Charlie’s Big Chance
A novella in the Earth’s Secret Alliance series by Tony B. Richard
A historical sci-fi story for middle grade readers and up
Can a twelve-year-old girl keep the secrets of two worlds—and prove herself to her father?
Ages 9–13 Wholesome adventure with mild peril; suitable for classrooms.
Clean-read promise: no profanity • no on-page sex • non-graphic violence • uplifting tone.
Charlie “Charlie” Baker dreams of being a reporter, even though she’s often overlooked because of her wheelchair. When a UFO crashes near her hometown of Roswell in 1947, Charlie discovers a secret that could rewrite history.
Now she must choose between exposing the truth or protecting it—for the good of two planets. With heart, wit, and determination, Charlie might just change the course of the future.
- Features a strong girl protagonist, positive disability representation, and a hopeful vision of first contact.
- Great for classrooms, homeschoolers, and fans of The Green Ember, Smekday, and Stargirl.
Book Details
- Genres: Historical Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Family-Friendly Sci-Fi, First Contact, Alternate History, Clean Sci-Fi, Hopepunk
- Publication Date: Paperback – April 19, 2025 | eBook – September 1, 2025
- Page Count: 136 pages (~24,000 words)
- Formats: eBook, Paperback, Audiobook (coming soon)
- ISBN: eBook: 978-1-0688457-3-4 | Paperback: 978-1-0688457-9-6
- Target Audience: Ages 9–13, educators, parents, librarians, and sci-fi fans of all ages
📚 Explore the Series
Each novella stands alone—but together, they form an epic interstellar saga.
View All Books in the Series »
Charlie’s Big Chance is a fast-paced, inclusive sci-fi adventure for middle grade readers (ages 9+) who love mystery, heart, and heroes who think before they shoot.
📚 Features a strong girl protagonist, positive disability representation, and a hopeful vision of first contact.
💫 Great for classrooms, homeschoolers, and fans of The Green Ember, Smekday, and Stargirl.
Perfect for readers who enjoy:
✔ Smart and determined protagonists
✔ Science fiction with heart
✔ Historical settings and real-world themes
✔ Clean reads for classrooms and families
🛒 Available Formats:
- eBook
- Paperback
👧 Audience:
Middle grade (Ages 9–13), classrooms, libraries, parents, and fans of inclusive sci-fi
🎓 For Teachers & Librarians
📚 Part of the Earth’s Secret Alliance series
This novella is part of a larger story, but can be read as a standalone.
➡️ Want the full novel? Start with From Roswell to Area 51 »
Look Inside
Before you read this book, there is one truth you must accept: life exists on other planets. Aliens are real. How do I know this? Well, I’ve met them. It all started in 1947, when I, at twelve years old, stumbled upon the truth. I was there when the UFO crashed in New Mexico. I was there in the aftermath as they covered it up.
The US government wanted to keep it secret, but I’ve always been an investigative journalist—even then. I knew too much, so they offered me a job. What choice did they have? Hire me, or…well, what could they do to a young girl in a wheelchair? In this role, I was tasked with compiling reports and interviewing the humans and otherworldly visitors alike. Geogram was a great help. The Zalmen transcripts filled in many of the details, and helped the others remember even more.
I’ve kept it secret all these years, but finally the truth will be revealed to the public. Now, seventy-five years later, the United States government lifted the censorship. All information regarding the event has been made public, but what is the truth?
I’m here to help you sort through the rumors. Some conversations I witnessed firsthand; others I’ve reconstructed from documents, recordings, and interviews with those who were there. Where I’ve had to piece things together, I’ve noted it. The truth is too important for anything less than complete honesty. Here’s what really happened all those years ago.
Charlotte “Charlie” Baker
Chapter One – Johnny’s Ranch
Here is where I come into the story: twelve years old and hot on the trail of a new scoop. My father owned the local newspaper, and I wanted to be just like him, though he never gave me the chance. I didn’t know it back then, but he was just being overprotective. I was determined to prove him wrong.
That, of course, brought me to Ashcroft Ranch where my friend Johnny lived. Rumors had been circulating all over town that morning about some sort of crash, so of course I had to check it out. Sandy (my golden retriever) and I went together. Every turn of my wheels toward that ranch was an act of defiance. My father saw a girl in a wheelchair; I saw a reporter on the cusp of the biggest story of the century. As soon as we got there, I saw tin foil everywhere. It littered the ground, hung draped over the fence and clothesline, and a few pieces even drifted in the wind. One piece flew up and into my face, so I had to stop and pull it off.
I was about to throw it away, but it felt much softer than it looked. Sandy sniffed at it, ears perked. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before, so I folded the foil. Once it was a rectangle about the size of a pack of Dentyne gum, I couldn’t fold it anymore. I tried again, and it wouldn’t budge. It had become a solid piece! Fascinated, I put it in my pocket.
“Charlie!”
I looked up and saw Johnny running toward me, waving. I rolled in his direction.
“What’cha doing here?” he asked.
I grinned at him. “I heard about the crash. Why else?”
His cheeks went as red as his hair, but he looked as excited as I felt. “Can you believe it?”
He pointed to what appeared to be a huge silver umbrella in the distance. So that’s where the foil came from. The umbrella was torn apart like one of Sandy’s well-loved chew toys. More than a dozen soldiers were walking around, picking up the scattered bits of foil. I guessed that they’d come in the green army trucks, but the car was what drew my eye. It was a long green army limousine; someone important had come too.
“What is it?” I asked Johnny as I picked up the camera from my lap and snapped some pictures.
“I dunno. It just looks like a big umbrella to me, but I heard the soldiers say it’s a parachute or somethin’.”
“A parachute? Do you know what’s in it?”
“No. Pa wouldn’t let me go near it. He thinks it’s a bomb, or spies, or aliens from outer space.”
I looked at him. Everyone knew Johnny’s pa believed in that kind of stuff, but Johnny and I were used to it. “Only one way to find out! Do you think they would let me look?”
“Nah,” he said. “That top army guy there told the soldiers not to go near it, so you ain’t got a chance.” Johnny pointed to where one man was standing around yelling at all the others.
Charlie’s Note: [He was probably right, but back then I saw rules more like suggestions.]
Sandy raised her head to sniff the air. She whined and barked in the direction of the barn. What’s that about? Does she sense something?
Before I could investigate, Johnny turned to me, eyes wide. “You came all the way out here? That’s seven miles! You must be hungry. Let’s go see my ma.”
I could never say no to food, so we went. I’d just have to take a look at the parachute later.
Johnny’s house didn’t have a ramp for my wheelchair, but he easily pulled me up the steps as he’d done many times before. On the porch, Johnny took my thermos and Sandy’s dog bowl from the pack on the back of my chair and filled them with water from the spigot. He set the bowl down in the shade and gave Sandy a pat as she drank. He then put the thermos back, turned my wheelchair around and backed it into the house.
“Hi, Ma!” he called out. “Charlie came all the way from town to see the crash.”
She came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on her flower-printed apron. “Charlotte, dear, you must be exhausted. Come in here and have some milk and cookies. Oh, your lovely hair’s all a mess!” [She always fussed like that, as if neat hair could make a good impression on the army.]
I pushed my glasses up my nose and tried to straighten my blonde hair. “I’m a reporter now, Mrs. Ashcroft. Please call me Charlie.” Technically, I shouldn’t accept food on the job, but Mrs. Ashcroft’s cookies were amazing.
Johnny shoved one of the chairs away from the table to make room for me, and his ma brought us the treats on a tray.
I’d downed two cookies and a big gulp of milk before remembering to act professional. “Thank you, Mrs. Ashcroft,” I said quickly. “So, when did you first notice the crash?”
“We was looking out the window at the storm last night, wonderin’ when it were gonna end,” Johnny said. “Then there were this orange light. We thought it were a bright star, but it grew bigger and brighter. It were headin’ straight for us, and we thought we were goners!”
“Wow! What happened next?”
“Right when we thought it would hit us, it opened like an umbrella and shot sideways. It flew right over the house. I swear it was so loud it rattled my teeth! Ma and Pa was too scared to watch, but I couldn’t help myself. I watched the whole thing. It crashed right where you saw it, but there were somethin’ under it, like a big bell.”
“Did you check it out?” I asked.
“Nah, I told ya that Pa wouldn’t let me. Besides, it were too windy, too dangerous. Sand were blowing all over th’ place.”
I slumped in disappointment and took another cookie. “Oh, right. What about in the morning? After the storm was over?”
“Sun came up and we went out and saw the crash. Looked just like you saw—big umbrella—but Pa weren’t lettin’ me get no closer. All I know is we ain’t never seen nothin’ like it, so Pa called the sheriff right quick.”
“Then what happened?”
“Sheriff shown up, an’ he called the army. They shown up soon after that.”
“That’s it?”
“’fraid so. Sorry, Charlie….” Johnny peered out the window. “Hey, there’s the animal doctor. What’s he doing here? Did one of the cows get hurt?”
Mrs. Ashcroft joined him at the window, looking worried. “Not that I know of, but I’m sure your pa would’ve told us if they had.”
We all watched as the veterinarian drove to the barn. A tall, slim man got out of his truck and walked in with his bag. Sandy’s ears perked again and she barked in the man’s direction. Her paws danced like they did when she was restless. Something told me that the vet’s visit wasn’t normal….
“Could they have put something from the crash in the barn when you weren’t looking?” I asked Johnny.
“I suppose. I weren’t lookin’ since I saw you.”
A knock came from the door, and Mrs. Ashcroft went to answer it. She returned with the sheriff in tow and Sandy wagging her tail at his side. [The sheriff always gave her treats back then.] He tipped his hat to us. “Howdy, young’uns. I saw little Miss Charlotte’s pooch outside, and it’s gettin’ late. I should take ’em back home before it’s their supper time and her father sends me out looking for her.”
We all laughed.
Chapter Two – UFO News Article
Baker Home
The sheriff dropped me and Sandy off at my house. He lingered by the door, wanting to come inside, but I convinced him that Dad wouldn’t be home from the office yet. He left shortly after, and I was relieved; I really didn’t want him talking to my parents.
When I got inside, my mom was waiting for me in the kitchen. “Where have you been, and why did the sheriff drive you home? I was about to call your dad to look for you. What trouble did you get into now?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The sheriff had said the same thing. With total confidence, I replied, “I didn’t get into any trouble. I went out to Johnny’s family’s ranch. They had a crash out there, so I went to get the story. I got some pictures!”
“Yes, I know. Mrs. Ashcroft called me when you left. She didn’t want me worrying—which clearly wasn’t a concern of yours! Do you realize how far it is to go all by yourself? I suppose Sandy followed you. Did you think to give her some water?”
I winced at her tone. Once Mom got started, there was very little anyone could do to calm her down. “Yeah, Mom, I gave Sandy water along the way,” I assured her. “And Johnny gave her more when we got there.”
Mom didn’t look convinced, but I had to try. “There is a real story there! A bunch of soldiers were picking up pieces of foil from this big parachute, then they put something from the crash in Johnny’s barn and called the animal doctor. You can’t tell me that’s nothing.” I purposefully left out the fact that I’d taken some of the foil from the ranch. She’d only make me give it back, and I really wanted to know how it had changed from flimsy foil into a solid metal bar.
She opened her mouth to continue scolding me, but at that moment, Dad walked into the room. I’d never been happier to see him. Under his arm he held a rolled-up newspaper. He handed it to me and I inhaled the scent and smiled. It was hot off the press. Then I saw the headline and my jaw dropped. ‘Flying Saucer Crashes at Ashcroft Ranch’. I read it aloud. He wrote something about it already? Without even going out there to investigate?
He sat in one of the kitchen chairs and grunted. “Mr. Ashcroft called and he didn’t say anything about the barn or the veterinarian. Dr. Fisher was probably just checking on the cattle; the sound of the crash was bound to scare them.”
So he had heard me talking to Mom. A cold wave washed over me. “But you don’t have any pictures! This is barely more than hearsay!”
“If I did, the army would just confiscate them. I almost regret giving you my old camera. If I were you, I’d get rid of that film before the army finds out and comes knocking on our door.”
“They can’t do that, can they? The pictures are mine!” Sandy came and licked me relentlessly. She often did this when I raised my voice. It’s like she was saying, “Don’t be upset, I don’t want you to be upset.”
Dad’s eyes opened wide and his face turned red like I’d never seen before. “They can and they will. Ever since the nuclear tests, everything they do is pretty hush-hush. More than once they threatened to close me down and take everything away.”
Dad looked away, and quietly grumbled. “You just don’t understand the military. This is why we should leave journalism to the men.”
I stared at him. “I don’t have to understand them; I have a different point of view, and that’s a good thing. If we don’t question our military, who will? Nobody is above the law.”
“Those are the men that make the laws, Charlotte! They can do what they well please.”
“The good ones wouldn’t take advantage of that.”
Dad huffed.
Mom’s face was white as she looked back and forth between us. Then her color came back as she smiled weakly. “It’s our differences that make us stronger. Charlie’s doing good work. Just…be careful, honey.” She nodded, putting an end to that conversation. “Dinner is almost ready. Charlie, why don’t you feed Sandy and give her some fresh water? Then, get cleaned up. You’re covered in dust.”
[At the time, I didn’t know how much that argument with my father would shape the rest of my life.]
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