New Europa Blog

As an indie author I am grateful for each reader. Of course, reviews are essential for attracting new readers to share my story. I am pleased to have joined the Book Sprout community of book reviewers and am giving away 200 copies of Colony's Dawn in exchange for requesting voluntary, honest reviews. Get a free reviewer copy at Book Sprout

Colony's Dawn is book one and is a complete story with no cliffhanger to force you into the next books. Of course, I'd love for you to read them all and hopefully enjoy the ride. I am looking for honest reviews and hope some who take the freebie will return the favor with a few minutes to write some comments here and/or on Amazon. Thanks in advance. Book One Blurb: Can life maintain its tranquility in a sealed colony of just over 50,000 people after 200 years? Residents have never seen outside the walls and domes, many alive never will. Terraforming may make it possible for the younger generations, but some have tired of waiting, grown discontent with colony life, and have turned to conspiracy theories and sabotage. Truth seekers or terrorists? Gift Ojo, a 26-year-old full of joy and innocence, is forced to trade her peaceful life for one of chaos. Will she rise to the challenge of protecting her colony despite accusations of her being one of the very saboteurs she must stop? H...

 The audiobook of Colony's Dawn is now on Amazon, Audible and iTunes. While I love reading, sometimes being read to is nice. 😊

The character in a book I'm reading (Departure by A.G. Riddle) is an aspiring author and seems to know why we read books.   “To me, this is what great books are about, revealing our own lives ..a way only stories can; we see ourselves in the characters, our own struggles and shortcomings, in a way that's nonthreatening and nonjudgmental. We learn from the characters; we take those lessons and inspiration back to the real world.” I aspire to have a character I create reach such a lofty goal.

 The New Europa Trilogy Kindle / Unlimited / Paperback / Hardcover

Audiobook production has begun. I think the narrator's voice is a good match for the book, lending excitement to the characters and bringing the story to life.

Book three of the New Europa trilogy is completed and published for Kindle and print-on-demand. Colony's End completes the saga and wraps things up nicely. See how things turn out for Gift and her beloved colony.

Wow! Book 3 is looking ready to go. The cover art is amazing. I can hardly believe I've completed the New Europa trilogy and saw this story and Gift to a fantastic conclusion.

 While it has a way to go for editing and rewriting, the draft of Colony's End is finished, from prologue to all fifty chapters to epilogue. The final volume of the trilogy wraps up the main story for Gift and her companions. What a ride it has been to write. I hope some find it an enjoyable read and fun journey to take.

On Colony's Dawn: Book One of the New Europa Trilogy:  I was impressed with this book and definitely recommend it to Science Fiction lovers. The story is well written. The word choices are excellent. They demonstrate the richness and diversity of the English language, and the author's familiarity with human quirkiness. They also reveal the author's knowledge of computer systems, and make the technical details plausible even if the reader is unfamiliar with them. The anticipation of the next events makes the story exciting and suspenseful. The author seems to have a grasp of women's feelings and sensitivities which is very touching. He captures the emotions of the characters in a very realistic way. I look forward to reading the 2nd book of the trilogy. Kudos to this first time author!

 Book two is on pre-order on Amazon for Kindle. It is also available as a paperback or hardcover via on demand print.

I am very excited for the progress of the book two, Colony’s Fall, cover artwork. It captures a hint of the changed lives of Gift and her friends. While following a similar aesthetic to book one’s cover to be a harmonious part the trilogy, the style is unique to this volume. I cannot wait for people to see it… Colony's Fall is coming soon.

It was a pleasure to engage in a written interview with the folks at The Bookshelf Cafe News. To talk about my writing and my first completed novel, the characters in it, was a thrill. It gave me the chance to consider things about myself, my stories, and the people I created to fill them in new and deeper ways.  Read the interview here .

I joined the Goodreads community as an author and have begun discussing my book as well as the writing and publishing process with readers and authors alike. It is a great community not just for getting my book out there, but for finding new content to add to my personal “want to read” list and reading book reviews from other passionate readers. If you are a reader, I highly recommend the  Goodreads  site. Colony’s Dawn on Goodreads  

Imagining characters and giving them personality is one of the joys of writing. Action sequences are fun to explore, let the mind visualize, conceptualize, and then find the words to describe it in a way that gives the reader a clear picture of events. Hopefully an enjoyable one. To me, character development is vital to a good story, whether reading or watching one on screen. As a writer it is a crucial aspect of storytelling as a good story must be based on likable and believable characters. As the vision of New Europa filled my mind, and scenes of everyday life emerged, the main character formed into Gift Ojo. Living in Milan I am surrounded by Italian culture. Mixed with that are a surprising blend of African cultures among other nationalities of expats and migrants. I personally have many friends who are Italian-Nigerian. Gift Ojo, the young woman with the Nigerian name and the blend of two rich cultures sprang from such influence. The pace of the first few chapters of book one ...

Book two of the trilogy is written and full of action and adventures not previously imaginable for our friends of New Europa. The story takes Gift and her companions into challenges and situations that will test their resolve and threaten the future of their colony and all of humanity.   The long editing process is well underway, with the final rewrites of key scenes completed. The tedious proofreading and error checking is being done presently and the latest volume should be available by end of November or early December.   I am super excited to release this soon.

In the prologue we meet Raffaella Di Gaetano, friend and mentor to Gift. The tone for the challenges our characters will face are laid out for us in the opening sequence. We see events from Raff's perspective as she discovers the first traces of malcontent and conspiracy theories in the colony. A true Italian descended from Milan, Raff loves Italian food and music. Of course, her favorite drink is red wine. Not the most abundant in the small colony, they do keep the heritage alive with small crops of grapes and classic wine-making techniques.  While not the true believer Gift is, Raff is optimistic and levelheaded in her outlook on life. Her curiosity leads her down the path of secret chat groups and back-alley meetings to discover that the life everyone thinks they are living may be based on lies.

 Book one is published 😎 What a journey to write, edit, rewrite, refine, and finally publish book one of the New Europa Trilogy. An idea born from current events and forecasts for the future survival of the human race. Where will we be two hundred fifty years from now? What is the life Gift and her friends live and enjoy, is it what they believe it to be? What challenges and decisions will they face and what will become of the New Europa colony?  Colony's Dawn takes us on a journey of friendship, meaning, and purpose with Gift and her companions. I hope you enjoy the journey. ~ N. Joseph Glass