Description: A lost mining crew, 400 million miles from Earth. A retired miner journeys to find out why. There's something out there . . . Waldo Packwood has had a rough time of things lately. He's lost his job, his friends, and finally his family. At fifty years old, he's living alone in a small apartment wondering what's happened to his life. He's unexpectedly asked to travel to Hector 1, a lone asteroid in the Jupiter Trojans, to investigate the missing crew. That's just it, Waldo, sighed the director, we don't know what happened. His trip is a struggle from the beginning, as he discovers more about those around him and what they're willing to do to keep Hector 1 to themselves. Instead of answers, he's cast into the fight of his life as he struggles to uncover the secrets and lies that have been built around this distant world. Rare Earth is a gritty, science-fiction thriller and debut novel about an unconventional hero and second chances. It's going to be that kind of story, so buckle up.
Brief description: You know you're narrating a character right when your children grab your arm and say, Daddy . . . read the bad guy normal, you're scaring us with the voice. Aside from reading villains in storybooks really well, Derek Shoales has worked on corporate, eLearning, and commercial voice-over projects, been a graphic/web designer and an inventory market mentor, sung bass to baritone in choirs, and played the guitar, electric violin, and Clare whistle.