I realised I blithely send out ship’s bulletins week after week, assuming you know all about the stories that have appeared from the starship over the years.
No doubt nothing is further from the truth.
Consequently, over the next few months I’m going to devote the occasional newsletter to one series and give you some details about the background and premise of the story.
Space Colony One books 1 -3 is currently free at all bookstores, and you can download the free prequel, Night of Flames, here.
I began writing book one, The Concordia Deception, as a member of Taipei Writers Group, so the beginning of this story has had plenty of critical eyes on it!
It’s a multi-generational tale, as you would expect for humanity’s first deep space colony. Neither Rome nor humankind’s first civilisation on an exoplanet could be built in the course of one lifetime.
The story begins with the arrival of the generation starship at the colony planet. As well as the most recent generation to the born on the ship (Gens), it also carries cryonically preserved project scientists, some of whom have been recently revived (Woken).
The challenges the colonists face are legion. Not only must they establish a self-sustaining community on an alien world, they face a predatory life form the exploratory probes didn’t pick up as well as sabotage attempts from within their own ranks.
The first part of the story centres around Ethan, a Gen consigned the role of farmer, though he yearns to explore the new world, and Cariad, a Woken scientist caught between warring factions while also facing an internal battle as she tries to overcome the guilt of leaving her family behind on Earth.
Space Colony One is a long tale told over several generations and across many light years of space. The characters meet other intelligent galactic species and find themselves locked in seemingly unwinnable conflicts.
I loved writing this series and when I re-visit it to record the audiobooks I still end up crying over it at certain points. I think you will love it too.
SHIP’S LOG
Talking of Space Colony One, I recently finished recording book six, Final Onslaught and uploaded it to YouTube.
The organisers of Glasgow Worldcon invited me to join a panel to talk about DIY audiobooks. Hopefully, I will be able to help others with the ins and outs of the process.
Aside from working on audiobooks and writing Steadfast Star, I’ve spent my remaining time preparing for the convention. It’s all coming together, just waiting on the T-shirts!
Take care and enjoy your books!