The idea for this book, a woman apparently falling from the sky and saving a born-loser from himself, had been swimming around in the back of my mind for about six years before David Bowie's heartbreaking death on January 10, 2016. I hadn't written any more than the first couple of paragraphs, but the story always sat on the back shelf in my mind.
David Bowie's death hit me hard, much harder than it should have. It wasn't just a shock, it was grief I could not explain, especially since I did not consider myself any more than a casual fan, much like Arthur Dottweiler in this novel. However, in the months following Bowie's death, I found myself frantically seeking out every book on David Bowie I could find. I bought countless magazines and CDs, delving into the life of this magical, morphing mutant. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became. I sat down one day to reignite the loose science-fiction story I had begun, and the Bowie reference simply flowed from my fingers. It finally clicked. I knew I had to change "a woman falling from the sky" to David Bowie falling back to Earth.
It is also worth noting that I had not read the book nor seen the film "The Man Who Fell to Earth" before writing this book. When I did finally read the novel, when I felt safe that it would not influence my story, I was shocked and amazed at the similarities between Arthur Tevis's alien and my "alien." I may have had Bowie in mind while describing my alien, but Tevis did not.
Little did I know at the time that David Bowie himself was so taken with the story of "The Man Who Fell to Earth," that he would thirty years later write a musical based on the future life of protagonist Thomas Jerome Newton in the acclaimed stage production of Lazarus, the title track appearing on his final album Blackstar.
Writing this book has been a journey down a rabbit hole for me. I don't believe I emerged from it the same person. I'm not entirely sure I've emerged at all. As I finish this novel, I begin to grieve again the loss of an icon, a bigger than life superstar who touched so many lives.
God bless you, Mr. Jones. May you rest in peace.
"It feels like we lost something elemental, as if an entire color is gone." – Carrie Brownstein
"If you're sad today, just remember the world is over 4 billion years old, and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie." – Dean Podestá via Twitter
"Bowie existed so all of us misfits learned that an oddity was a precious thing. He changed the world forever"- Guillermo del Toro
"It's like 6 different heroes passed away today." – Lin-Manuel Miranda
"I'm not saying that David Bowie was holding the fabric of the universe together, but *gestures broadly at everything*" – Katie Loewy via Twitter
"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring." – David Bowie
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The Woman Who Fell To Earth
ParanormalDavid Bowie comes back from the dead to save a man's life. Or so he thinks. A little bit of fantasy, a little bit of magic, and a whole lot of Ziggy Stardust, The Woman Who Fell To Earth is a joyride down the rabbit hole for long...
