Fresh Off the Starship

As soon as I read the blurb, I knew I had to read Fresh Off the Starship. I grew up in Kansas, love science fiction, and can’t find enough things these days to make me laugh.

So let me welcome Ann Crawford, and her fun book “Fresh off the Starship,” to this blog.

From the Auhor: Love to laugh? You’ll enjoy this feel-good tale.
A starbeing skyrockets to Earth from the other side of forever with a specific assignment: to help steer humanity away from the collision course it’s on. But we all know how travel can get drastically diverted–instead of landing in Washington, D.C., where she could assist on a grand geopolitical scale, she ends up in…Kansas!
Wrong place, right time? Join our shero on this whimsical journey as she pursues her purpose as well as discovers the beauty of life and love on Earth.

Ann Crawford says:
I’m a fun-loving, world-traveling, high-flying, deep-diving, and living-to-the-max author of eight books. When I’m not flying planes, scuba diving, climbing every mountain (on the back of my husband’s motorcycle) or riding the world’s fastest roller coasters, you can find me in my writing nest with a view of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains out the window. I’ve lived all over–from both oceans white with foam, to the prairie, and now to the mountain. Yes, a little backwards, but what the hey.
My bestselling and award-winning novels go as high and deep as I do—they’re profound yet funny; playful although poignant; heart-opening and heart-lifting; thought-provoking and inspiring; and edgy while universal. I’m also a screenwriter and award-winning filmmaker and humanitarian.

You can find information about Ann and her books on her Amazon Author Page, and on Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Goodreads.

Giveaway: Ann Crawford will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Learn more, and register to win!

My full review: 

I couldn’t put it down. I intended to read this book over a few days, but laid it aside reluctantly on day one (company was coming) and zipped thru the rest on day two. I applaud (and thank) the author for creating a world that held me spellbound and happy for many hours.

What I liked best:

1. Yes, it made me laugh. In some ways it reminded me of a modern (and more enlightened) Stranger in a Strange Land. Who can’t chuckle at an alien being wondering what a vibrator is?
2. Nothing will make one more grateful for ordinary life than an outsider’s perspective. I dare anyone to read this book and not really enjoy the next shower they take!
3. The book is told from the perspective of an alien being (she prefers to be called a star being). It’s not a trivial thing to pull this off. Kudos to the author for making her star being a sympathetic narrator.
4. I liked her overall view of the world. It’s kind, gentle and positive. There is plenty of dark stuff out there to read and I found this novel to be a nice change of pace.
5. It held my interest. The writing was fine, the pacing was good and I had so many questions. That’s high praise.

What I liked least:

Allow me a short insert here. It continues to amaze me how the reading of a novel is a dance between the author and the reader. Some people simply dance better together than others. As an author, I accept not everyone will enjoy my books. As a reader, I understand my complaints about a novel say as much about me as they do about the writer. Please consider this when reading what is below, and do keep in mind I enjoyed this book.

1. Accents: I’ve never been too fond of spelling words the way people talk, and I quickly tired of the fer (for for) and t’al (for towel) and so on. I suppose my growing up in Kansas didn’t help 🙂 but honestly I don’t care for drawing attention to accents. On the whole I prefer to let people be people when they talk, and not risk making them into “others.”
2. New age: This one is tough. I outright believe in or am open to most new age concepts. Yet whenever I find a more enlightened being in fiction explaining to a poor human how the things that make them cry into their pillow or toss and turn all night are really their own choices, designed to help them grow, it sounds glib and insensitive. (Even if it could be true.) I credit this author with making an effort to have her star being appreciate human struggles and empathize with pain, but this dynamic has yet to work for me.
3. Romance:  Ah, it makes the world go round. I find it delightful in real life and lovely as a side plot, but I’m always disappointed when the climax and ending center around getting lovers together. That particular ending makes it a romance novel, in my opinion, and I don’t particularly like romance novels. There were so many things I wanted the climax to be about: outer space or politics or star beings or saving the world …. Ah well, that’s me.

In spite of my complaints, I’d recommend this book to anyone, actually. I suspect its ideal demographic skews towards females, and those open-minded about new age beliefs (and open minded in general.) None-the-less, it’s a quick and fun read and I think most humans would find something to enjoy in this alien-out-of-water tale.

I don’t think there is near enough bandwidth in a 5 star rating, so I go for decimal points and round off when I re-post on Amazon, Goodreads and Library Thing. I give this book a solid 4.1

I did received a free pdf copy of this book from Goddess Fish, the value of which would never be enough to entice me to write a better review for anyone. 🙂

A Guest Post from Anne Crawford

This first paragraph is primarily directed to Sherrie, but readers, too: I was reading your blog and was fascinated to find all the information on telepathy and peace. I love it! I’ve spent a great deal of my life working for peace and following spiritual pursuits. I was also fascinated by the information about 3 in 4 Americans believing in the paranormal, especially ESP. Most fascinating of all, my book takes place in Western Kansas, where you grew up! I “accidentally” found you on Twitter the other day, before I knew you’d be hosting a stop on my blog tour. What a small world.

Fresh off the Starship is definitely about the paranormal, a walk-in from the far side of the universe. It explores social issues, deep wisdom, diverse spirituality, and…it’s funny!

The book came to me so quickly – over two nights as I was driving back and forth across Kansas to and from a conference farther east. I wrote and published it in 5 months! It just came….downloaded….whatever you want to call it…and I took dictation. I often speak into the Notes feature on my iPhone, and this time I must’ve spoken half the book into my phone.

I’ve wanted to write about something that takes places in Western Kansas ever since my husband – a former Kansas farmboy – took me there; I met his wonderfully charming relatives and fell in love with the land. I’m from the East Coast and lived on the West Coast for most of my adult life. When I tell people I lived in Kansas, their eyes glaze over…like I’m sure mine did at one point. I wanted to show these Kansas folks’ depth, sincerity, and wisdom – they’re definitely not the bunch of “hicks” so many may think.

I heard a line from the movie Starman many years ago – something along the lines of “You humans are at your best when you’re at (facing) your worst.” I’ve wanted to create my own starbeing for decades and have to look through her eyes to see how beautiful we humans can be and how amazing life on Earth is. It was really fun to have to imagine taking a sip of water for the first time as well as the many other fun things humans engage in.

I received a call from someone who professes to go aboard the Starship Bethlehem, comes from another world, and works with alien abductees. She said, “You nailed it!” regarding the walk-in experience. Well, that’s good, as I really have no idea what walk-ins experience.

I’ve never seen an alien or a walk-in, are far as I know…but I hear they’re all around us all the time. I have, however, seen spaceships. I was walking into work one day and happened to look up at the sky. Three “ships” were darting about. They were far too fast and fluid to be planes and way too big to be birds. Plus they glinted in the sun and were round.

I glanced around me to see if anyone else was looking at them, and no one noticed me! Here was this 6’ woman standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring at the sky, and no one turned to see what I was looking at or bumped into me or even seemed aware that I was there. It was a wild moment. I pulled out my cell to try and video them. Nada. Nothing showed up. Oh, well. When I told my husband later, his comment was, “Your ships are coming in!” LOL.

I sure look up at the sky a lot more since then. This was in the middle of writing Fresh off the Starship, too. So maybe they helped. I certainly haven’t written and published any other books within 5 months.

Thanks Ann, for your post and for letting me read your refreshing book!

This review is part of a book review tour sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions.

If you are interested in a review from me: I read speculative fiction of all sorts, have a fondness for metaphysical tales and particularly like stories with a strong female protagonist. I will consider novels of almost all types that relate to the general theme of world peace. I am not interested in reviewing non-fiction, romance novels, stories which promote any particular religion, children’s books, or horror of any type. Please do not ask me to review books about vampires or zombies. If you would like to be considered for a review please send all the usual information to Lola (dot) Zeitman (at) gmail (dot) com.