Once in a blue moon. You've heard the phrase. It really means something that's rare. Tomorrow, Friday, August 31st will be one of those rare occurrences where there is a blue moon, which is actually the second full moon of the month. It won't happen again until 2018. So be on the lookout for it. It's also the day of Neil Armstrong's memorial service. Once in a blue moon, an individual comes along who changes our thinking. Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon in 1969 opened up our minds to so many possibilities. He inspired so many. And that event impacted so many lives.

When I was five years old, I remember lying on our gold shag carpet and watching our Zenith television as the event unfolded. It inspired me in ways I'm still not sure I fully realize.

One day a few years ago, I was thinking about that event and how so many people remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when that space suit boot touched the lunar surface. What a moment! But I wondered, 'what if that moment wasn't a happy memory." And so my crazy brain started going on a weird and wacky plot, challenging me about my own beliefs, skepticisms, and gullibilities.

Recently there was a post on The Huffington Post about the Roswell, New Mexico crash in 1947. Was it a UFO or not?

Aliens. Do you believe they exist or don't you?

Elvis. Is he dead or alive?

Kennedy's assassination. One man or conspiracy?

Conspiracy theories abound in the American culture. What do they say about you if you believe or don't believe? Are you by nature a sceptic or are you easily able to take a leap of faith. Or do you consider the leap of faith the equivalent of jumping off a cliff without benefit of parachute or parasail?

Maybe you are a sceptic of the suspicion that all these things are working together for one world dominance. Or maybe you doubt everything that comes from government bureaucracy.

Sceptic. Gullible. Believers. Where are the fine lines that define these character traits? And where do you fall?

In my book, Once in a Blue Moon, I explored these questions and much more, challenging my non-believing character Bryn to take a leap of faith. So what about you? Does this article on Roswell affirm your beliefs that there are aliens or does it make you more of a sceptic?


Shrouded in clouds, the observatory in Marfa, Texas, where I visited for research for Once in a Blue Moon.

I need to give away a copy of Once in a Blue Moon! So leave a comment, and I'll draw a name Friday night.

Labels: 1969 lunar landing, aliens, blue moon, conspiracy theories, coverup, Neil Armstrong, Once in a Blue Moon, Roswell, women's inspirational fiction