Athens author Muriel Ellis Pritchett once had little knowledge about the possibility of alien beings visiting earth from the dark infinity of the unknown. But that has changed.
Now she knows a lot.
Pritchett, who has authored six other novels, has written the young readers book “Aliens Spurlock.” This tale of young aliens who survived the crash of a spaceship on earth, where they adopt lives as earthlings, was released in October by Black Rose Writing.
Pritchett’s book is one of several released in 2024 by authors in Athens or with Athens’ connections.
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“I wrote it for my grandson. He’s into aliens, spaceships and space monsters. But he likes graphic novels,” said Pritchett, retired from work as a public relations specialist for the University of Georgia and as a former journalist in Athens.
With the publication of “Aliens Spurlock,” Pritchett expressed the hope of diverting her grandson into reading the traditional novel.
“I got so much into the research of UFOs and what happened in Roswell, New Mexico, and Klecksburg, Pennsylvania, that my writer’s group asked me, ‘Do you believe this stuff?’” I said, ‘Well you never know,’” she said, mentioning the two places where UFO crashes were reputed to have happened.
While the book was written for middle-age young readers, Pritchett said some of her reviewers have said adults would also enjoy the story because of the adult characters who try to save the alien children.
The Authors in School Program in Nassau County, Florida, announced in November it will provide copies of Pritchett’s book to students at two schools. She has also been invited to the schools to speak with the students about her books in 2025.
Pritchett, a member of a local writers group that includes other published authors, has received numerous writing awards as her gallery of books keep increasing.
Athens novelist and UGA English Professor Emeritus John A. Vance died in September. But he saw his latest mystery novel, “Take Down”, published earlier this year. Vance, who moved to Athens in 1977 and retired as a professor emeritus in 2010, wrote about 20 novels ranging in subject matter from horror to human drama.
In addition, he wrote at least 40 plays, the majority of which were staged before an audience, according to his biography.
Vance died of a form of leukemia at age 77.
“Take Down” is a murder mystery wrapped in political intrigue. The book is about women involved in professional wrestling, who are targeted for death, according to the book jacket. Much of the story emerges from a U.S. Congressman’s staff member, who becomes embroiled in the mystery of who is killing the women.
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Barrow County novelist and comic book writer Bobby Nash released this fall “Dante’s Reckoning,” the third in a series of western/horror books. The story of imminent doom takes place in a Dante, Arizona, which Nash described as “a tiny little piece of Hell on Earth.”
Nash, a prolific writer of action novels, comic books, graphic novels, and other outlets, also works as an actor and podcaster. In his genre, he has won awards and according to his media offerings, he unleashes his tales somewhere in a “secret lair” in Bethlehem.
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