than any star in the universe, Mariella and your light has shown me the way to happiness.” It was cheesy, but sincere and he knew he had hit a home run when she threw her arms around him.

They watched the sunset together, holding hands and talking of his childhood. Joshua told her that things had been pretty normal and while he never really made any friends, he hadn’t made any enemies either. Mariella listened as he told her that he didn’t know what to do with his existence. Life was something he was going through as quietly as possible to see what happened. He had hoped to fall in love someday, but didn’t really know how to make it happen until he had met her.

Joshua didn’t notice the sad look that flickered across her face as he talked about love. The two of them got up and walked along the river path for hours, talking even more. Joshua had said more to this beautiful alien in the short time he had known her than he had ever said to anyone in his entire life.

“What will you do when they take me back, Joshua?” she asked, looking at the stars as they walked along holding hands.

It wasn’t something he wanted to think about. It couldn’t be real. “There’s got to be a way we can hide you from them,” he said resolutely.

Mariella gave him a sad smile and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Joshua. They’ll take me back soon. There simply isn’t a way for me to hide from them. She took a deep breath before continuing. “The technology is beyond what you or I understand. Most people can’t trick the system long enough to run away and wouldn’t even consider it if they could.”

He felt her squeeze his hand, trying to comfort him when he should be comforting her. “How can you just accept it like that? It’s wrong!” He didn’t get mad very often as it usually wasn’t worth it, but he was angry now. “What if I talk to them? I can convince them you should stay with me.”

That startled her. “You won’t even see them, Joshua.” She furrowed those beautiful blue eyebrows again. “They wouldn’t let me stay even if you did talk to them.” Mariella turned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I love you too and I’m so sorry about the way things are going to turn out.” She put both hands on his cheeks and looked deep into his eyes. “My time with you will always be the most wonderful part of my life. I want you to remember it as a good thing too. Please promise me that much, Joshua.”

He couldn’t resist her deep violet eyes, which held his soul in a blanket of warmth. He had to try one last argument. “I’ll come after you, rescue you and take you someplace where they’ll never find us!”

Mariella turned around and started walking off, exasperated. “I would love that! I really would, but it’s just not possible, Joshua.” She turned back, pleading with him. “I’m so sorry, please understand.”

He didn’t understand and said so. “I’m sorry, but . . . I just don’t understand. It seems like there should always be a way to make things right. Mariella’s hands were on her hips and her head was down. He continued, “I’ll always remember you, Mariella. You are the very best thing that’ll ever happen to me in my entire life.” She looked up at him with hopeful eyes and he went on. “In my entire existence, I have never experienced anyone or anything as wonderful as you. You make my world rock, Mariella.” Even though the last part was seriously lame, she leapt back into his arms and just held on.

***

They spent the rest of that night in his garage, and he called in sick the next two days as well. Joshua went out the third morning to grab some breakfast. When he came back, all traces of her were gone. Tears welled up in his eyes as cruel realization sunk in. He had never felt more helpless in his entire life. Somehow, someway, he had to be able to rescue Mariella from her terrible fate.

Joshua fell to his knees and sobbed like he had never done before. The love, sensations that had never existed for him in this world, and feelings he had only dreamed of in his vivid imagination, were all gone now. In their place was a powerful sadness and ache. It wasn’t fair that something so wonderful could be taken away.

***

Gregg watched Joshua making black beans and rice on the stove. Something was wrong with the young man lately and Gregg couldn’t figure out what it was. Joshua had holed up in his garage for the last week, calling in sick every day. He looked like crap. “Hey, man; I got some quality stuff here. Come take a few puffs, man.” Gregg invited.

Joshua turned around in surprise. “Huh? Umm . . . thanks, but no. I really appreciate it though.” Then he turned back to his cooking.

Gregg grunted. He didn’t offer the kid a hit from the bong very often because it was always turned down. Joshua didn’t have a problem with Gregg lighting up, but he didn’t smoke.

It was a small house, only two bedrooms and a detached garage, which Joshua rented. Gregg was the classic hippie who had relocated from Berkeley. He had dreads, a scraggly beard, John Lennon glasses and a rainbow beanie. There were usually a few other people hanging around too. Joshua liked them because they were the most laid back people in the world. Gregg owned the home and was the only one who lived there besides Joshua. The rest just hung out whenever. Elise was Gregg’s girlfriend, but wasn’t there at the moment. It was only eleven-thirty in the morning, so most of their friends were probably still asleep.

“Hey, man. Thanks for the rent money yesterday. You’re the only one who’s rented the garage and actually paid the rent, man. I really appreciate that, man,” he said, raising his bong pipe in salute then exhaling the last puff he had taken.

“Yeah, you bet, Gregg. I really appreciate you letting me stay here. Sorry I don’t smoke and stuff,” Joshua replied, gesturing toward the bong and feeling guilty for not wanting to get high.

Gregg shook his head and waved off the apology. “Nah, nah, man. Don’t worry about it, man. It’s all good . . . Hey, you okay, man?” Gregg asked him worriedly.

Joshua thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I’ll be alright. I’m just trying to figure things out.” He put the black beans and rice on a plate with some buttered oat-nut bread and cleaned up his mess before walking out to the garage.

Gregg took another puff from the bong and watched him step through the glass patio door. Joshua seemed like a good guy, but he was too quiet. The guy needed to relax a little and smoke some weed; probably needed to get laid too. Gregg was happy that Joshua had never made a pass at him. He didn’t have a problem with Joshua being gay, but Gregg didn’t smoke that kind of pipe.

***

Joshua finished another shift at work. He really liked Lisa. She had been there for two months now and always smiled at him. Perhaps he would ask her out one of these nights. The air was fresh from another afternoon thunderstorm that had gone through a short time ago.

As he walked along the path next to the river, holding his Moondollar’s coffee, Joshua made it a point to look sideways at the bench as one would a star in the sky. Mariella wasn’t there and he just couldn’t figure out a way to find and rescue her. He didn’t have a clue as to where he would even begin looking.

Taking a sip of his mocha spice caramel latte, he sat down on the bench. The moon was just a sliver over the mountains and the river babbled as rivers do. The time spent with his blue haired alien girlfriend had been the most wonderful experience of his life and his heart still ached whenever he thought of her.

Joshua sat there for an hour, listening to the river and watching the sunset. Then he stood up and walked on, lost in his thoughts.

###

About the Author

John H. Carroll was the youngest of seven children and was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1970 where he was kept in a dresser drawer with the clean socks. Luckily he wasn’t kept with the dirty socks or else he might have grown up to become slightly warped.

As a child, John spent most of his time wandering through the Mojave Desert in an attempt to avoid people. He would stare at the sky, imagining what it would be like to explore different worlds. One of his favorite memories is watching his dad build the fuselage of Evil Kneivel’s skycycle in their garage. One of his least favorite moments was watching that skycycle fall into the Snake River. (Not his dad’s fault and he has documentation to prove it, so nyah)

As a teenager, John spent most of his time driving wherever he could in an attempt to avoid people. He would stare at the road, imagining what it would be like to explore different worlds. He was the captain of the chess team and lettered in golf and band while in high school and wasn’t beaten up anywhere near as much as one might imagine.

As an adult, John spent most of his time staring at a computer screen in an attempt to avoid people. He stares at the monitor for hours, imagining what it would be like to explore different worlds. He has been married to his wonderful wife for 14 years and they have three obnoxio . . . wonderful children who always behave . . . when they’re asleep.

The Willden Trilogy is his first endeavor into the field of writing. Other series and standalone works will be forthcoming. In addition, John has written a number of short stories that publishes for free, just because he likes you so much. (And it’s good marketing. Shh) He writes in the evenings and weekends whenever possible. Regrettably, the family mentioned in the previous paragraph desires food and shelter, requiring the author to possess a full time job until such time as his writing makes him rich.

John H. Carroll’s author page at Smashwords:

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