Hey ! 💙 📚
I'm currently sitting in a cute cafe in central London, sipping an iced latte and writing the next The Deathday Chronicles book.
I do love my writing setup at home, but sometimes a change of scenery can make all the difference!
My current view.
I've lived here for several years, but I still can't get enough of the red telephone boxes, black cabs and double deckers! Have you ever been to London? What did you think?
I'm considering doing a signing here in the future, so I'd love to know your thoughts on the city!
Hit reply and let me know!
Writing Update
In my last update, I mentioned that The Dystopian Guide to the Galaxy was on preorder. I'm SO excited to announce that the book is now LIVE! 💫
So today, I'm back with the description and an exclusive sneak peek at my story, THE LUNA TRIALS.
Sixteen teenagers. Three LUNA Trials. A one-way ticket to Earth.
The LUNA Trials haven't been held for decades.
So when the Commander announces the next edition, I covet my place among the chosen sixteen.
A chance to escape the drab, rocky landscape of the Moon and finally make it back to the planet humanity once called home?
Yes please.
But as the Trials progress, long-buried secrets threaten to surface, and I get more than I bargained for.
So much more.
When the stakes rise, giving up isn't an option.
Because when you compete in the LUNA Trials... you either pass, or you die.
What can you expect in THE LUNA TRIALS?
💫 Deadly competition / trials
💫 Moon colony / Earth isn't survivable
💫 Corrupt leadership
💫 The chosen ones
💫 Found family
💫 The power of friendship
And now, here's a sneak peek of the first chapter of THE LUNA TRIALS:
When the ash settles and grass grows in its stead, that is when humanity will return to Earth.
Unfortunately for me, I won’t be alive to see it. I’m part of a space-locked generation, passing the formative years of my lifetime in the tenuous confines of Sector A on LUNA.
I was born here, and I will die here.
I used to spend my spare moments, stolen at the end of a hard day of flight sims, imagining what it would be like to wake up in a meadow, surrounded by wildflowers, with the sun in my eyes, and a gentle breeze dancing in my hair… Back then, the fantasy had given me refuge from the drab landscape I’m forced to call home.
But that is all it is — a fantasy. Distant and unattainable. This is my reality, and I will never know a better world.
The wake-up buzzer blares in my ears.
I shove the lunar rock compound I’ve been toying with under my tiny bed and wipe my hands on my pants. Streaks of gray smear my regulation jumpsuit. It’s a hideous orange that makes us resemble Earth prisoners from hundreds of years ago — not a good look. Especially as the jumpsuit clashes with my flaming red hair, as Nico, my best friend, likes to remind me.
I have about five seconds to leave my quarters for morning roll call in the hallway. There’s no time to use a few drops of the vinegar I stole from the kitchens to wipe away the marks coating my hands. I purse my lips; I’m getting sloppy.
The door slams shut behind me as I come face-to-face with Commander Strauss, head of our Sector.
“Iris?” Her dark eyes linger on mine.
“Present.” I smile through gritted teeth.
The Commander nods and moves to the next person. The tension leaves my shoulders as I exchange a look with Nico, who stands outside his own quarters. His eyebrows are raised. He’s thinking what I am: I cut it closer and closer every day. Luckily, I’ve never had to experience the punishment for being late — a few hours in solitary. I always make it by the skin of my teeth.
As the Commander reaches the end of the line, she turns on her heel. “Year 12. Follow me to the Artemis Auditorium for a mandatory assembly.”
An assembly? My grimace mirrors my classmates’. We haven’t had an assembly in years. Not since that accident in Sector C that exposed half their mech pod to the harshness of the lunar landscape. Could there have been another breach?
Nico falls in line next to me, his blue eyes burning into mine. “Get your head out of zero-g.” His voice is just audible over the thrum of footsteps headed to the auditorium.
I roll my eyes. “I made it. That’s what counts.”
“Barely.”
“What do you think the assembly’s about?”
Nico shrugs. “Shift changes? Maybe career assignments.”
“Those aren’t due till next year.”
“You know old Strauss; she does as she pleases.”
I bite my lip. That’s true. Here in Sector A, she answers to no one. Only Madam Secretary Ortega is above her in rank, but she’s aboard the UNSS and has no direct say in our day-to-day.
We shuffle into the auditorium, my classmates’ murmurs echoing in the dome-shaped hall. Rows of ancient seats line the room; mine creaks beneath me as I struggle to get comfortable. A lectern bearing the LUNA logo — a moon with longitude and latitude lines, ringed by laurel leaves on either side — rises on an elevated stage at the front. A glass skylight in the ceiling opens up above us, exposing the half-Earth hanging in the sky.
Commander Strauss takes the stage and faces us, her eyes sweeping the hall and landing on each of us in turn. Her dark hair, streaked with gray, is pinned on top of her head in a tight bun.
“Thank you for joining me for this special assembly.” Her voice booms across the auditorium. “As Commander of Sector Artemis on the Lunar United Nations Alliance, it is my pleasure to announce the second edition of the LUNA Trials.”
Want to know what happens next? Keep reading in The Dystopian Guide to the Galaxy ➜ CLICK HERE!
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books
If you want even more books, check out this collection of free, discounted and regular-priced Dystopian books, and this collection of free sci-fi and fantasy books 😍
Happy reading! 💙📚
Love always,
P.S. Here's the link to read The Dystopian Guide to the Galaxy again!
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