The stars speak in a language of secrets, yet their stories cannot remain hidden forever.

Billions of years ago, on one of the first-ever Earths, a boy named Skylar will walk away from his home for the last time. Beset by dreams where he flies through the early universe as a sentient starship, he will never be safe if his secret gets out. His only chance to stay alive is to fall in with the same knights who destroyed his peasant village and live under the shadow of the king who sent them to exterminate Skylar’s people.

But powerful dreams have a way of shaping reality, and with each midnight flight across the cosmos, Skylar finds his world—and himself—changing. Magic is another thing which should only exist in dreams, yet Skylar has it—one more secret that needs keeping.

Against a waking life full of monsters, warriors, swords, sorcery, treasure, and ancient mysteries, Skylar has only one key for putting all the pieces together: the Secret Sky that haunts his sleeping mind.

Amazon Goodreads

Praise:

“Perfect for those who enjoy mystery, magic, and an engaging main character.” 

– Always in the Middle

“Read this if you like a mixing of genres, children with hidden talents and want to dive into the characters of the story.” 

– Log Cabin Library

“A zany, wholly absorbing start to an otherworldly, whimsical adventure worthy of multiple volumes.” – Kirkus Reviews

T. Alan Horne is a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and tales of high adventure. He specializes in taking familiar genres to new places and creating characters that readers get to keep forever as souvenirs to live in their imaginations.

His first book, Advent 9, garnered high praise, and was called “Absolutely Brilliant!” by bestselling author David Farland—the writing teacher and mentor of Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, Stephenie Meyer, and James Dashner.

Mr. Horne spends most of his time writing but occasionally answers fan inquiries. Visit him at his 

Website

Twitter: @TAlanHorne

YouTube: @TheTAlanHorne

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The Stars Speak

How the Cosmology of Secret Sky: The Young Universe Shapes the Book’s World and Story

The idea of “world building” comes up a lot in discussion of speculative fiction, though, for most of its existence the term had never been formalized. No one told L. Frank Baum he was engaged in world building when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, just as no one similarly informed C.S. Lewis when he produced The Chronicles of Narnia.

Only decades after one of fantasy fiction’s first landmarks—Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings—did anyone stop to think we should be codifying the quirky thing Mr. Tolkien did in giving a background and history to every aspect of his world. Today, you can’t breathe a word about epic fantasy without world building coming into play. It’s become one of the genre’s biggest selling points.

However, many people who read Secret Sky: The Young Universe are surprised to find a sophisticated amount of world building in what could otherwise be described as a book for children. As well as the degree of cosmology that was put into a work of fantasy.

The Oldest Story I Know

I wrote Secret Sky: The Young Universe with the intention of creating a story that was as believable as it was fantastic.

Yes, it is a story with magic and monsters, but the most dangerous things found in the book’s world are people and the power they wield over other people. To ground that story, I wanted to do something special with the world—something that would set it apart from other fantasy stories.

That’s why I set the story at the beginning of time.

Or, rather, very soon after the beginning of time. If not the dawn of time, then, like, the five-minutes after school starts…of time.

This book takes place less than two billion years after the Big Bang. And the Earthlike planet where the story happens is dominated by this fact. At this point in history, the universe is so small that you can see the whole of it from the surface of a single planet. The sky is lousy with galaxies, which are brighter than a full moon and can be seen night and day.

And, naturally, that changes how human society works.

The Stars Rule All

In a world where the stars are so close together that night becomes almost as bright as day, a number of changes are going to happen. The world has no electricity, yet people stay awake long after the sun sets. Naturally, star-worship is also the world’s dominant religion. Astrology applies not only to individuals but to businesses, noble families, and dynasties—each living under their own patron star signs.

Skylights are nearly as common as windows. People use the stars to bless, curse, and swear. But the most important change comes when the main character begins to understand that the stars are more than just pretty twinkling lights in the sky.

What’s going to happen to such a world after they discover gravity? Or relativity? Or the expansion of the universe? These are facts which Skylar, our hero, will have to wrestle once he begins to explore the Secret Sky.

And because the story is organized this way, the reader gets to make those discoveries with him, through his eyes.

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Chapter 3: Dead Man’s Testament

You’ll notice I didn’t begin this story with “Once upon a time.”

I know how odd it seems, bringing that up three chapters in, but there’s an important lesson here. “Once upon a time” is a forecast for a bad story. It’s the storyteller’s way of announcing that he never learned how to write an opening, that he finds you unintelligent, and that he can’t be bothered to think of anything original.

Anyway, once upon a time there lived a king. But not like the kings you find in other stories. For one thing, he had never ruled a country. He wasn’t fond of countries, which explains why he’d outlawed them.

His Glorious Exaltedness, Herac the Second, lived a life most kings can only dream of. The name of his kingdom was “Everything,” and its people were known as “Everyone.” And though his capital lay many days away from Skylar’s mountain home, word of the man’s failing health had already reached the ends of his Earth.

It’s hard to appreciate, so long after the fact, just how big a deal the man’s death would become. To put things into perspective, everything in this story happened a bajillion years before the first dinosaur had been invented. You have no more business crying over King Herac than you do for Tyrannosaurus Rex.

But back then, absolutely everyone grieved at the idea of losing him. Without exception. Except the ones happy and excited to learn he was dying. Because let’s face it: why would you want a sickly old king when you have a shiny new one waiting to take his place? All eyes turned now to the heir—Herac’s only son—as the future of the kingdom and the world.

Coins bearing the boy’s face had already been struck. Officials made plans to rename cities and landmarks in his honor. And everyone started to ask, “What kind of person is this prince? What sorts of things does he like? And what could be done to make him happy?” In those questions there was money to be made. Or lost. The smart ones had already jockeyed into position, placing their bets on the biggest gamble in a generation.

They were all going to lose.

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On writing:

How did you do research for your book?

The only research I needed to do was a little bit concerning the origins of the universe, which I, frankly, ignored. The narrator says the story is more than 20 billion years old, which would place it before the Big Bang as it is currently understood. I considered changing this, but after the James Webb Space Telescope failed to solve the Hubble Tension, it became obvious to me that scientists will eventually revise the age of the universe (probably many times) so there’s no point in conforming my stories to present models of the universe.

Which was the hardest character to write? The easiest?

All the characters in this book were easy to write. I’ve had trouble with other characters in other books, but since Secret Sky: The Young Universe is entirely filtered through the lens of a single character—the narrator—it means that all the characters are really extensions of him. As such, there’s only one character to write.

In your book you make a reference to the early universe, including the ideas of multiple Earths. How did you come up with this idea? What made you write a book about the young universe?

The narrator character—Mr. 80J—has been in my head for a long time. And though he lives on a present-day Earth, I always understood that the universe he lives in is filled with other Earthlike planets populated by humans, and that each planet has varying degrees of knowledge about the others. Naturally, in this situation there has to be a first Earth, as well as a second, third, etc. I wrote this book as a kind of prequel, taking place on an early Earth which Mr. 80J has knowledge of.

Where do you get inspiration for your stories?

I don’t so much get inspiration as much as I make connections. I start with pieces of an idea, and, just by living life, more pieces come into the puzzle and hook up to what is already there. So long as I keep encountering new things, or think deeply about old things, the ideas will come.

There are many books out there about magical children. What makes yours different?

Now this is the best question you could ask me, because the major selling point of Secret Sky: The Young Universe is how different it is from other fantasy stories. In other books, the boy finds out he’s a wizard within the first few chapters. In Secret Sky, it is never spelled out what Skylar is or why he can do what he does. Hints are laid for clever readers to mull over, but one of the central conflicts of the story is that Skylar does not know what the magic even is, much less why he has it.

What advice would you give budding writers?

Be ruthless. Be the Simon Cowell and Chef Gordon Ramsay of your own work. That’s the only way to become a master. Because the world is full of liars and flatterers, and everyone else in your circle is going to tell you you’re amazing only because they want something from you. It’s up to you to discriminate between the good writing from the bad, so you had better know what each of those looks like.

If you could be a character in your book, who would you be?

Tristopher, naturally. Who wouldn’t want to be the handsomest man on the planet?

Do you have another profession besides writing?

I was a software engineer for a while. I still code projects for myself when I need to create something helpful for, say, managing social media. Computer programming comes in handy a lot.

How long have you been writing?

Since I was in high school. I won a writing contest as a sophomore and caught the bug in a big way. Of course, it was still many more years before I got good at it.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?

In my experience, writer’s block is usually just hunger. Eat something; it will go away.

What is your next project?

The sequel to Secret Sky: The Young Universe. And I ought to get back to writing it. It’s hard for me to write and publish at the same time.

What genre do you write and why?

After a lot of consideration, I’ve come to the conclusion that the genre I write is called Cosmic Fantasy. I can’t use that moniker yet because no one else knows what it is. But it’s been around for decades and is even a bestselling genre once you recognize it in the wild.

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?

The best compliment I’ve gotten so far has been that the reader was expecting my work to suck, but then they were surprised. Maybe I’ll get something a little more glowing once I become famous. But for now, the thing people always say is that they are shocked at how good I am. And I suppose that’s a high compliment, in its own way.

How are you similar to or different from your lead character?

That depends on who you mean when you refer to the main character. Because I’m not at all like Skylar. I’m far too cynical and creative. But the narrator, Mr. 80J, is a bit closer to the mark. He’s not as smart as me, but I like to think that had my life turned out differently I could be as cool as he is.

What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing your book?

The biggest rewards were having a finished book that everyone can appreciate. My previous publication, Advent 9, is an excellent book but a touch too dark for general audiences. Secret Sky: The Young Universe is a gift I can give without reservation. The biggest challenge, of course, is typing the words.

In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like?

Like walking around with a gold bar in my hand and hoping someone will steal it, only to get disappointed time and again.

What is one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring author?

Learn how money works. The man who masters money can do whatever else he wants with his life—even authoring books.

Which authors inspired you to write?

I was mentored by David Farland, who was invaluable in my publishing journey not only as a mentor but as an editor. One thing he used to do at writers conferences, which other presenters still do not do, is that he would get up in front of an audience of hopefuls who have never published anything and say “You can make a living as a writer”. And he meant it.

What is something you had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?

The part where the narrator asks the reader to take over for him, and he sits in the back seat while the reader narrates the story. I wanted to believe I could make it work, but my editor made it clear that there just wasn’t a way. And, sadly, she was right.

On rituals:

Where do you write?

At my desk, in a comfy chair. And I believe that is key. If you want to be a professional writer, you must treat it as a profession. Meaning you must have a place set apart for doing your work.

Do you write every day?

Only when I’m a good boy. I advocate for writing every day. I believe in it. I just…fail to do it.

What is your writing schedule?

I’m a night writer. I can pick it up any time after dinner and go until midnight. That works out well for me.

Is there a specific ritualistic thing you do during your writing time?

I remind myself that I’m the only one who’s going to write this story. It is not going to write itself, even though the thing I really want is for someone to just hand me the finished book. That never happens.

In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?

No. And I advise writers not to. Computers may be a distraction, but they are also the greatest tool for writing ever conceived. Early writers struggling with pen and paper are looking down from Heaven and begging us to take advantage of what we have.

Fun stuff:

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

Back to 2009, to mine Bitcoin back when it was still cheap.

Favorite travel spot?

Ireland. Beautiful country and amazing history/artwork.

Favorite dessert?

Peach pie. And it pains me that peaches are only in season for a short while.

What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done?

Quit my day job to become a writer. Of course, I did it with a safety net. There are writers much braver than I who quit their day job without anything else to support them. But then, they tend to fail.

Any hobbies? or Name a quirky thing you like to do.

Isn’t writing books quirky enough?

If there is one thing you want readers to remember about you, what would it be?

I want them to remember that reading my books instilled a strange sense in them—a sense they can’t give a name to, but which they can’t shake. I want them to remember there’s some secret thing hidden in my books which seems strangely important to their real lives. And then I want them to tell everyone else to read my books so they can all figure it out together.

What is your go-to breakfast item?

Eggs Benedict.

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