Friends, it’s #SciFiSunday and there’s a new novel roaming out in the wild. After many long days and nights of writing, editing, researching, proofreading, and pulling my hair out, Colony is now available for you to read in eBook and paperback form.
This novel is particularly exciting for me as it marks a new chapter in my writing. Previous novels have focused specifically on the queer community and queer issues (which I feel I know pretty well first-hand!). In contrast, Colony is a genre novel that required a whole heap of (super fun!) research, and some head-scratching/hand-wringing to corral a wayward plot that didn’t want to fit the science at first. The time commitment alone has been, ahem, astronomical.
In the last year or so, I’ve dug deep into geology, astrophysics, molecular biology, neuroscience, and other fascinating fields of inquiry (or enquiry, if you’ll allow my Britishisms for a moment), and I’ve loved every minute of it! This novel has, once again, helped me to appreciate how lucky I am to work as a freelancer and be able to make time to write, as well as to have had the kind of education that makes learning new things fun and fairly straightforward.
That said, if you have a PhD in space aeronautics, terraforming, astrophysics, or such, I’d ask that you please be gentle with your feedback. I’d love to hear from you (preferable a call-in rather than a call-out!) if you find yourself squinting at the science in the novel, or gasping in horror at some egregious oversight.
The same goes for anyone with a background in decolonisation/indigenous/First Nations studies. While I’ve done my due diligence with regards to these issues, I’m fallible like everyone else, and I’m absolutely willing to have conversations with anyone who finds the novel problematic in any way. I’m a white, cis, queer, immigrant with a lot to learn and an appetite for the endeavour, and I’m excited to hear from you!
For anyone working in a relevant area of the media, or who runs a spec-fic/sci-fi book blog with a reasonable readership, I’d love to send you a copy of Colony for review. I’m also available for interview if you’re so inclined.
Here’s hoping that you all enjoy my first frolic in this genre… I suspect it won’t be my last.
Thanks for reading!
To order Colony
Colony is now available through Kindle and in paperback at all good bookstores and online book retailers, including Createspace. You can also request it from your local and school libraries using the following details:
Colony – Leigh Matthews
ISBN-13: 978-0992022464
ISBN-10: 0992022460
BISAC: Fiction / Science Fiction / General
228 pages
Publication date: September 16th.