Journey of Discovery
By Jessica Stark
Though her first novel, “Hurricane Moon,” debuted only last summer, it is not the first time Fondren Library circulation assistant Alexis Glynn Latner ’80 has been published. In fact, in 2005, she was recognized as the seventh most-published female fiction writer in the 75-year history of Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine.
In all her writings, she aims to provide people with food for thought, and “Hurricane Moon” is no different. The novel is set in the late 21st century, a time when Earth has become almost unlivable due to political and ecological problems. The Aeon Foundation launches a starship with a crew and passengers to find a new home and a clean slate.
The journey takes more than a thousand years, while the characters remain in suspended animation. On awakening, Catharin Gault, the heroine and starship’s physician, discovers that the lengthy stasis has damaged the genetic structure of the humans aboard. It is up to Gault to find a way to repair the genes before the new colony perishes. Latner said the novel started out as a short story that grew in the telling. She described the 10-year writing process as an adventure and a journey of discovery. “My highest aspiration is that one of my stories inspires someone to think about the universe differently,” Latner said. “That kind of thinking can bring hope — hope that can help someone get through a bad night.”"My highest aspiration is that one of my stories inspires someone to think about the universe differently. That kind of thinking can bring hope — hope that can help someone get through a bad night."
- Alexis Glynn Latner