Damian Jones’ debut thriller, A Singularity, is set in the near future as the ramifications of climate change take hold. The novel’s two protagonists, Selene and Mark, embark on a fraught odyssey to make a stand against what they see as the planet’s decline and the lack of urgency to combat it. The young lovers also experiment with Dreamers, innovative drugs which give users incredible adventures whilst sleeping. Gradually the real world and their dreams merge dangerously together and are lost in a place they struggle to fully comprehend, faced with an atrocity they may have committed as environmental terrorists. Desperate to find a way out and separated from each other, they are pushed ever closer to a terrifying climax set to a backdrop of environmental protests, sinister technological advances and rampant consumerism, with many countries on the brink of societal collapse.
A Singularity
A Singularity is free to download until 8am Sunday 17th November: https://amzn.to/2nhNGR0
A Singularity is my debut novel. And it has been a long time coming. But given everything currently happening around the world, from the climate emergency to the way technology dominates our lives, now feels the right time for it to be coming out.
I was lucky to once live in the south of France for a year in Aix on Provence. Half of the novel is set around that region. Provence is a beautiful landscape, with endlessly rolling hills, vineyards and stunning sunsets. Yet I think of that verdant beauty as I watch with horror how the planet is being trashed by us all, and so little is being done to tackle it. We are all responsible, yet every day a stark new danger emerges. So the heart of the book asks how far you would go to save the place you love? What would you really be prepared to do to make a stand and be heard? And the novel explores where that might lead to. That is what happens to the main characters, Selene and Mark. And their hands get bloody. I wanted to write something thought-provoking and challenging, reflective of the chaos unfolding around us all.
Some parts of my book have been happening right now. I followed with great interest the climate change protests. Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thunberg, a common cause and direction for the ongoing climate emergency - those sorts of things I had in mind a while ago, just in different guises. In A Singularity the situation becomes even more urgent and dangerous.
My day job is in PR, and I work with a range of clients. You might have heard of Bongo’s Bingo – if not, you should check it out. It’s brilliant.
I was recently (and very briefly!) on CNN talking about the effect of Brexit on Liverpool: https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2019/09/10/liverpool-brexit-boris-johnson-perspectives-gold-vpx.cnn Brexit, Boris Johnson, Donald Trump – none of these pertinent issues are actually mentioned in my novel. This was very consciously done, as they dominate so much of the news agenda and have been spoken about so much already. But they are certainly in some ways alluded to.
I am fascinated by dreams and the power of our brains, especially when we sleep. In the novel, Selene and Mark experiment with a revolutionary recreational drug called Dreamers. They give users very real adventures whilst asleep, which each user is able to control. This is portrayed as established and embedded and normal in society, with Augmented Realities – who make the Dreamers - on the scale of Apple, Netflix or Amazon. Many millions of people take them each week whilst they sleep. A Singularity takes a dark turn when Selene and Mark experiment with the pills and realise they can share their dreams.
When time permits I am an avid cyclist. Bikes have been woven into my DNA since I was a child, and I love getting out on my bike.
Whilst at university in Liverpool years ago, my friends and I set up a club night called Chibuku Shake Shake, named after a peculiar Malawian beer with a very acquired taste. It was a crazy and halcyon time which we somehow manged to navigate our way through as students – even going to some lectures - taking us on all kinds of late night and bleary-eyed next day adventures.
In my teens I used to love the Choose Your Own Adventure series and I did Warhammer role playing for years with an old friend. There were lots of dragons, swords, spells and treasure. This really helped fire up my imagination as we created intricate worlds filled with stories and sagas. We took turns to play in each other’s houses, our parents always a little dubious of this strange hobby we shared.
My very first job was a baker back in my home town. It feels so far way now, like someone else’s life, a memory implant which has slowly faded. But I still love the smell of freshly baked bread, the sweet olfactory reaction it has. I used to have to get up at 3am for some shifts – which I definitely do not miss.