Doug Johnstone

Holy shit I LOVE this cover by Mark Swan. The new Skelfs book, THE OPPOSITE OF LONELY, coming in September from Orenda Books!

Pre-order here:

Print – https://geni.us/jPQXvu
Ebook – https://geni.us/LoBLS6

Pre-orders REALLY matter so don’t be shy!

Black Hearts is longlisted for the Theakston Award, alongside some absolute belters. Please vote for it here!

Well that was a blast! The Space Between Us featured on BBC Two’s Between the Covers last night, and they loved it.

…as a result, it shot up the charts, reaching #15 on Amazon’s overall book chart, and this:

Thanks to the producers, Sara Cox and the celebrities for making me and the book feel so welcome! You can catch up on iPlayer.

And I’ll leave you with some moody shots of me looking out to sea:

I am super-thrilled to officially launch The Space Between Us at my local bookshop in Porty on Wednesday 29th March. I’ll be chatting to Ann Landmann, founder and director of Cymera, Scotland’s festival of science fiction, fantasy and horror writing. I’ll no doubt play a few tunes as well. Tickets here.

I wrote a pretty honest feature for The Big Issue magazine about having a stroke, and how it drove me to write a science fiction novel. Check it out here. (Illustration below by Rosie Barker.)

My latest novel is out today! You can get it here in paperback, or here in ebook, or pick up copy at your local independent bookshop. I know for a fact that my local shop, The Portobello Bookshop, will have signed copies, so check them out if you want one. There should also be signed copies at independent shops across the UK, so do seek them out.

This book is a bit of a departure for me, my first science fiction novel, but the early response to the book so far has been absolutely incredible, so I want to say a massive THANK YOU to the authors, bloggers, reviewers and readers who have connected with the book and taken the time to write, post or talk about it. 

You can read more about the story below, but this is really a book about the importance of connecting to each other and the world around us. With that in mind, word of mouth is so important for books these days, so if you’ve read it and liked it – please tell someone, write a review, spread the word. Thank you!

Connecting will change everything…

_______________

Lennox is a troubled teenager with no family. Ava is eight months pregnant and fleeing her abusive husband. Heather is a grieving mother and cancer sufferer. They don’t know each other, but when a meteor streaks over Edinburgh, all three suffer instant, catastrophic strokes… 

…only to wake up the following day in hospital, miraculously recovered. 

When news reaches them of an octopus-like creature washed up on the shore near where the meteor came to earth, Lennox senses that some extra-terrestrial force is at play. With the help of Ava, Heather and a journalist, Ewan, he rescues the creature they call ‘Sandy’ and goes on the run. 

But they aren’t the only ones with an interest in the alien … close behind are Ava’s husband, the police and a government unit who wants to capture the creature, at all costs. And Sandy’s arrival may have implications beyond anything anyone could imagine…

I am absolutely thrilled that The Space Between Us has been chosen to be discussed on BBC2’s Between the Covers, hosted by Sara Cox. Can’t wait to watch. More details here.

All six of my books published by Orenda are on sale on ebook for the whole of January. This is frankly crazy, but I love it. Click on the links below to fill yer boots. Happy 2023!

Black Hearts
The Great Silence
The Big Chill
A Dark Matter
Breakers
Fault Lines

Just arrived! So excited to see this one in the flesh. A first-contact thriller set in the Scottish Highlands, a book about connection and our place in the universe. Out 16.3.23, pre-order here:

The Great Silence – amzn.to/3wsLNjd
Breakers – amzn.to/2Xc40jk
The Big Chill – https://amzn.to/3nlK8Hu

The Big Chill – https://geni.us/5elIaA
The Great Silence – https://geni.us/d1WUMJp

A Dark Matter – https://amzn.to/2E4wLdc
The Big Chill – https://amzn.to/3f2GP6J
The Great Silence – https://amzn.to/3gDtSQ1