Free sci-fi boxset

Jul 14, 2026

Dear shipmate

You may remember that the last ship’s bulletin was late because I’d been ill with a nasty chest infection.

I’m pleased to report that, after suffering a relapse, I now seem to be completely better.

If you were one of the many to write wishing me a speedy recovery, thank you. As I’m sure you can guess, receiving well wishes when at a low point means a lot.

I hope you downloaded the free prequel to my Space Colony One series, Night of Flames, if you haven’t already read it.

Now it’s time to introduce you to the first trilogy of the series, which is also free!

Space Colony One books 1 - 3 follows the stories of the generational colonists, the founding scientists (who spent the journey in cryo), and the mysterious Guardians, who arrive from Earth on an FTL ship not long after the original starship, which set out from Earth 189 years ago.

Alternatively, you can download the entire series at a special discount at the ship’s store, for a short time only.

SHIP’S LOG

I don’t think I was really up to it, but I’d made a promise to attend the Beach Reads Book Festival in Stowmarket last Saturday.

Stowmarket is a small town in Suffolk, East Anglia, and the venue for the event was the John Peel Centre.

I’m not sure how far John Peel’s fame spread while he was alive, but in the UK he was a well-known and well-loved disc jockey. His other claim to fame was miming playing the mandolin on Rod Stewart’s Maggie May performance on Top of the Pops in the seventies (sadly, he wasn’t the recording artist).

John Peel had excellent taste in music and popularised Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody when other DJs refused to play it due to the song’s length.

The Beach Reads event was very quiet, though I think I made a few new shipmates. On the plus side, the background music was amazing.

PROMOTIONS

Maybe you’re a Space Colony One veteran, in which case you’ll be in need of some new summer (or winter) sci-fi reads.

Ever since Ellen Ripley and Sarah Conner hit the cinema screens, cool women in fantasy and sci-fi have never gone out of fashion. To meet some new heroines, take a look at these free stories.