Queen of the Underverse

...So, I took a break from editing photos to create a book cover for an untold story of the Underverse. I have this vague idea that I'll be a writer and have these stories to tell someday. I created a series of images called the "Lost Books of the Underverse". The image here was loosely inspired by a portrait I did many years ago and recent photos taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. The "lost" story's heroine is a new character that popped into my head after I finished it. It's full of sci-fi tropes with some fantasy—something you might have found in the old Sci-Fi Magazines from when I was a kid.

The Story Synopsis

The story of Rebecca Lopez and the Underverse metaphorically represents the uncharted territories of the human spirit and the boundless possibilities within and beyond us.

Astronaut Rebecca Lopez is leading a historic all-female crew on the International Space Station and is due to return in two days. She has one final spacewalk with fellow astronaut Sarah Mitchell when a micro meteor accident cuts them loose during the walk and punctures Sarah's suit. Using her momentum, she sends Sarah back but drifts further away. By the time anyone can reach her, it will be too late. She's preparing to say goodbye to her family and friends when she bumps into a door floating in low Earth orbit. A plain wooden door hinged to a wooden frame with a key in the lock. With her helmet touching the door, she can feel a vibration as if someone is knocking rhythmically. She can almost imagine someone going knock knock knock knock pause knock-knock. With no one else in sight and unable to contact anyone, she turns the doorknob. Discovering it's locked, she turns the key, and the door opens.

That's how Rebecca's journey to the Underverse begins. This shadowy world, governed by different laws of physics, was home to beings and landscapes beyond human comprehension. Luckily, a Queen of the Undervsere can send her home. Unfortunately, the last Queen of the Undervsere is dying, and her powers are not what they once were. If Queen could be replaced or reborn, she might have a chance of getting home and back to her family. However, the Queen has many enemies, and Rebecca is only human.