My first published science fiction novel, “The God of the Dead”, is due out on 17th July 2023, and it’s been a long time in the making. As my longest novel to date – at 180,000 words – work began on it more than two years ago, and it has progressed through many revisions.

The plot is a deeply political one, with a small colony struggling for independence from the wealthy corporation which owns it. A murder mystery runs through the novel, and there is corruption everywhere. The titular ship, the God-class super cargo vessel the God of the Dead, is more than 100 years old, and falling to pieces. Crewed by more than 30 sailors, it travels the long journey between Earth and Pluto, almost a three-year one-way trip, delivering supplies and collecting the precious and rare ores that the Pluto system has to offer. The merchant sailors are paid well, and the anti-aging drug Telometform increases their lifespan, leaving them able to work well into their second century.

As my first attempt at sci-fi, it’s more of a hard sci-fi, industrialized and perhaps non-visionary imagination of the future, with technology that hasn’t advanced much beyond what we have nowadays. Dystopian? Perhaps a little, but humanity has managed to colonize much of the Solar System, Earth is less polluted, and characters are dreaming of spreading mankind further throughout the galaxy.

In my head, I have created this new environment, one which has countless possibilities for future novels, but that will depend upon the success – or otherwise – of this book. I’d be interested in your feedback, so if you pick up a copy – paperback, Kindle or KU – let me know what you think. Give me your ideas for future novels, or write your own. But keep reading, and let your imagination – and mine – take you to new worlds.