A successful author whose first science fiction novel has sold more than 3,300 copies in
eight months has started to write the sequel.
Neil Stevenson, 61, of Kendal, said he was excited about the prospect of writing the follow-
up to The Email From God, revealing that the tone would be ‘much more sinister’ than the
first book and would resolve many of the plotlines in it.
Neil has also recently launched a website www.theemailfromgod.org where people can
learn more about the first novel.
Neil grew up in Nottingham, took a Geology degree at the University of Birmingham and
spent 15 years working in the oil industry on rigs all over the world. He moved to Kendal in
2011 and, having also previously trained as a geography teacher, spent three years doing
supply teaching at Queen Katherine School in the town.
His first book, a children’s story called The Borderlands, was published some years ago. His
science fiction novel, The Email From God, was published in June last year.
“I had the idea for The Email From God for at least ten years,” said Neil. “It was originally
borne out of the fact that, as a human race, we are absolutely destroying the world and
devouring its resources. It really is a serious situation that we are in and we are not doing
nearly enough about it.”
He said the aim of The Email From God was to both entertain and educate readers.
The idea behind the book is that everyone on the planet receives an email from God – a
universal consciousness – in January 2023. It includes a series of commandments, which
people are forced to act upon to improve the world and tackle issues such as climate
change, deforestation, pollution and rising sea levels.

The book is set in 2046, when the world has become a much fairer, peaceful and greener
place. A group of five scientists working at CERN on a project called Hindsight are preparing
to send information back in time on a tiny NanoChip to help people take action to avoid
natural disasters and human tragedies such as air crashes.
However, when the planet’s ruling elite manage to hijack Hindsight to send back artificial
intelligence programmes to seek out and destroy God’s email for their own monetary gain,
the five try to ensure that the content of the email can still be read by those in the past, by
hiding documents on the NanoChip, along with an artificial intelligence programme of their
own, with instructions to publish them as a book.
The novel does not follow a traditional form. About half is written as a record of
conversations between them using an app called Talk2Text. Neil’s name does not even
appear on the cover – instead Fahim Graham, a character in the book, is credited as the
author.
The book includes several references to Kendal and South Lakeland, including Sleddale
Forest between Kentmere and Longsleddale, as two of the characters grew up in the area.
“I spent a lot of time ensuring that quite a complex story is told in an easy-to-read way,”
said Neil, who also presents a music show on Lake District Radio every Sunday from 7pm-
9pm. “There is also quite a lot of humour in it.
“The reaction to the book has been very positive. It ends on a cliff-hanger and I have had
messages from people asking when the sequel is coming out.”
He said he already knew what would happen in the second book and has already started
writing it, with a view to it being published in 2024.
“I enjoy writing – I get lost in it,” said Neil. “The most I have done in one day is 12 hours.
Then suddenly you ‘come to’ and realise you need to eat!”
He added: “The high point of writing The Email From God was the reviews and also the
satisfaction of condensing all my thoughts about the problems humans have created into a
book.”
The Email From God is available in paperback on Amazon for £12.99 and in eBook format on
Kindle, under the author name of Fahim Graham.