Mark From Earth

Mark has lived his whole life on Earth — which is rather tragic. It means he’s never met an android, never flown a Flarejet, and worst of all, never explored dangerous new worlds alongside a rough and tumble crew of fellow outcasts. He's really been missing out, but all that is about to change ...

Rafael Gruszecki hails from the rather unimportant little orbit colony of Lipsis -- which exports those small flux sprockets that help power warp drives. It's a meteor's throw from the extremely important mega-metropolis of Ion -- which exports, in great quantities: politicans, debt collectors, and those types of people who put empty cartons back in the fridge. Rafael's father was a sprocket engineer and his mother worked nights as an emergency room nurse. How these two wonderful parents raised and reared a penniless author, who'd rather spend time with his head in the clouds than find a decent, honest paying job and start a family -- is beyond them. Father still believes the hospital made a mistake by switching cribs at birth. He refuses to give up hope, and has devoted his retirment to finding his 'real' son. Since graduating Pathos High (Go Unicorns!), with an above average number of sick days, Rafael has bounced between three colleges, sold lightcycles, and trekked around the cheaper, 'budget' solar systems of Ursa Minor. Somehow, he swears he doesn't remember, he found himself on Earth -- in Rzeszow, Poland, to be specific. Good place, that. Rafael currently lives in bookstores and libraries around Portland, Oregon. He goes there to smell books. Smelling books causes him to contemplate life, the universe, and how much mischief, exactly, could a boy and girl from Earth -- who don't know the truth about the galaxy-- get into, when they find out. Rafael plans to discover the answers through two intertwined series: Mark From Earth and Ella From Earth.