The Aurora Borealis dances above Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. Photo by Bruce Bergeron. Visit the photographer’s website at BB Images.
Novel Concept: Whistle on Whiteface Mountain ♦
By Melissa F. Kaelin
Genre: Adult Contemporary Fiction
Ancient legend claims the Aurora Borealis are the spirits of children who have passed away, playing soccer with a walrus skull in the heavens.
Hoping to make sense of her 15-year-old brother’s disappearance from her life, Allison Pierce resolves to chase the Aurora Borealis, an elusive natural phenomenon that is nearly impossible to see below the 45th parallel. She endures a taxing road trip from Albany, New York to rural Wisconsin – a journey that sends the 27-year-old into the darkest corners of her memory. The life of her mother is at stake, on top of a rare job offer and a romance with Danny, the secretive man who unwittingly questions her every move.
Stranded in northern Michigan, Allison meets Clarence, a retired calculus teacher who monitors NASA satellites and tracks solar storms. He enchants her with Aurora mythology, sending her on a quest to stand beneath the dancing lights and find her brother’s spirit. Allison digs deep into geomagnetic science to study the Aurora Borealis, following the phenomenon through ghostly towns, wildlife attacks, high-speed chases and deserted islands.
At a gathering of Aurora Chasers atop Whiteface Mountain, the forces in her life collide at a climate observatory in the dark.
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© 2016 by Melissa F. Kaelin
♦ The title above may change, as it is only a working title.
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