It’s funny how much of yourself you leave behind when you write a book. TRUST came out 12 years ago today. A couple of years later, I was struggling with a bout of depression that felt like it came out of the blue. Looking back at TRUST, though, the warning signs were definitely there.
If you haven’t read it, TRUST is my first contact novel. The most consequential event in human history takes place at the backend of nowhere. It’s a story about mistrust and paranoia, because while several hundred stranded aliens are welcomed with open arms by virtually the entire population of the planet, there are a few individuals who don’t subscribe to the propaganda and hype. Everything adds up – they’re here because their ship is crippled, not because they’re planning to invade, and the relationship between the two species blossoms because both sides seem to have nothing to lose and everything to gain. But the same few folks remain steadfastly unconvinced.
Tom Winter is something of a loner. He has escaped from the daily grind and moved to a new home where, he initially believes, he’ll have everything he needs. He’s an introvert who refuses to buy into the narrative that has everyone else suckered in. Is he right about the aliens? If he is, then about seven billion other people around the world are wrong. And even if he is right, in the face of such overwhelming adversity from everyone else, will following his gut ultimately do him any favours?
I’m very proud of this book. Like Tom against the rest of the world, it stands on its own in my bibliography. With the benefit of hindsight, I now appreciate it on a whole other level. Without wanting to sound too pretentious, it’s a glimpse of the me I used to be, refusing to listen to what anyone else had to say, all the time shutting more and more people out and becoming increasingly isolated as the rest of the world moved on around me.
CRAIG PATON (who designed the otherworldly cover art), coined the phrase anti-science fiction to describe the novel, and it stuck. That felt like a perfect description, because despite the world-changing events that occur throughout the story, it’s not really about any of that. It’s about how Tom copes (or doesn’t cope) with everything.
The German edition is currently out of print (I’d love to track down a copy if anyone has one?) and that’s frustrating because the book hit the top of the Amazon charts there back in 2014. Lots of people seemed to enjoy it, but not everyone. The novel earned me possibly my favourite bad review of all time, when a disgruntled reader sent me a long and venomous diatribe that concluded with a barrage of swear words and calling me a wanker. Charming (but probably justified).
If you’ve not read it, TRUST is available from all the usual places as an eBook, paperback, and audiobook (expertly read by STEVE WAWMAN). You can pick up signed copies from www.infectedbooks.co.uk as well as eBay and Etsy.
Have a read and let me know if you think I’m a wanker too!
