The secondary world of my cli-fi series There Is Hope—a post-apocalyptic Europe in ~2550 CE devastated by climate change—is captivating more and more readers, and some of you started calling it the Dust Road. Thanks, I’m adopting this name 🙌! You are even trying the Dust Road snacks in real life with more or less successful results 😅.
As a thank you for your interest in my worldbuilding, I want to create a new series called Memories of Life and Death on the Dust Road. This will be a collection of ~15 letters from the future that depict life on the Dust Road, written from the perspective of secondary characters from There Is Hope.
The scope of these letters from the future is to give a voice to the future generations who will live with the consequences of climate change, hoping that they will inspire us to take action before it’s too late and bring hope for a better future.
The letters will be published monthly starting September 2024. The goal is to complete the Memories of Life and Death on the Dust Road series by the end of 2025.
Here are some examples of letters from the future:
Deya and Sayuri Santos will curate an exhibition called ‘Memories of Life and Death on the Dust Road’ in the Museum of Life
As longtime readers of There Is Hope, I invite you to participate creating these letters from the future by answering some questions👇.
What would you like to know about the Dust Road?
Are there any characters from There Is Hope you would love to hear from?
Are there any aspects of the Dust Road that caught your attention?
Are you interested in learning more about a specific colony? The Japanese Seaweed Colonies, Seed Growers Colonies, North Colonies Alliance, Siberian Cooperatives or the Dust Tribes?
Would you like the letters to address specific topics such as water and food shortages, ecosystem loss, social structure, climate immigrants etc.?
And of course, I'm biased towards the Japanese seaweed colonies... and towards how you envision social structure & culture shifting with climate migration but like others have mentioned, I'll read anything you share with us!
Hi Claudia. I would like to know if any of the factions you've created have expansion rather than just survival as a strategy, and if so, how might any resulting conflict(s) play out?
I’m with Nathan, I’ll read anything you share with us! I’m hitting the Japanese specialty store next weekend to find a better tasting brand of seaweed snacks.
I'm squarely in the "I will read whatever you put out" category. :)
But of that list, Seaweed Colonies or more from Seed Growers.
PS I quite like seaweed snacks. They're a little thin on substance, but the texture and flavour are fine by me.
Thanks, Nathan. I'll definitely include those in this series.
I think that in Australia you must get the good Japanese stuff…
Ok, after all the talk about seaweed I feel like I have to hit the store & really sample what Japan has to offer. Snack haul coming to Notes soon? :D
But I'm curious about what you have in Australia too!
Yes, please! Because the seaweed products of the Japanese colony makes kick-ass snacks, I'm certain of it!
I'm excited for your new writings!
And of course, I'm biased towards the Japanese seaweed colonies... and towards how you envision social structure & culture shifting with climate migration but like others have mentioned, I'll read anything you share with us!
Thank you, Vanessa, I will definitely get more into the social structures of the Dust Road factions.
Hi Claudia. I would like to know if any of the factions you've created have expansion rather than just survival as a strategy, and if so, how might any resulting conflict(s) play out?
I’ll expand on the intentions and aspirations of the different factions. This is a great idea.
I’m with Nathan, I’ll read anything you share with us! I’m hitting the Japanese specialty store next weekend to find a better tasting brand of seaweed snacks.
Thank you, I'll try my best to come up with interesting letters from the future.
I'm looking forward to the seaweed snacks tasting notes. I'll check if there's anything worth trying around where I live. This is fun!
This looks like a great project!
Thank you, Larry!