Retired teacher publishes sci-fi novel

Where will mankind go when Earth’s resources are depleted?

Local author Donald M. Edwards has an idea.

In his recently published first novel, “Destiny: Quest for a New World,” Edwards provides a realistic look at mankind’s first attempt at colonizing a planet beyond our solar system.

The idea for the futuristic novel came from Edwards’ decades-long career as a math and science teacher.

Originally from Oklahoma, Edwards got his first teaching job in New Mexico and eventually moved to Reedley in 1967. He taught at Reedley High School for 30 years before retiring in 2000. He then worked part-time as a math teacher at Clovis Community College for about six years. He and his wife of 54 years, Virginia, have lived in Clovis since 1990.

“I’ve always been interested in scientific advancement,” Edwards said. “One of the projects I had in my freshman science class was a unit on space. I attended a NASA workshop for a summer at Moffett Field Science Research center. I had been interested in science and the possibility of further exploration in space.”

Edwards asked his class to think about people going into space for extended periods of time and exploring the possibility of living indefinitely there.

For his novel, he put those ideas in print. He researched stars within 10 light years that possibly have planets orbiting them, chose one, and sent his fictional crew of the world’s most intelligent young men and women on Starship Destiny to find an inhabitable planet.

The journey isn’t smooth, of course.

“They’re setting up the first human colony; it’s not going to be all peaches and cream,” Edwards said.

His wife of 54 years, Virginia, proofread the book and “added a feminine touch here and there,” she said.

“There is conflict and romance, as it involves eight young adults in their 20s.”

The crew of eight — and children who are born on the ship during its journey — are accompanied by a supercomputer called Albert, which navigates them through uncharted space and tries to keep them out of harm’s way.

That technology stems from Edwards’ high school teachings as well.

“In my class we used to look back 70 years at technology and advance it to the present day, seeing the progression,” he explained. “And then I asked the students to predict the technology 70 years from now.”

Edwards also drew on people and places from his life and included them in the story.

“(The crew members) all graduated from high school in their mid-teens and went on to universities. They’re exceptionally bright kids,” Edwards said. “In the 30 or so years I spent teaching, I would say I know four or five students who would fit this criteria. I tried to portray their personalities into these people.”

The fictional crew is trained at Stanford University and MIT, and Edwards included specific places in the Monterey area in the novel.

“Fresno is mentioned,” he added. “(Two of the main characters) move to this area because it’s centrally located, giving them access to the two training groups.”

The book was written for an audience “from young adults through (age) 80” Edwards said. “It would be as interesting to a female audience as to a male audience, anybody that likes science fiction.”

Virginia Edwards agrees.

“There is drama and human interest, along with the science,” she said. “There are surprises they have to deal with — frightening things as well as beautiful aspects.”

While the novel’s concept draws on Edwards’ years of teaching, he spent just about a year writing the story.

“It was a fun thing for us to do,” Virginia said. The couple have two children and six grandchildren, and spend a lot of time with the kids at their church.

“She’s a good proofer,” Donald chimed in. “She was an A+ student in English, where I wasn’t.”

Edwards is working on the book’s sequel — the first one ends with the first colony spaceship coming to join the original crew.

“It will be at least a series of two, called ‘Kairos,’” Edwards said. Kairos is the fictional planet’s name, after the youngest divine son of Zeus, the spirit of opportunity.

Upon the completion of his series, Edwards hopes to write a biographical collection of stories about his father, who grew up as a migrant farmworker following the wheat and strawberry harvests in the late 1920s and early ‘30s.

“It may wind up being more than one book,” he said, recalling the tales his grandparents told him as a child.

“Destiny: Quest For a New World” is available on Amazon.com, or by visiting www.authordonaldmedwards.com. Visit Edwards’ blog at kairos2091.blogspot.com.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Retired teacher publishes sci-fi novel."