Mystical Aria: Seeking the Gallion Queen by Jean Neff Guthrie

Aria Vanir, psychic 12-year-old girl from Virginia Beach, trusts only her mother with the knowledge of her predictions and remote viewings. When Aria connects with technically and spiritually advanced aliens—the Gallions—she instead confides in her best friend, Tommy Manger. His unexpected anger threatens to end their friendship.

Nashata, Queen Supreme of the Gallions, leads a diplomatic mission with her royal family to Earth so she can make peaceful contact with Aria. The queen trusts only this “youngirl” with the secrets of her people.

When the Gallions beam Aria, Tommy, and Aria’s tomboyish teen sister, Jackie, aboard their spaceship, Aria’s typically passive mother makes a daring move to save her daughters. None of them realize that the military has sent Aria’s Navy SEAL father, William, on a mission to capture the good aliens or destroy their spaceship. Worse, William has no idea that he’s putting his daughters and their friend in harm’s way.

Can Aria succeed in her quest to meet the alien queen in person, despite the fears and disbeliefs of those closest to her?

Excerpts

Aria Vanir breezed through her seventh-grade homework to focus on far more important matters. While many of her friends and neighbors gathered at the Virginia Beach boardwalk to admire the amber and ruby rays from the setting sun, Aria preferred to gaze through her bedroom window at the darkening heavens. For her, twilight welcomed the dawn of the stars. On this clear evening in late May 2028, Aria mindlessly tapped her fingers against the top of her transmission binder, or tBinder, as she wondered who lived among those twinkling orbs.

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How could a human youngirl on Earth, the queen wondered, know so much about the land of the Gallions? Of all the aliens, why would Aria specifically invite the Gallions to visit her? Could this be the sign I’ve been waiting for?

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“I’ll never ever talk to aliens,” Aria promised herself. The struggle of keeping their secrets and defending their existence was too painful. “Never again.”

Mitushi gazed at the puddles of water on the floor. Red lines of blood flowed into them and spread in different directions. It reminded him of veins in a human body and how vulnerable men and women are to the weapons mankind had designed.

“Many compare Guthrie’s novel to the endearing kid-meets-alien theme in

Steven Spielberg’s E.T.” ~ David Thalberg

Alien RSVP: YES!

“I would highly recommend this novel to young readers! Not only does it provide them with a wonderful story, but it also gives them an interesting novel from which to learn some of life’s lessons through its well-developed characters.”

—Brenda Waller, retired English teacher

“Jean’s writing is excellent, and the protagonist is in perfect character with her age group. Wonderful job!”

—Dolores B. Jacobs, Author of the #1 Bestseller, Unsuspected

Jean Neff Guthrie earned a B.S. degree in Dairy Science from Virginia Tech and M.S. degree in Mass Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University. She worked in public relations and association management in Richmond, Virginia for eight years. Then Guthrie moved to the Atlanta, Georgia area where she managed information technology projects and programs.

While living in Atlanta, Guthrie worked with author Tom Bird of Ambassador University in an intensive writer’s program. She also attended writer’s retreats on:

• “Releasing the Author Within” with award-winning editor Michael Sideman and best-selling author Carol Adrienne.

• “Editorial Eye” with Dick O’Conner.

• “How to get on Oprah” with David Thalberg, Founding Partner of BrandStand. Thalberg commented that Guthrie, “Would be a remarkable guest on any television or radio program.”

Praise for Mystical Aria

The voice of Aria Vanir introduced herself to Guthrie during the retreat with Tom Bird and David Thalberg. Guthrie listened to Aria and based her first novel, Mystical Aria: Seeking the Gallion Queen, on this psychic tween protagonist.

Guthrie’s first published poem, “Prison Walls,” appeared in America at the Millennium— the Best Poems and Poets of the 20th Century. Her poem “Baler Twine” won a National Cattlemen’s Magazine contest and was published in its March 2001 edition.

Guthrie lives in Smyrna, Georgia, where she writes sequels for the Mystical Aria series and works as an IT program management consultant.