It is still unclear if Tom DeLonge is in, or out of, blink-182, the multimillion-selling punk-pop band he co-founded in Poway a quarter century or so ago. But whether he voluntarily left the trio early last year, was ousted, or is in some state of limbo in between, DeLonge is not resting on his laurels while his former blink band mates, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, record a new blink album with Matt Skiba assuming guitar and co-vocal duties.

On Thursday, the guitar-playing singer and songwriter announced the April 5 launch of “SEKRET MACHINES,” which he bills as a “new transmedia series.” The ambitious project will kick off with the publication of a 704-page hardcover novel, “Sekret Machines Book 1: Chasing Shadows,” which will be published by To The Stars/Simon & Schuster).

It will be the first in a three-part series of fiction novels that DeLonge is co-writing with New York Times’ best-selling author A.J. Hartley, who is best known for his “The Darwen Arkwright” series. “Chasing Shadows” follows “Poet Anderson...Of Nightmares,” the 2015 Young Adult novel Delonge co-wrote with Suzanne Young.

“SEKRET MACHINES” will also include “an eye-opening documentary film” and new music from Angels & Airwaves, the San Diego band DeLonge co-leads with Ilan Rubin.


“Chasing Shadows” is described as “a complex and thrilling” book. It is based on “facts and actual events gleaned from” DeLonge’s sources within the military and intelligence community,” whom he identies as “8 elite advisores, each of whome has held the highest positions within the military, scientific and executive branch offices.” The focus is on UFOs and, by extension, life-forms from other planets and dimensions, with a government cover-up sub-theme added for good measure.

“I wanted to tackle the subject of Unidentifed Aerial Phenomena because it seems so unbelievable,” DeLonge said, in a statement released Thursday. “I knew the story was fantastic regardless if you believed it or not. This was one topic that could tackle religion, cosmology, science, history, politics, secrecy and more.

Added Hartley: “What makes this book unique, I think, is that it takes a skeptically researched, investigative and realistic approach to history and eye-witness testimony to open up a sensational story about the secret world of military intelligence and extraordinarily advanced technology.”