• J. Hawkens is a military veteran and author of the Earth Unbound series — a planned 20-book military science fiction and space opera epic. Born in Hollywood, Florida, and raised in Colorado Springs, he served in both the United States Navy during Desert Shield and Desert Storm and the United States Air Force during Operation Iraqi Freedom, completing multiple deployments across multiple theaters of war. That firsthand experience with military culture, command structure, and the cost of conflict forms the backbone of everything he writes. His debut novel, Legacy Rising, is currently in active query with literary agents. He lives with his wife and son and continues to serve in public service.

    J. Hawkens grew up in the shadow of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs — a city shaped by military tradition and aerospace culture — and joined the United States Armed Forces straight out of high school. Over the course of his military career, he served in two branches: the United States Navy during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and the United States Air Force during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Multiple deployments. Multiple war zones. The kind of experience that cannot be manufactured and does not fade.

    After his service, he transitioned into public service and built a life grounded in family — a loving wife and a son. The discipline, the culture, and the weight of military life never left him. In 2020, it found a new outlet.

    That year, Hawkens began writing Earth Unbound — and hasn't stopped since. What started as a single story became a universe. The series is planned across 20 books, with a complete arc, character Bible, and world-building framework already in place. It is military science fiction written from the inside out: tactically grounded, emotionally honest, and built to last.

    Book One, Legacy Rising, is complete at approximately 105,000 words, developmentally edited, and currently in active query with literary agents. Book Two is already underway. Hawkens writes in the tradition of authors who believe science fiction is most powerful when it is rooted in real human experience — and he brings a depth of that experience few debut authors can claim.

  • Title:  Legacy Rising

    Series:  Earth Unbound, Book One of Twenty

    Genre:  Military Science Fiction / Space Opera

    Word Count:  Approximately 105,000 words

    Status:  Complete — Actively querying literary agents

    One-Line Pitch:

    When a decorated military captain uncovers a conspiracy that stretches beyond Earth's atmosphere, he must decide whether humanity's survival is worth the cost of becoming the very thing he swore to destroy.

    Synopsis:
    Earth, 2637. Humanity has colonized the solar system, fractured into competing power structures, and learned to look inward rather than up. Captain Michael Denton has spent his career serving a system he increasingly doubts — a decorated officer with a classified past, a fractured family, and an intelligence background that taught him one thing above all else: the most dangerous threats are the ones no one is looking for.

    When a series of anomalous signals begin arriving from the outer edge of the solar system and the people tasked with investigating them start disappearing, Denton finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that challenges everything humanity believes about its place in the universe. What he uncovers will force a choice no rank or training prepared him for — and the clock is already running.

    Legacy Rising is the opening chapter of a 20-book arc that spans humanity's first contact, its near extinction, and the long fight back. It is military science fiction with the scope of space opera — written by a veteran who knows what war actually costs.



  • Legacy Rising will appeal to readers of John Scalzi's Old Man's War — sharing its grounded military voice, its unflinching look at the cost of service, and its exploration of what humanity is willing to sacrifice for survival. It carries the large-scale world-building and multi-book ambition of James S.A. Corey's The Expanse series, with a protagonist whose moral complexity and tactical intelligence drive the narrative as much as the external conflict. For readers who want science fiction that feels earned — where the military culture is authentic, the stakes are real, and the universe is built to last — Earth Unbound delivers.

  • Pen Name:  J. Hawkens

    Military Service:  U.S. Navy (Desert Shield / Desert Storm) · U.S. Air Force (Operation Iraqi Freedom)

    Location:  Indiana

    Writing Community:  Pitch to Published (P2P)

    Website:  jhawkens.net

    Series Arc:  20 books planned — outlines through Book 3 complete, arc summary through Book 20 complete

  • For agent and publisher inquiries, media requests, speaking engagements, or interview opportunities, please use the contact form at jhawkens.net or reach out directly via email at JasperHawkens@proton.me.

    HEADSHOT:
    Author photo available upon request

View inside a futuristic spaceship bridge with large windows showing outer space filled with stars and a galaxy, and control panels with digital displays.
A male pilot standing on the edge of an aircraft carrier deck at sunrise, looking at the sky with stars visible, holding a helmet under his arm, with a fighter jet nearby.
A desk with an open notebook containing sketches of planets and space objects, surrounded by loose papers with diagrams, rolled-up sketches, a fountain pen, and a vintage brass desk lamp illuminating the workspace.
View of Earth from space showing illuminated landmasses, clouds, and city lights, with a galaxy in the background.