Hello! Long time no post. For more regular updates, craft posts, and WIP snippets, check out my Patreon!
Anyway, today is the UK paperback launch of Goldilocks. It came out in spring in the first lockdown, and now it’s autumn and the cusp of the second lockdown. As ever, it’s you, the readers, who can do so much to help spread the word. Tell a buddy who you think might enjoy introspective space thrillers about how to save a dying planet. Post a short review on Amazon/GR/other retailer if you’ve read it. It’s a grim, too-prescient novel in some ways, that has only grown more so, but I try to inject it with hope and the promise of a better future as well. I worked so hard on this book and I’m quite proud of it, really, so I’d love for it to find some new readers and I hope they connect with the universe I created within the pages.
Cover copy if you haven’t come across it before:
The Earth is in environmental collapse. The future of humanity hangs in the balance. But a team of women are preparing to save it. Even if they’ll need to steal a spaceship to do it.
Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation.
The team is humanity’s last hope for survival, and Valerie has gathered the best women for the mission: an ace pilot who is one of the only astronauts ever to have gone to Mars; a brilliant engineer tasked with keeping the ship fully operational; and an experienced doctor to keep the crew alive. And then there’s Naomi Lovelace, Valerie’s surrogate daughter and the ship’s botanist, who has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity to step out of Valerie’s shadow and make a difference.
The problem is that they’re not the authorized crew, even if Valerie was the one to fully plan the voyage. When their mission is stolen from them, they steal the ship bound for the new planet.
But when things start going wrong on board, Naomi begins to suspect that someone is concealing a terrible secret — and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .
The Martian by way of Handmaid’s Tale. For fans of The Power, Station Eleven & Vox.
It received starred Kirkus and School Library Reviews and got some nice reviews and author blurbs. Here’s one:
“The end of our world is well-trod territory for science fiction but Goldilocks tackles it with startling relevance, fusing together our social and political anxieties in a tense, taut adventure with rich characterisation and care. It’s Interstellar’s brain with Handmaid’s Tale’s heart.”
— Chuck Wendig, author of Wanderers
You can get signed copies from pretty much every Edinburgh-based bookstore, as I’m going around to them all on Saturday. If you’re quick, I can probably personalise them for you. I’m going to:
Waterstones Princes St / West End
It’s almost like a mini book tour–in one city! #lockdownlife
I have two upcoming online events:
SFX Magazine and Topping Bath present stellar names in science fiction, who will be discussing their visions for the future on Wednesday 4th November, marking the publication of multi-million-copies bestseller Peter F Hamilton’s new book The Saints of Salvation.
Chaired by Jonathan Wright, Peter is joined on this free panel by Stephen Baxter (World Engines: Creator) and Laura Lam (Seven Devils).
Sign up now for a discussion about their new books; why we need science fiction more than ever in the current climate; what could a “better” future look like and how do we get there; predictions for the world 100+ years from now; and the panellists’ views on Utopian fiction.
Join Laura Lam on YouTube, in conversation with Sister Carmen Eileen from The Order of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of queer activist drag nuns who contribute to community events, protests, and charities worldwide, and fight for a better future for all LGBTQ+ people. We’ll discuss the inspiration for Seven Devils, the continuing popularity of LGBTQ+ literature, why marginalised representation matters, and whether the future really is queer.
Described as “Mad Max: Fury Road in space” and “a space opera with occasional lesbian snogging”, Seven Devils follows seven resistance fighters who will free the galaxy from the ruthless Tholosian Empire or die trying. It’s a thrilling, fast-paced feminist adventure with a diverse cast of queer characters, in a messy but hopeful future; definitely relatable in 2020!
Hope to see you there!
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