Tag Archives: Dystopian

Peaceful Quiet Lives: Setting, Research, and Revisions

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My latest novel, Peaceful Quiet Lives, involved just as much research as usual, though this time into many unexpected areas.

Given the authoritarian political states in the novel, a certain amount of investigation into those with extreme views was inevitable. I looked at a lot of the more cult-like leaders on the US evangelical right-wing, as well as extremists on the left, and their groups and organisations. I also read up on so-called “incel” groups and those who believe they can have loving relationships with an android. At first, I feared the ideas for my novel would be too ridiculous even for a satire, but real life was always three steps ahead of me.

After researching several US cities and states, I took the decision to not name any real city or geographic location in the novel, other than to talk in vague terms about east and west (with California and the west coast having fallen into the sea, following the “big one” earthquake). Apart from anything else, I didn’t like to assign particular social, political, or religious ideologies to any one city, so it seemed best, on balance, to have the cities in the novel remain nameless. It’s also worth mentioning that several parts of the novel deal with news media organisations, for which I drew on my own television experience. This was more for the personalities and their attitudes than the technical side, though I should stress no characters are directly based on real people.

The plot came to me fully formed in early 2018, in a strange “download”. At first, I expected my protagonist Sam to be American, but then I realised I needed an “outsider” perspective for this story, so made him an English refugee (in the novel, an unspecified “Catastrophe” has rendered the UK and Europe uninhabitable). As I wrote the story, little changed from the original outline in terms of characters and events, but I did ruthlessly prune everything I considered “preachy”, I hope successfully. Peaceful Quiet Lives is not intended to be a political statement of any kind, and I wanted the events to speak for themselves, without editorialising.

I also cut a number of lengthy sequences, especially in part two. A chapter where Sam and Eve attend an illegal gathering was removed, largely because it felt superfluous in light of the Halloween party they attend earlier. This gathering involved people indulging in all manner of “rebellious” activity; not just unregistered (and therefore legally “unconsenting”) sexual activity, but also free and frank political and spiritual discussion, without fear of state punishment for expressing undesirable views. In that draft, the priest from the final chapter made an earlier appearance, discussing his resistance work in both nations with Sam. I liked this section of the novel, but took it out because it felt a little on the nose, as well as being unnecessary. I revised the novel so Sam only meets the priest in the final chapter.

If you’ve not yet read Peaceful Quiet Lives, why not give it a go? Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Order your copy here (in the UK), or here (in the US). You can also order from Smashwords here.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: The Cover

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My latest novel, Peaceful Quiet Lives, has a superb cover, courtesy of my graphic designer friend, the excellent Denisa Trenkle.

Denisa and I discussed a variety of concepts. One early rough mock-up (complete with amusing typo) emphasised the surveillance angle of the novel.

Another explored the brainwashing angle, and another featured the provocative image of lovers trapped behind prison bars in the shape of a map of the USA. A revised version of the latter, without the figures, was fully completed. We considered using this one as an alternative.

At one point, this cover (created by me – nothing whatsoever to do with Denisa) was used as a temporary measure, but never intended to make it to publication. For complicated reasons, a couple of these were printed, so if this novel is ever hugely successful, these two copies featuring my inept attempts at graphic design will end up being worth a fortune.

However, in the end, we settled on this cover:

The final cover subtly hints at different elements of the narrative around the central title text, through use of colour and symbolism. It also looks nothing like any of my other novel covers, which was a key part of the brief I gave Denisa. Given that the subject matter is outside my usual gothic horror or children’s adventure oeuvre, it really needed to stand out.

What is the subject matter? Check out the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Pick up your copy here (in the UK) or here (in the US). It is also available from Smashwords here.

To see more of Denisa’s splendid work, click here.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: Second Excerpt

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My latest novel, Peaceful Quiet Lives, is out now. Last year, this post revealed the opening of the novel. Here’s a taster from early in the second half.

‘You will be expected here, at the Department of Tolerance, to begin your Enlightenment Conditioning classes tomorrow morning at nine o’clock sharp.’

‘Thank you. What about Eve?’

‘As I said, we are not quite finished with her.’

‘But how will I reach her?’

‘She will be told where you are staying in due course, and obviously we will rehouse her as well. For the time being, you cannot have any contact with her.’

I stare at Adams and Lucas. Something isn’t right.

‘What aren’t you telling me about Eve?’

‘We have told you everything. She simply needs further time for processing. Remember, she has been the victim of patriarchal oppression in a society that hates women. She has suffered a lot more than you, and we need further time to ensure she is not a political threat.’

‘A political threat? You just said she was a victim!’

‘It is precisely because she was a victim that she could be a political threat. Women who are oppressed the way Eve has been oppressed will often fall back on expected behaviour patterns, even unconsciously. We need to be sure that she will not display or even encourage such behaviour in the DEAR.’

I can scarcely believe my ears. ‘You’re telling me you’re worried Eve will go around telling women in the DEAR that they need to be subservient to men?’

‘I don’t think she would do so intentionally,’ Lucas says. ‘But we have to be sure, nonetheless.’

I slump back in my chair, unable to believe my ears. ‘This is farcical. Just spend some time with Eve. Have a conversation with her. She is one of the strongest, boldest, most independent people you will ever meet. She has such a great sense of humour, and she is…’

‘Ah yes, humour… Another area where you and Eve will doubtless require Enlightenment Conditioning.’

‘Humour?’

‘Given the situations you were in, I expect you and Eve used dark, offensive, and insensitive humour as a means of coming to terms with your predicament. Here we cannot allow such things. There is no need for it, and such jokes will only cause distress.’

‘You want to make sure we don’t make the wrong jokes?’

‘The Department of Tolerance has many sub-divisions, including an Office of Humour, which regularly advises citizens on what is and isn’t funny.’

I burst out laughing. ‘You can’t legislate humour!’

‘Humour isn’t a laughing matter, Sam. It can be perverted into a terrible weapon of oppressive propaganda.’

‘Eve and I are hardly Goebbels! We’re just two people who love each other and want to live together in peace. I can assure you we will not make offensive jokes to anyone else.’

‘That is good Sam. But we must also make sure you don’t make them to each other. As I said, you will both require Enlightenment Conditioning, if you wish to live as successful citizens in the DEAR.’

Intrigued? Here’s the blurb from the back of the book.

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Order your copy here (in the UK) or here (in the US). It is also available at Smashwords here.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: Influences and Inspirations

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My latest novel, Peaceful Quiet Lives, is informed by a number of classic novels, whilst also being very much its own unique story. Here are five texts that were influential in some way.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell) – Orwell’s masterpiece casts a long shadow over all modern dystopian fiction, and to not acknowledge it would be disingenuous. The Winston and Julia romance informs some of what Sam and Eve experience, as does their suffering at the hands of the authorities. However, the central relationship has a very different purpose and outcome in my novel. There are also parallels between the censorship of Nineteen Eight-Four (including “newspeak”) and the censorship rules in both nations in my novel, which operate at opposite political extremes. However, once again, the kind of censorship is very different.

The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) – The religious oppression of the Gilead regime to a degree did inform the oppression of women in the NPAR (New Puritan American Republic), in my novel. However, there are vitally important differences. For one thing, there is no population crisis, and women are not forced into marriages for breeding purposes in the NPAR. However, women are strictly controlled in terms of the lives they can lead, the careers they can pursue, and so forth. Furthermore, marriages have to authorised by religious authorities.

A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess) – The brainwashing of young Alex to “cure” him of his wicked ways did in some way influence the torment Eve suffers at the hands of interrogators in the DEAR (Democratically Enlightened American Republic), in my novel. However, unlike Alex, Eve is a far less contentious subject, nor is the reader invited to feel torn or backed into a corner over her treatment. I expect and indeed hope that unambiguous sympathy is the reader’s response in her case.

Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) – A state where all books are banned is the horrifying premise of Bradbury’s most notorious novel (the title refers to the temperature at which paper burns). Not all books are banned in the two nations of my novel, but many are. Sometimes the same novel is banned in both states, but for entirely different reasons. For example, a novel banned for sexual content in the NPAR could also be banned for perceived sexism in the DEAR.

The Trial (Franz Kafka) – Like the protagonist of Kafka’s novel, Sam finds himself chewed up by the inexplicable and unfair machinery of legal processes in both the NPAR and the DEAR. The prosecutions he faces are nonsensical, but are intended as a satire of the fears often expressed by extremists on both ends of the left/right political spectrum. In particular, the trial in the latter part of the second section of the novel reaches an absurdity of hair-clutching proportions, but I shan’t explain how, for fear of spoilers.

Peaceful Quiet Lives was also informed, to a lesser degree, by Gulliver’s Travels, Brave New World, The Hunger Games, and even satirical BBC classic comedy series Yes Minister. Here’s the blurb from the back of the book to whet your appetite:

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Order your copy here (in the UK) or here (in the US). It is also available at Smashwords here.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: Initial Reviews

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Reviews have started to come in for my latest novel Peaceful Quiet Lives. So far, all are positive five-star raves, but what most surprised me is how different facets of the novel are standing out to different people, depending on the personality, temperament, and background of the reader.

For example, one reviewer on Amazon called it “political science fiction on a very high level”, citing “parallels between the societies in the book, and the current political climate, where you are labelled as a traitor for having a deferring opinion”. He goes on to call the book “deadly serious”, saying it sends shivers down his spine.

By contrast, one reviewer on Goodreads said the novel had “several laugh out loud moments”, calling it “thought-provoking, disturbing, and at times hilarious”. He goes on to label the novel “an awesome thought experiment concerning what extremes of left and right ideology could lead to, should freedom of speech disintegrate in our post-modern era”.

Another five-star review on Amazon commented: “Who doesn’t love a great love story?”, focussing on the romantic plight of protagonists Sam and Eve, who are chewed up by the political machinery of the narrative.

Why not give Peaceful Quiet Lives a read yourself, and discover how you respond to it? Here’s the blurb from the back of the book to whet your appetite:

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Order your copy here (in the UK) or here (in the US). It can also be ordered from Smashwords here.

Coming Soon, Later, and Perhaps Never: October 2020 Update

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A couple of years ago, I posted an article with the same title, expounding on exactly where I was at with my novels, in their varying states of disrepair. Here’s a full update, sort-of divided by genre. Bear in mind one of these will be released very soon, almost certainly before the end of the year.

Fantasy

Ravenseed – This Dark Ages set fantasy novel is now on its third draft, having received largely positive feedback from various sources. It’s a brooding, melancholy tale of knights, sorcerers, and enchantment, simmering with love, lust, betrayal, and revenge. Alongside the Dark Ages story is a parallel framing story set in the present.

The Faerie Gate – My long-delayed, horror-story-for-children is now on its fourth draft. Originally written in 2015, it’s definitely the scariest novel I’ve written that is primarily aimed at children, and it really pushes the envelope in that respect. But this dark fairy tale is also a very compassionate story, about a young adolescent coming to terms with the separation of her parents. I’m also planning an epic sequel which may end up being more than one sequel, set in the same universe. The sequel(s) might be aimed at a more “young adult” readership. I’ll know more once I start writing this next year.

The Deviant Prophet – Another dark fairy tale, but this time for adults. Fantasy and reality clash in a disturbing tale of religious oppression, amid a vivid and surreal world parallel to our own. The initial inspiration for this came from a close friend’s extraordinary dreams. I finished a third draft earlier this year.

Goldeweed – This is an epic, three volume fantasy saga I have been shaping on and off for almost eighteen years. Set in a vast imagined realm on many different planes of reality, it details three love stories that play out against an apocalyptic backdrop at the end of an era. Currently longer than War and Peace, it’s a tale I have rewritten and tinkered with for some time, and I’m still not entirely happy with it.

Gothic Mystery Thriller/Horror

The White Nest – This novel is something of a culmination for me; a summing up of all the tropes, themes, and ideas I have explored in earlier gothic mystery novels. But although there is an element of Now-That’s-What-I-Call-a-Simon-Dillon-Gothic-Mystery about this novel, it is also radically different in two ways. Firstly, it features a male protagonist. Secondly, it is the most intensely personal novel I’ve written since Children of the Folded Valley. Yes, I know all writing is “personal”, but this one really jabbed raw nerves in an ultimately cathartic way, tapping into traumatic fears regarding siblings, parental fears, false guilt, and more. It is also something of a coming of age novel, despite the genre trappings. One more point: The White Nest refers to something sinister in the story, but it’s only a placeholder title. I’m keeping the real title secret for now.

Wormcutter – From something I wrote in 2020, to something I wrote in 2007 (from an idea I had researched on and off since 1996), this detective thriller/horror hybrid begins as an apparently open and shut murder investigation, then escalates into a humdinger of a conspiracy, involving the Freemasons and much more… until it ends up in the most disturbing territory I have ever explored in a novel (definitely 18 certificate stuff). Currently on its fourth draft, and due for another polish.

Miscellaneous

The Balliol Conspiracy – This somewhat old-fashioned, Hitchcockian romantic spy thriller is a conspiracy story of a different kind (much more PG territory, unlike Wormcutter), and proved a real change of pace for me when I wrote it. A strong, suspenseful central mystery results in an historic, fact-based treasure hunt, leading to a new lease of life for the bereaved protagonist. I don’t want to say too much more, except that yes, it does involve Balliol College in Oxford (see above picture). I also wanted to write a grown-up book that, for once, my mother would be able to read without having nightmares. Currently on its second draft, its actually grown on me quite a bit since I first wrote it, and my wife thinks I should attempt more stories of this kind. But I suspect it is a one-off. We’ll see.

Peaceful Quiet Lives – This dystopian tale imagines a bleak American future, satirising the worst fears of both sides in the so-called culture wars. At the same time, it is also a love story, featuring protagonists who fall foul of political extremists of all persuasions. This novel is currently on its fourth draft, and represents a real oddity for me, as it is quite unlike anything I’ve ever written. Like Children of the Folded Valley and The White Nest, it is also a highly “personal” novel.

A Statement of Disbelief – Another satirical novel, this time set in the dubious world of Christian television fundraising. It’s only had one draft, but quite honestly, I’m not sure it will ever see the light of day. However, I will confess it was great fun to write.

Short Stories – It’s also worth mentioning that I’ve written quite a collection of short stories, mostly horror and science fiction (including one of novella length). I may publish a volume of these at some point.

To reiterate, one of the above will almost certainly be released before the end of the year. Can you guess which one? Watch this space for an imminent announcement.