A Cumbrian author whose first science fiction novel sold more than 3,300 copies in eight months has started to write the sequel.
Neil Stevenson, 61, of Kendal, said he was excited about the prospect of writing the follow-up to The Email From God, revealing that the tone would be ‘much more sinister’ than the first book and would resolve many of the plotlines in it.
Neil has also recently launched a website – www.theemailfromgod.org – where people can learn more about the first novel.
Neil grew up in Nottingham, took a Geology degree at the University of Birmingham and spent 15 years working in the oil industry on rigs all over the world. He moved to Kendal in 2011 and, having also previously trained as a geography teacher, spent three years doing supply teaching at Queen Katherine School in the town.
His first book, a children’s story called The Borderlands, was published some years ago. His science fiction novel, The Email From God, was published in June last year.
“I had the idea for The Email From God for at least 10 years,” said Neil. “It was originally borne out of the fact that, as a human race, we are absolutely destroying the world and devouring its resources. It really is a serious situation that we are in and we are not doing nearly enough about it.”
He said the aim of The Email From God was to both entertain and educate readers.
The idea behind the book is that everyone on the planet receives an email from God – a universal consciousness – in January 2023. It includes a series of commandments, which people are forced to act upon to improve the world and tackle issues such as climate change, deforestation, pollution and rising sea levels.
The book is set in 2046, when the world has become a much fairer, peaceful and greener place. A group of five scientists working at CERN on a project called Hindsight are preparing to send information back in time on a tiny nanochip to help people take action to avoid natural disasters and human tragedies such as air crashes.
However, when the planet’s ruling elite manage to hijack Hindsight to send back artificial intelligence programmes to seek out and destroy God’s email for their own monetary gain, the five try to ensure that the content of the email can still be read by those in the past, by hiding documents on the nanochip, along with an artificial intelligence programme of their own, with instructions to publish them as a book.
The novel does not follow a traditional form. About half is written as a record of conversations between them using an app called Talk2Text. Neil’s name does not even appear on the cover – instead Fahim Graham, a character in the book, is credited as the author.
The book includes several references to Kendal and South Lakeland, including Sleddale Forest between Kentmere and Longsleddale, as two of the characters grew up in the area.
“I spent a lot of time ensuring that quite a complex story is told in an easy-to-read way,” said Neil. “There is also quite a lot of humour in it.
“The reaction to the book has been very positive. It ends on a cliff-hanger and I have had messages from people asking when the sequel is coming out.”
He said he already knew what would happen in the second book and has already started writing it, with a view to it being published in 2024.
“I enjoy writing – I get lost in it,” said Neil. “The most I have done in one day is 12 hours. Then suddenly you ‘come to’ and realise you need to eat!”
He added: “The high point of writing The Email From God was the reviews and also the satisfaction of condensing all my thoughts about the problems humans have created into a book.”
The Email From God is available in paperback on Amazon for £12.99 and in eBook format on Kindle, under the author name of Fahim Graham.
