Collecting Abduction/Encounter Experiences for Publication (again)!

Hey everyone,

About two years ago I started a thread where I asked people to send me their abduction/encounter experiences. At the time I intended to publish a non-critical 'compilation' of reports through a local printing press. I received few responses and totally forgot about the idea...

Now, years later, I've suddenly gotten a lot of questions, over email, as to whether or not I'm still collecting such stories. This sudden surge of interest has caused me to rethink my original (abandoned) plan. Now... I feel like the time is right to try this all over again.

Basically, the college that I graduated from occasionally publishes books by alumni that have some 'cultural merit'. A few months ago I talked to its president (who was a former professor of mine) about the possibility of using the school's press to publish a collection of american folklore. He thought the idea was interesting but a little too vague. Now, however, all these recent inquiries that I've gotten have caused me to rethink my original proposal: I should publish a collection of abduction/close encounter stories.

Yes, yes, the idea has been 'done' before, but not from the perspective of someone who was just trying to record and distribute such stories. Most of the books, in the past, that have dealt with this subject have tried to frame it within an intellectual argument (that is, they have tried to 'prove' one theory or the other). My idea, however, is to present raw stories in such a way that they can be examined without having been 'manipulated' into fitting one argument or the other.

Essentially, I want to publish a chronicle of interactions human beings have had with the 'others'. This will be a straight-forward record... one devoid of selective editorializing.

So... if you think that this idea makes sense please write to me at:

[email protected]

or u2u me if you have more questions. Basically, I'm looking for a complete story. I'd like to hear not just the details of the abduction/experience... but also all of the events that led up to it (that is, I'm looking for complete narratives). I assure everyone who may be interested that I will never reveal their names (if they so wish) and that they can use false names when writing to me, even (because I am approaching this from the angle of american legend/folkore/personal history and not from a scientific angle I do not need to know your identities). I also assure you guys... that this will be a great experience. Trust me... once you talk/write about this stuff you will feel better. You might even understand it more.

Oh, and almost as an afterthought, your story doesn't have to be the standard 'I was kidnapped by garys' one. It only has to be a true description of what you feel that you experienced... no matter what that was. I have been on ATS for over two years and, though I argue with people on occasion, I feel that I have built up a decent reputation. You can trust that I will not distort or alter your story if my compilation is published.

OIMD

[edit on 5-7-2005 by onlyinmydreams]

BTW,

If people want to send attachments in MS Word/works format that would be great. To be very clear: I will not be making any money off of this. The publication I have in my mind would be more like an academic compilation of stories than a commercial book. If you really are an abductee/experiencer this will be a good place to express all that you want to get out. As was posited in another thread recently, it may very well be that the 'point' of all of this is to get these stories out in the public.