A Melksham resident has released her first book, a sci-fi novel set in the near future where war is televised and turned into a reality TV show for entertainment.
The novel, titled ‘Ørma’ is the fir
st novel written by Jac Forsyth. “Ørma is a soft sci-fi set in the near future, so less about spaceships and more about humans,” said Jac. “It’s military, as in there’s a war and some of the characters are soldiers, but it’s also about D&D, reality TV and self-aware furniture. Anyone turning up for hard sci-fi will be wildly disappointed at the lack of subspace physics. I’m more interested in what stays the same than in what changes.”
As a Melksham resident, Jac often draws inspiration from seemingly unlikely areas of the town. She said she had ideas for the novel while running past the Cooper Tires site and often finds inspiration for her writing while reading poetry in local cafes.
Jac cites John Steinbeck as one of her other many inspirations for taking up writing. “I started writing seriously when I discovered John Steinbeck’s books, which would have been my early teens,” she said. “I used to take a notebook down to the river and write new stories for the characters. John Steinbeck isn’t an obvious choice for sci-fi fan fiction, but I was so immersed in his writing and I had to get it out of me.”
Jac advocates for gender diversity and representation within sci-fi. “This is a really exciting time to be a writer,” she said. “Indie publishing is thriving, and as a result, authors have far more control over creative content and the resources to get their books out into the world.”
Giving words of advice for aspiring writers, Jac said, “Don’t think too far ahead. Focus on the next step, and things will figure themselves out. Every writer has self-doubt—it’s a kind of stage fright. Be brave. Be brilliant. The world needs your voice now more than ever.”
The book’s blurb reads, “As a side character in an ancient game, Mac Eden’s only role is to ensure all the non-player characters don’t discover the game’s existence. When the game levels up and an extraordinary superspecies called the Mandolin emerges in Afghanistan, the NPCs do what they do best: declare war and make a reality TV show.”
Ørma is available for £11.99 on Amazon, Waterstones and Troubador Publishing.
