Author’s Note

A lifetime of reading Sci Fi, Fantasy, with an affinity for Military and Space Opera from the last century and this encouraged me to tell this story.  Nova is broadly set in the mid twenty-first century, near enough for reasonable accuracy, but different enough for fun and dissonance.  SAPIENT-1 and their tech are a bit of a mystery, we never quite get to see them in person. They are perhaps most famous for their byline,  ‘who the hell do you think you are calling us aliens’?

I get my best ideas whilst walking the dog, a warm tawny shollie (Collie/German Shepherd). I had no experience in creative writing until retirement. You may notice a few more greyscale images than you would expect in a Sci Fi Novel, they are mainly to ground specific real world locations.  This is my first novel.

Life has included time spent as a soldier with a blunt and practical focus, and in managing military assets, IT systems and logistics.  You may notice the odd Three Letter Acronym (TLA) or so from that military heritage, with some of them looking like first name diminutives - it's a feature, not a bug. I value a realistic technical background to Sci Fi and have tried to include one in the form of Diana’s notes and annexes in the back matter of the book.  I think they are mainly for the ‘completer-finishers’ amongst us, but ware reading them too soon - there may be spoilers!  The section is entitled ‘Do you want to know more?’

I tend to emphasise a functional perspective on social matters (what works, works),  with limited patience for  some aspects of modern, somewhat chaotic society. The novel explores some faith, social and relationship topics that readers may find challenging. They do not represent the author's personal views. It’s just Sci Fi.

I live in Bristol, UK, but have travelled widely and invite you to journey with me to Nova Britannia.