I was living in Albuquerque during the production of Marvel’s The Avengers (which my husband, Jeremy, produced) when I first learned of Spaceport America, Richard Branson’s cutting-edge commercial space endeavor.
The notion of the glitz and wealth of the burgeoning space-exploration industry contrasted with the staggering poverty of present-day New Mexico led me to imagine a world where private concerns end up replacing the governments of the world. A world where commerce replaced democracy.
Off Planet is what came from all of that inspiration. I was writing in our little rented house off of Central Ave, and I could hear the jets landing at the Air Force base. I needed 10K words for my fifth writing residency for my MFA at Seton Hill University, and what came out was a version of the diner scene.
I took it to that June 2011 residency and got critiqued by an AMAZING group of people, including Dr. Nicole Peeler. I got such good feedback, and everyone encouraged me to keep working on it. One other classmate (David W.) pulled me aside afterward and asked me to send him anything else that I wrote for this story. I was so excited, so when I met with my new mentor, Maria V. Snyder, I decided expand the diner scene into a whole book. I’d already finished Becoming Alpha with Dr. Lee McClain, and was so excited to build a whole new world for Maité.
For that whole semester with Maria, I think I learned more than I did in all the other semesters combined about how to world build. She kicked my ass BIGTIME, and I’m so incredibly grateful that she accepted me as a mentee.
This book has gone through so many versions—one where she became IAF, ones where Lorne came instead of Declan, ones where she didn’t know she was a halfer… But I finally found the right version and cut 50K words last year. Somehow, I still ended up over 140K, nearly double the average length of one of my Alpha Girls books. Whoa, mama! And I couldn’t have done it without a TON—I mean a TON—of help. So here’s the list of everyone that helped! Be prepared. It’s a long one!
Thank you to Lola Dodge, Maria V. Snyder, Margie Lawson, Mary Karlik, Cheri Patton, John McDevitt, and everyone else who has given me feedback on this book through its many versions.
Thank you to Kime Heller-Neal. Your feedback was so thorough and organized. Your editing made this book shine, and I’m so thankful that you were able to fit this book into your schedule!
Thank you to Sharon Garner, my copyeditor. I’m so thankful that someone can catch all my typos, and so stoked that you enjoyed the read, too. :)
Thank you to my amazing mother-in-law, who came to watch Isabella while I hosted Margie Lawson’s Immersion Master Class. My writing improved so much from that, and I’m so thankful to have such a supportive mother-in-law! I appreciate it so much.
To Kelly, Ana, Katie, Allison, and all the rest at INscribe, thank you for all your hard work! Your support of Ink Monster and our books is invaluable. You’re AMAZING!
To my family, for being so supportive of all of my books! Thank you for the cheers and encouragement. I love you all.
To our nanny, Nicky G. Without you taking such good care of our Isabella, I wouldn’t be able to work. Thank you for that daily gift.
Jeremy. You’re the best partner. Thank you for reading every single draft and always telling me to keep going. I’m so thankful for you. For taking Isabella on weekends when I’m on deadline to staying up late reading revisions to making me dinner and shooing me off to finalize the final-final files. I love you the most.
Isabella doesn’t understand what I do yet (she’s only 2.5!), but I hope she reads this one day and enjoys it. If today is that day, know that I love you so much and I hope you enjoyed it. Taking time away from you isn’t easy, but you’re always in my heart and on my mind. Maité’s strength comes from you.