Literary Las Vegas: Tracie Austin

Centennial Hills-area author Tracie Austin's new book "Alien Encounters in the Western United States" asserts that the number of people who claim to have been abducted by UFOs has been increasing steadily since the '70s and that 4 million Americans believe they've personally experienced an alien encounter.

"Could such an exponential amount of people all be prone to generating the same psychological fantasy, hallucinations, or simply lying?" Austin asks. "The answer straightforwardly, is no."

Austin fills her book with firsthand accounts of alien abductions, from tales of device implantation and examinations to stories of women impregnated by extraterrestrials. She draws in research and opinions from scientists in the field and from fields such as psychotherapy and regression therapy.

The author plans to sign copies of the book at 1 p.m. Sunday at the 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more information on the book and author, visit tracieaustin.com.

Excerpt from "Alien Encounters in the Western United States"

Consciously, Dina was aware of having visitations from nonhuman entities since she was five years old. They would initially come through the closed bedroom window, or appear from out of the closet; and sometimes, they would just appear in the corner of her room. As many as two or three beings would show up during any visitation.

At first she referred to them as "Leprechauns," as being so young she didn't know what to call them, and sometimes would tell her parents that "Casper the Ghost" was in her room. But it wasn't until later, growing up, that Dina came to realize that these strange-looking beings were, in fact, the typical grey-type entities that many abductees are so familiar with.