Being Small

This is the first book of the Being Small trilogy. It is a character-driven narrative of a first contact mission that has a shaky beginning, unexpected obstacles, and a surprise. The story is neither a space opera nor hard science fiction. It imagines what would happen to four normal people who have joined the mission with incomplete information and each having reasons of their own. Their goals do come into conflict. There is high purpose. However, greed, deceit, and betrayal all make their mark.