For decades radio telescopes have scoured the skies for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence but have found none. Why? Could it be we really are alone in the universe? Or is it that the truth has been withheld from us by a global conspiracy of silence?

When radio telescope operators Lauren Stelleck, a woman with a special gift enabling her to literally see certain sounds, and Steve Andrews, a diehard sci-fi geek, detect a signal like no other at Jodrell Bank in England, a chain of events is unleashed that propels Earth towards all-out nuclear war. Can Lauren and Steve unlock the secret of the signal before our species tears itself apart?

The Signal is a prequel novella to the Fractured Light trilogy, and is part of the Multiverse Chronicles, an epic series of interlinked stories that follows the struggle of humanity to survive across parallel universes.

Watch the skies because the darkness is coming for us.

Today is the culmination of years of work as I launch myself into the world of indie publishing with my new company, Voice from the Clouds. To mark that launch I’m giving away The Signal, a novella set in my new Multiverse Chronicles series. If you love epic science fiction storytelling that spans many interlinked tales, then this series will be for you.

To mark this special moment I’m going to make The Signal free to the readers of my newsletter. All I ask is that you subscribe and in return, apart from being able to read The Signal for free, I’ll keep you updated with news about my books and other books that I think you might love too. I also want to hear back from you on here, or via email, or on Facebook. I view the journey ahead as a collaborative one between me the author and you the reader. 

Do remember to leave a review on Amazon or alternatively you can buy a paperback version here: mybook.to/TheSignal-Nick-Cook

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Out there in the space as they say, no one can hear you scream... and that will be because of the vacuum. However, radio waves can happily pass through that medium and radiate out across the galaxy. 

If you’ve ever seen static on a TV screen did you know that you’re actually tuning into the white noise of the universe, the static that fills the radio waves between our broadcasts. Listen to the pops and whistles from the audio output of a radio telescope and you may hear Jupiter and its moons, our sun's wail, the distant clicking of pulsars, and even the echo of the big bang itself.

Inspired by this, I’ve assembled a little YouTube celestial orchestra for you to listen to. The gas planets are majestic and Earth sounds truly unique buzzing with the sound of life. And further, much further away, you can listen to the clicking of the spinning pulsar at the heart of Vega. These are just a selection of the haunting sounds that fill the universe around us.