The Project Black Book series continues!
An only child trying to protect his disabled mom.
A single mother trying to make ends meet for her teenage son.
Matt King knows something is wrong when the Air Force offers to cure his mom’s aphasia. There is no cure, only learning to speak again from scratch. The real question is why the Air Force is scamming his mom with false hope—and he means to get to the bottom of that.
Ilene King knows more than she can tell Matt. The Air Force’s “cure” is real: a back-up brain preloaded with English. And it comes with a job, so Matt will never have to learn about the looming financial cliff threatening to topple their house and cozy home life. The strings attached to the Air Force’s offer are staggering, but Ilene will do anything to give her son the stability he needs to just be a kid again after his father’s death and her stroke. Even if that means letting an alien live in her body.
Reviews for Farewell Speech
“…it’s fun, it’s engaging, and I got through it in one evening. I couldn’t put it down. Definitely recommended!”
HodrosBooks.com
“Body-sharing aliens, life-altering choices, and a mother’s devotion—what’s not to love?”
K. M. Herkes, author of The Sharp Edge of Yesterday
More reviews coming soon…
Other Links
Coming soon?
Meet the team
It takes a village to raise a book.
See acknowledgements for others who contributed time, energy, and critique.
Shannon Eichorn
Author
Dex Greenbright
Cover Designer
Extras
Farewell Speech Playlist
I normally separate lyric-free playlists to write to (composed of 3-4 soundtracks) from a lyric playlist to drive/brainstorm to, but for this little story, they got combined. Ralph Breaks the Internet for Katorin, The Hunger Games for Ilene’s desperation, How to Train Your Dragon for Matt.
Bonus songs for getting in Ilene’s mom mindset: “You’re Gonna Be” by Reba McEntire (which isn’t that catchy but says the important things) and “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts (which is catchy).
Alternate Reality Farewell Speech
If you’re hankering for a version of Farewell Speech with more drama and worldbuilding, a prior draft of Farewell Speech is getting released on Patreon. It got some very enlightening feedback, which is why later drafts changed so much. I still love this version for the tension and the Project Black Book series’s first (now unofficial) glimpse into a Gertewet base.