My A-Z theme this year is a guide to my trilogy of novels called ‘The State Trilogy’. Set in an unnamed island country known only as ‘The State’, in the imagined near future, the books follow the intertwining stories of a number of characters, principally a State police detective named Danny Samson and an assassin, Gabriella Marino, over a period of six years. It begins with the assassination of an elected official and spirals into revolution and civil war. Part political thriller, action story, war story and dystopian science fiction, the trilogy took three years to complete and the books are available to read now – you can find links to purchase them HERE

In The State Trilogy, ‘X’ stands for:

Xavier: During the civil war of Central City, Samson and Gabriella use a pirate called Xavier to smuggle people out of the State and across the sea to mainland Europe in order to escape the fighting. The reference is of course intended to turn the current horrific immigration situation on its head. Currently, refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Europe travel through the European Union to France and try to smuggle themselves into Great Britain across the English Channel. Many die crossing the seas – both the Mediterranean and channel. People smugglers take advantage of the situation. The UK Government has been notoriously unsympathetic to the plight of these refugees, as has much of the public opinion in England. So, what if the situation was turned on its head? What if these people who care so little for those who have less than them, suddenly found themselves fleeing war and poverty and an oppressive government? Would their opinion change in that situation? Xavier is a people smuggler – a dubious and shadowy person, although his personality is big and broad. Unlike the real life smugglers, he cares for those he seeks to help rather than take advantage of them, and Gabriella and Samson trust him. Underneath his appearance as a pirate and smuggler, all may not be as it seems…

Xenophobia: The political class in The State are xenophobic, and that leadership over a number of years as led to the citizens of the state becoming conditioned to xenophobia too. Foreigners are rare, disliked, and many have left or have been forced to leave through government policy. This xenophobia has extended beyond racism and dislike of people to include the dislike of foreign things too. The inclusion of this theme within the books was a deliberate reflection on the way the current world seems to be heading, especially around the far-right views of Trumpism and the hostile environment of the Conservative government and Brexit within Britain.

Next up – Y is for: Yesteryear

All the entries in the A-Z of ‘The State Trilogy’ can be found HERE

The books are available from a wide selection of online retailers, including AMAZON