Hello readers,

It’s all taking shape, with the release of The Radiants in just over a month’s time.

Story Update

In case you missed it, The Radiants is set to release 5 November 2026. I’m really excited (and intimidated) to be so close. I’ve been setting up the pages, and you can even PREORDER NOW. It will be part of Kindle Unlimited to try and bolster engagement on first release. If there’s a large enough request for it on other platforms, I’m happy to be convinced and remove it from the program (after at least the minimum 3 months Amazon require). But seeing it listed has made it look more real than ever before, so now I just need to deliver!

Subscribers to my newsletter can also access a free preview of the novel as an EPUB (check the previous email, otherwise reach out to me and I can resend it).

I’ve also set up an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) program. If you know of anyone interested in receiving an early version of The Radiants, they can sign up here. I’d then greatly appreciate them to leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads shortly after release.

Plan

I need to format the final ebook version of The Radiants before submitting it to Amazon. This mostly involves checking everything looks okay, particularly the images. I’ve found they can be quite finicky on Kindle, but as long as they look presentable I’ll be happy.

I’m working on the marketing side of things, which has included setting up my author pages on Amazon and Goodreads. I’ll also work on the website and socials, and prepare for the launch.

Cool Science

The science behind alien life is very cool, particularly when considering the astrobiology involved in producing such life. But one of the great complexities is how you can even detect life on another planet. One method involves looking at the age of a solar system’s sun to gauge how old the planets are. If the sun is older than ours, it suggests its planets are too, which may provide the chance for life to have developed. But there are other ways of detecting life, such as measuring the relative level of carbon. This study touches on how carbon on Earth rose when humans first entered the scene, and how this could be a rough indicator of intelligent life. Although there are several other factors that should be considered (including tidal movements and sun exposure), it’s always interesting learning how “life” can be inferred on planets lightyears from our own, particularly as we may never get the chance to visit and test whether our hypotheses held true.

Only love,

Lucifer Read