Theta Station. Not exactly the shining star of the ring of Earth orbital stations, but it’s a busy hub for the belt miners on their way to the asteroids, and a research station for the military. An unprepossessing location for the very first restaurant in space.

When I originally began the story of Bae, Awooga was a restaurant on Earth, there were no secrets, just a hapless sous chef and a stressed restaurant owner about to open their first location. It was going to be a straight up comedy of errors.

Today, I am preparing to launch Bae into space on a mission of the greatest importance to the survival of the species. His name has changed, his back history has changed, but the restaurant he starts in is more or less the Awooga of the original story. His boss is not a first time restauranteur but this place is a first of its kind. 

Baes journey has in many ways mirrored my own. As a writer, I began small, flash fiction competitions, light humour. As Bae grew into his own character, I grew into mine as a writer. Starting to believe that we could both make it in our chosen professions, his story grew richer. As with life, the humour was still there, but also as with life, there were turns and twists. As my son was diagnosed with ASD/ADHD, my writing grew darker. As I learned more about the diagnosis, I saw a different path forward, a new way of learning for my son and for me. I saw light at the end of the tunnel, and so Bae’s story grew to overcome challenges. 

They say write what you know, but perhaps what we actually write is what we feel. Bae’s story is meant to entertain not to educate, his story is not a deep investigation of purpose and need, but I hope it is a Saturday afternoons read in the vein of the old movie matinee. An entertaining and quirky romp.