Other Fiction Wordsworth, Nicholas: A Diary Beyond. Version 2.4. 11 Nov 2020

[NickW]

I'm sharing my own work freely on this forum, hoping to get some feedback (either positive or negative). Should it garner a few favourable reviews -- wouldn't that be awesome! -- I could submit it for regular publication.

My novel, A Diary Beyond, combines sci-fi, epistolary and romantic fiction. It should appeal to intelligent readers who appreciate originality, detailed worldbuilding, cerebral themes coupled with a healthy amount of youthful passion and an intimate life story to which they can relate. Written as a personal journal, it chronicles half a year in the life of a young woman who inhabits an invented planet, at a roughly mid-twentieth century technological level.

The planet Ithæor is populated by humans with technology a few decades behind present-day Earth (although not identical). Ithæor has numerous separate nations, a long history, languages, religions and mythology, alien fauna, flora and cuisine, a calendar and time system based on invented astronomical details. Most of the actual events in the book take place within my diarist's home city; however, I believe I have managed to convey a sense of depth and scale.

Since most fictional worlds are of either the ancient/medieval fantasy or far-future sci-fi varieties, my near-modern alien world (not an alternate-history version of Earth) is hopefully something original and different.

The character names are intended to sound foreign and unique -- rather than unimaginative, sci-fi/fantasy generic -- but are created according to patterns associated with different nationalities. Though some may appear difficult to pronounce at first glance, the reader should grow accustomed to them with minimal mental effort.

My protagonist, Liriōnee ‘Liri’ Emlerit, is a history student who belongs to a moderately privileged family in a technocratic society. Her father, Firinoth, is a senior local government official. Over the course of half a year (divided into three of Ithæor's long months) she goes through a variety of life experiences, including: finding and losing two lovers; family breakup; competing in a team sports league, with both victory and defeat; a diplomatic faux pas, which leads to her academic suspension and having to get a job; her father being framed and tried for treason; a safari-type holiday which goes horribly wrong; and finally, witnessing an assassination attempt.

Large-scale world events occur in the background; by the end of the book, Liri’s nation is facing possible war. This sets the scene for a potential much darker sequel. Moreover, the extensive history, geography and biota I have devised provide scope for any number of diverse future stories.

Being a diary, the book is made up of 125 daily entries rather than conventional chapters. It includes an initial outline of the fictional time system and the 251-day, six-month calendar, plus appendices: a pronunciation guide to help readers with my invented names, a timeline of Ithæor’s history, and a world map.

To anyone who reads it, in advance!

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