A bizarre and unsettling event 35 years ago was the inspiration behind the first novel by Phil Shepherdson
The reason behind writing my science fiction novel EarthZoo was simple: I needed to offload bizarre experiences that wouldn’t go away.
It was 35 years ago. I was recovering from an extremely bad motorcycle accident – by all rights I should have been killed. However, as if by a miracle, I had survived without a mark.
Later, it became apparent that all my memories of that incident had been erased.
Painfully and slowly those memories resurfaced. And then more disturbing ones emerged. Through nightmares that haunted my sleep I returned back to a troubled past.
Uncontrollable fear
It was a frost laden February morning in 1979 and I was riding my scooter through the winding country lanes near Easingwold. As I turned to look into a field on my left, what I saw there changed my life forever.
Hovering close by and silent as a graveyard was a black triangular craft.
I paused for a better look. At the time I recalled only thinking why the world had suddenly gone quiet and how ‘nuts and bolts’ this strange craft appeared.
There was no ghostly image or flashy lights, but the experience was unearthly. This looked like an unusual aircraft but too small for one of ours.
I was apprehensive and then felt uncontrollable fear but was rooted to the spot. I knew that if I told anyone, total ridicule would be the result.
My nightmares were the trigger behind this book. I needed a catharsis moment.
Why were they here?
EarthZoo by Phil Shepherdson is published by Rusty Penny Books, price £7.99
Read more on the EarthZoo blog
It was a simple equation: there was a craft either man made or extra-terrestrial that I had seen. Either way, the solution was this: why were they here and what did they want?
This question became an obsession to uncover the truth, but abruptly I had entered Pandora’s Box.
As I began this quest to unravel my own peculiar experience, I encountered other ‘Experiencers’ (as I began to call them) who had equally bizarre stories to tell.
Harry Martindale became a firm friend of mine with his amazing story of the Roman soldiers he had encountered whilst working at the Treasurer’s House in York.
We both were wary of ridicule. However in my opinion, his story held truth.
Ghosts and UFOs apparently have an uncanny similarity; both can manipulate time and space with ease. I began to theorise that perhaps we do live within time loops.
The quantum mathematics intrigued me as I began to delve into them – but I am no Einstein! However the weak nature of gravity (theory suggests it should be much stronger) could be explained if we and gravity resided within a quantum fleeting time loop environment.
Even Brian Cox in his 2013 Christmas Lecture speculated this solution for the method of time travel for Doctor Who!
Remarkably a door opened within this secret world of the unknown and I was able to interview top UFO investigators like Nick Pope, who used to work for the Ministry of Defence and who is reviewing EarthZoo for me.
High profile government and American investigators too appeared equally bemused of this strange phenomenon. I exchanged intelligence with many secretive bedfellows!
And so my book gained substance. If it is a noble and brave account, I leave to you, the reader to judge. I believe it is a good book because it is an honest book – as far as I can tell…