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• Blurb:

As the universe approaches its cold and bitter end, humanity survives by hiding inside a constructed simulation. But inside, something is wrong. A plague of memory loss known as "The Forgetting" haunts humanity, and everyone has forgotten the doom they were escaping.

Mara Ward has spent years searching the dystopian landscapes of Egypt for answers to questions she can no longer remember asking. When fragments of cold reality begin to surface, she and her researcher Elin uncover a truth that could free humanity, or erase it entirely.

What if we wanted to forget...

The Memory of Stars is a character-driven action science fiction book. As the mystery unfolds, so too does the horror. The story contains themes of consciousness, identity, found family, and much more.

• Trigger Warnings:

Violence (No gore), Gun violence, death, depictions of memory loss and cognitive decline. Slavery and forced labour. Imprisonment and torture (references and briefly depicted). Body horror transformation. One non-explicit consensual sex scene between two adults. Grief and bereavement. Implied references

• Exact date of publication

December 1st 2026 - 83k words - Standalone book, no series

• The date you plan to send your ARCs to your team.

September 1st, 2nd, 3rd

• The date you expect your ARC team to finish the reading and submit their reviews by.

November 28th 2026

• Instructions/link for readers to sign up for your ARC.

Form here, please - https://forms.gle/YXbUiqkCTc8XsFWH7

• Countries available

All

A rich and detailed future Earth collides with forces beyond comprehension.

Follow Lina, a newly appointed operations commander, as she journeys across a war-torn England and into the sands of Jordan.

Will she unearth the secrets buried since the dawn of mankind? Or will she be too late to stop the inevitable doom.

Reviewers have loved the characters, the pace, the world-building and I'm sure you will too.

Find out:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0G5HPH7F1

Chapter One: Familiarity

Faded words lingered on a torn piece of paper that trembled in her hand, “Nobody used to be afraid of reality. Now everyone is. Remember your truth,” Mara wasn’t sure how long she’d been holding it, her fingers tracing the frayed edge along the top. Nor could she place where she had found it. The paper appeared as though it were the most important thing in the universe. Like the message itself was written for her, seemingly in her own pen. Though the scribbling was rushed. A shiver ran down her spine.

Impossible… 

Sensing its importance and not one for ignoring a mystery, she carefully folded it and placed it under the coat on her lap. I would have written that for a reason, she thought as she turned to the oval plane window. Below them was a rolling sea of sand. Dunes undulated like golden waves until the land met the hazy sky. The glare forced her eyes to narrow, reminding her of her relentless fatigue. She sighed and closed the blinds. Taking a large sip of her wine, she adjusted her pillow and drifted off to sleep.

The plane’s wheels slammed onto the old tarmac of Cairo International. Plumes of sand and superheated air blasted behind the speeding hyper-jet. Shards of rubber smacked into the fuselage and the attached delta-wing, and each hit violently echoed inside the metal shell.

Mara woke instantly and gripped the armrest with all her strength, but the jolt threw her forward anyway. A drink she’d left unsecured tumbled from the tray she’d forgotten to stow, and a surge of red wine soaked into her favorite jacket, a dark, aggressive stain that grew across the fabric like a premonition.

“Damn it – paper towel,” she said, as the darkness spread. “Now!”

Her assistant reacted immediately, fumbling and already apologizing.

The stain had spread fast, and the blotch claimed a panel of beige fabric. Waterproof my backside… She watched her young assistant do her best and noted a pang in her stomach. “Oh, just pass it here, girl,” she said, trying not to make it sound so impetuous.

“It’s okay, Ma’am, I can manage,” the assistant said.

Mara lowered her hand and nodded in approval.

Outside, her private hyperplane taxied toward a crumbling gate, its chrome body reflecting the decay of the airport like a distorted mirror. A hiss of pressure equalized the interior atmosphere, followed by the thud of heavy stairs hitting the floor. The Egyptian sun blazed into the cabin, instantly scorching the air, while beyond the terminal, the skyline flickered like frames of old footage, the buildings half-real in the heat. Elin, Mara’s assistant, was still busy trying to blot her jacket.

“We don’t have time for this,” Mara said as she stood and stepped out of the luxury cabin seat. “Elin, please can you grab our luggage?”

“You’re leaving this here?” Elin held up the sad, stained coat. She stood with the garment held firmly away from her. She had just washed her long blonde hair and was not about to let Mara's mistake stain her as well.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll get a new one when we get home,” Mara said, as she turned and made for the door. “Now come on, we’re going to be late.”

As she walked past, a tall man with fair hair stood from the pilot seat, “Sorry about the landing, Ma’am.” 

“That’s fine, Daniel,” Mara said, looking back at her coat. “Please, be careful while you wait for me. I’ve heard some local scavenger groups are targeting the hangars.” 

“Yes, ma’am. We are prepared,” Daniel said as he lifted his shirt to reveal the hilt of a pistol.

Mara nodded and tapped her own. Then, she carefully stepped down the burning steps onto the ground. The hot air stifled her breath as she turned back to Elin, “How did you find your first flight?”

“Amazing, thank you, Mrs. Ward,” Elin said. “My father always told me stories from his piloting days.”

“You certainly have a lot to thank your father for, darling.” Mara smiled. “And please, you can call me Mara. Mrs. Ward sounds like my mother.”

Funny. I can’t remember his face… I spoke to him the other day, or was that Edward? Mara thought as she strode cautiously into the abandoned terminal.

The airport was a skeleton of its former self. Dust-caked rails and boarded-up kiosks still haunted the vast, empty interconnected buildings. There were no other people in sight. They couldn’t even see a trace of footprints on the broken tile. It was as though time itself had forgotten this place.

Elin’s eyes darted from right to left, taking it all in, “It’s true then? All of this is true?”

“Yes, you didn’t believe the news?”

“Who does, right?” Elin said, sharing a knowing smile. “But the pictures made it seem so alive…”

“You’ve got me there. But it's all fake anyway,” Mara said, as she readjusted her oversized backpack. “Nobody comes here anymore, not since the war…”

“Wait. Quiet,” Mara said, her hand motioning towards her weapon.

Their footsteps echoed on the tiled floor. We should have known there’d be trouble…

The boarded-up, dilapidated shops all around them sent shivers down both of the women's spines. This was worse than they had thought, and not at all like the America they left behind. Each dark corner sent a rush of adrenaline through their system. Cracks of daylight blazed beams through the darkness. Mara hovered her hands above her holster. She watched the shadows dance with the breeze. As they progressed, a subtle wrongness wormed into Mara’s mind. She altered her pace and heard a footstep that was out of beat. Before she could react, a group of children sprinted up to Mara from the darkness, arms outstretched.

Their laughter bounced around the hollow terminal. They were running rings around her so fast that she couldn't keep track of any one of them, “I’m sorry, I don’t have money–”

A child grabbed Mara’s arm. Then another small child yanked at her other hand. She pulled back and forth; they were like hungry insects buzzing and digging into her pockets, searching for anything of value, anything to take back to their nest. 

One of the children kicked her so hard in the shin that it made her eyes water.

“Hey, stop!” She said, as she yanked her hand away, the force sent her gold watch flying. It landed with a crack on the ground. “No!” She said, shouting so loud it momentarily frightened all the children. Then, a voice called out into the silence in a muffled and foreign tongue. The terminal was quiet again. The rabid children immediately sprinted back into the shadows. Their muted laughter still haunted the humid air.

“Mrs. Ward! Are you alright?” Elin said, still holding a can of deodorant she had hastily retrieved and then unconvincingly held as a weapon. What she was planning to do with it, she wasn't sure.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Mara flustered, straightening her top. She checked that the children had gone, then lifted her empty wrist with sadness. The gold watch from her mother had cracked. Its face and hands were still visible. I'm sure Edward can repair this when I get home. She picked it up and put it in her pack.

“Lord, I heard this place was dangerous, but children?” Elin said, trying to shrug off her fear.

“I don’t think that’ll be the last. We’ll find a restroom near the exit and gear up,” Mara said. “I’d prefer not to wear it a moment longer than we need to. But it appears we should have considered doing it sooner.”

Mara and Elin fast-walked through the terminal. The map downloaded to their arm-mounted digi-pads displayed the rough route they needed to take. Deep in the depths of the building, they wound through a web of stairs and tunnels until finally, they entered a flickering corridor. Beyond that was their destination, a set of large restrooms and changing facilities.

They emerged many minutes later, better equipped for their journey ahead. Their old, baggy khaki cargo pants perfectly concealed their weapons underneath.

“Comms check,” Mara commanded.

“I read you loud and clear, Ma’am.”

“Good, the meeting point isn’t too far of a walk. I’ll send you the subway map.”

“We’re walking?! I thought we didn’t have time,” Elin said, the earlier excitement in the adventure had gone from her voice.

“I factored this in; we have time,” Mara said. “Just.”

Elin’s digi-pad bleeped. She studied the subway map and dreaded the journey to Giza in what she imagined would be total darkness.

Mara caught her wide-eyed stare, “Don’t look so glum, it’s safer than the streets,” she said, adjusting the headset on her head.

Elin was busy comparing the maps to her image; her fingers traced the glowing lines of the Cairo subway system. “A day’s walk in these tunnels? Are you sure the trains are gone?”

Mara nodded and then donned her oversized backpack and began to walk. 

Elin watched the satellite signal on her wrist-mounted tablet fade as they descended into the darkness. She flicked a headpiece down over her eyes, and the world became shades of green and grey. The eyepiece perfectly fit her thin face. But she could see Mara was still constantly adjusting hers. Each step they walked kicked up centuries of dust. 

The smell of old rusty iron was becoming overpowering. She stood for a moment; her legs unsettled in the dark, daylight behind her. It was like looking down the barrel of a gun. The lightless path ahead grew and shifted; she couldn't turn her gaze away. Shapes moved in the shadows.

“How is your father these days? Still recovering well?” Mara said, sensing Elin’s trepidation. “It’s been too long since I last spoke to him.”

“Yes, he’s doing fine now. The state provides for him well at the facility,” Elin said, her voice softening. “He has good and bad days, so they tell me.”

“Ha, don’t we all. I was sorry to hear what happened to him.”

“Not as sorry as mum,” Elin quietly whispered.

“We could have them transferred to the bunker? There's plenty of space these days. Derwin would look after him well,” Mara asked.

Elin smiled gratefully. Mara had been so generous in providing her with a grand space to live beneath her mansion. The Crypt, Mara called it. She didn't ask too many questions, but it certainly was anything but a place for the dead.

Mara put a hand out, and they walked together for a while, holding each other in the silent gloom of the abandoned Cairo subway.

After a few hours, they were directly beneath the city proper. The pair was making good time. They passed through ruins and long-abandoned dwellings, the air reeking of stale waste. I dread to think what the surface is like. She tapped her digi-pad and checked her vitals. “Let’s take a breather.”

Their backpacks simultaneously hit the ground. A cloud of dirt and soot billowed into the air. The tunnel they were in was a branching sprawl of tracks. Multiple converging lines made a wide, open, and dark space. Tactically, it gave them the best views down each path. They sat in silence for a moment, drips caused echoes that almost sounded like footsteps.

Elin sat uncomfortably as she forced down a nutrient bar, staring in horror at the piles of animal skeletons littering the tracks. “I can’t believe –”

An electrical pulse sound broke Elin’s words. The reverberating twang of high voltage was followed by a growing rumble.

“Hide!” Mara called out with urgent, quiet care.

The track itself shook with energy. The gravel beneath the grime rattled. The pair stood quicker than their bodies would normally allow. They grabbed their packs, ran, and tossed them up a nearby overhang.

Mara jumped, heat and pressure warnings on her digi-pad flared more than they should have. She caught the railing late and slammed into the brick gangway.

Elin soon followed cleanly. Of course, Mara’s eyes narrowed on the young woman. The pressure in her suit was reading low as they both flattened themselves against the stone.

Light flooded the grim darkness from the west. The low rumbling, like constant thunder and the occasional metallic screech, deafened both of the women. Mara had the best view; her right eye was marginally above the lip of concrete. A heavy, haphazard, and dilapidated train rolled past at a sluggish pace as if to scour for signs of life. Rusted sheet metal and spikes covered the exterior of the train. A long metal scoop sat on the front, hanging slightly above the rails. Sparks screeched through the air in all directions. Mara’s chest pounded with every deep and dust-filled breath. With her vision enhanced, she made out the shapes of a few men armed with machine guns from a forgotten war. Their bone-adorned garments clattered against their backs. Bonemen, they told me they were confined to the surface! 

The broken train rumbled past. Elin raised her head just as Mara swiftly held it down. Her finger pressed on her lips, and she locked eyes with her young assistant. 

The coast was not clear.

Behind the train was a procession of men. Armed with pipes and spiked bats. One carried something heavy that dragged across the wooden ties. Unease and confusion knotted in Mara’s chest as she observed them as they passed. Once the sounds and light faded, the two women gingerly stood back up. “I still think the tunnels are safer than the surface,” Mara said coolly. She checked her supplies; water coolant levels were running low – batteries at seventy percent. “We need to keep moving, or we’ll run out of power. We should pick up our pace.”

The grime and grunge continued for miles. Echoes like rattling bones kept the women alert, though there was no further sign of the bone warriors. The pair followed the green lines on their digi-pads, hoping that their landmark checkpoints were right. Then, after what felt like a lifetime, Elin sensed the path begin to incline. Finally, the tunnels gave way to the open air.

The fresh air, even with the arid heat and sand, was a welcome palate cleanser that made them both realize how foul the subway system truly was. Above them, twilight skies of purple and orange were beginning to reveal the flickering stars behind. 

“I’d forgotten what a clear night looked like,” Mara said, bathing herself in the moon's soft glow. “I'm glad your father persuaded me to have you join. We used to love sitting together on nights like this. I wouldn't want to have been down there alone.”

Elin nodded, “Were the stars always this bright?” She asked the heavens when, abruptly, the screen on her wrist flashed. “Signal received. We’re ten minutes out from our contact,” she said with renewed vigour.

The silent city of Cairo hung in the darkness behind them. Already fading from memory. Ahead, Giza and the ancient wonders waited for them on the horizon. Their triangular silhouettes pointed to the velvet sky and the stars beyond.

Did you make it here? Amazing! Thank you for reading.

If you'd like to be an ARC reader, the full book will be emailed to you in Sept/Oct ready for the December release. Standalone novel, roughly 75k words.

Be on the team by filling out this form -
https://forms.gle/NYbSzgqByNVwUnyx8

My ARC reader friends, I would like to present to you my upcoming novel, The Memory Of Stars.

72k words, 45 chapters, standalone novel.

Beyond the blurb, this is a story which I and alpha readers agree, is something different and unique. It's high stakes, action/adventure with some interesting plot twists that people haven't seen coming so far.

The world is a simulation, the characters knew it when they went in. But with their memories gone, they seek to unravel the mystery of the simulation, will they realize in time that the reality they escaped from was worse than the faulty simulation they forgot to remember exists?

We're talking high concept, high stakes, strong characters.

The story contains -

Female Main Characters

Simulation Theory

First Contact

Distopia

Found Family

Cosmic Dread

May not be appropriate for people with a strong fear of insects, horror, aliens.

Interested?

Publication date - Dec 1st 2026

Review by date - Nov 28th 2026

Please fill out the form below. I will be distributing copies in October and I would love to have you on the team.

https://forms.gle/VcC5kKJs4rzfEQQe9