Excerpt:

"Tell me about the nosebleed."

"It happened near the end of September. It was a week night, because both Sara and I had to go to work the next day."

"Good. You're very relaxed. Very relaxed. Simply continue to tell me about the nosebleed. Just give me your thoughts as quickly as they come to you."

"I woke up screaming. I remember seeing eyes. They were huge...and black. Not human. I couldn't look at them. I knew if I looked at them I would be sucked into them."

"What do you mean, sucked into them?"

"Uh...I don't know. They were trying to control me..."

"What do you remember next?"

"I woke up...I...I couldn't look at my wife..."

"Why not?"

"Because of her eyes."

"You will now remember what happened before you woke up."

"I awoke..."

"I want to know what happened before you woke up."

"I'm telling you. I woke up before I woke up. I don't know what made me wake up, but when I did, I looked around me. I saw these...beings moving around our bed."

"What kind of beings?--human beings?"

"No, not human." Daniel fidgeted, rolled on the pillow, trying to make himself more comfortable. "Short in height. Gray in color. Big eyes, huge eyes, black. Thin limbed. Real thin. So thin limbed that it was hard to believe the legs could even support the rest of their bodies. They made sounds--like insects. They moved quickly."

"Did they speak to you with their strange sounds?"

"No...no, they just looked like big-eyed grasshoppers, or something."

"These beings, then, appeared as huge grasshoppers to you?"

"Yes...no...They reminded me of grasshoppers. How they moved--quick, jerky. But they had human-like arms and legs. And those eyes; damn, those eyes were something."

"How could you see all this detail in the middle of the night?"

"I...I don't know. Uh, wait. I remember now. It was because the room was glowing, kind of. It was like daylight. I could see everything."

"Was Sara in the room?"

"She was sleeping. I tried to wake her, but she just slept like she was drugged. I yelled at her, trying to wake her. I was scared."

"No doubt. Then what happened?"

"Then they came right up to me and told me to remain calm. I said, 'Calm? How can I be calm? Who are you people? I'm not calm! I'm scared! Sara! Help me! Please!'"

"It's all right, Daniel. They're not here now. You're safe."

"Okay," he breathed, "I'm safe now."

"What did these beings do to you?"

"They took the blanket off me."

"All of them? Some of them? Who?"

"One guy...being. He was taller than the others, about my height. He took the blanket off me. The others didn't. The others just stood there."

"And...?"

"And he was like a doctor, I think. He seemed like a doctor, or the leader or boss. He was the one who knew what he was doing."

"He?"

"I think the being was a male. I felt he was male. I couldn't tell, though, by just looking at them. They didn't have breasts or genitals--none that I could see. I didn't notice hair or skin blemishes. They seemed to be all one color. Odd."

"Clothes?"

"Maybe. Form fitting, maybe. I can't see that."

"How did the others behave?"

"They just stood there quietly. Almost as if they were..."

"Were...?"

"Protecting? Assisting maybe?--the doctor. They looked as though they were waiting for something. His commands? These beings are small, like kids. Thin limbed and light. Kind of frail looking. There were rustling sounds..."

"How did they make you feel?"

"Just petrified. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed."

"Paralyzed from fear?"

"Partly. But they did something to me as well. I know they did."

"Let's go back to the part when the 'doctor' took the blanket off you. What did he do then?"

Author BIOs:

Dick Claassen began putting his ideas to paper as a young child, but it wasn't until 1975 that he finally had his first major piece published. The feature magazine article written for The Iowan titled, Build Your Own Dulcimer, launched his free-lance career. It was only a few short years ago that Dick began to break away from factual writing in order to write novels. Dick wanted to accomplish two things in his novel writing. He wanted to write about aliens, and he wanted to write about them in a realistic way. Dick drew inspiration from authors like Whitley Strieber and Dr. John E. Mack, both men giants in the field of research in alien abduction. Dick collaborated with his coauthor, Diane Drury, whose editorial experience helped craft his story ideas. One year later, ta'Sara's Gift was ready for publication. They have since gone on to write two more novels, Zeta's Child, and The Healers, which round out The Dark Ships Trilogy. Dick has gone on to write three shorter novels: Shadow of Love, Love Signs, Plugged-In Souls, and Night Beasts. He has also written several novels: The Raphael Experience, plus Country Priestess, and it's sequel, Silver Seed. He has also written an instruction book called, Celebrate the Native American Flute, as well as a HyperStudio sign language instruction package titled, Serious Signing. Dick has studied writing at the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop. What does Dick do in his spare time? Forget spare time! He's co-running Awe-Struck E-Books with Kathryn Struck!

Kathryn D. Struck has a Bachelors Degree in Theatre and a Masters Degree in Twentieth Century English and American Writing and Literature. She has been a teacher of high school speech, drama and English for twenty-four years. She is the Technical Director of Theatre at her high school, and is in charge of designing all scenery costumes, sound, make-up, and lighting for the school's successful dramatics program. Before she went into teaching, she worked as a professional actress for The Old Creamery Theatre Company, a regional theatre company. Her work with scripts gave her an ear for dialogue, and a sense of pace. "When I was on stage, I was the pace-setter," she said. "I was the actress that could keep the scene moving. That drive is absolutely essential in fiction writing." In addition to teaching and 'teching' shows, she also acts as the school 'Scribe', writing documents to communicate her school's educational philosophy and unique programs to parents, students, and the community. She gives educational presentations to professionals each year as well. Coming on-board in 1995, Kathryn coauthored with Dick Claassen The Dark Ships Trilogy under the name, Diane Drury. She had been wanting to try her hand at fiction writing beyond poetry and short pieces. Initially she acted as the series editor, but soon became a co-pilot. "Dick has the stories; he's a wonderful story-teller. I have the red pen," she admits. Nonetheless, through her association with Dick, she has started several projects of her own: a novel on psychometry, and a collection of pieces by and about wives of Vietnam veterans. Kathryn has free-lanced for W.C. Brown Publishers and studied writing at the University of Iowa. She has recently been published in Little Read Writers' Hood, an on-line magazine.