Goblin author & MA Creative Writing graduate secures Creative Scotland funding for 2nd novel

A proto-version of HellSans appears in Gutter 16, out soon

Last month we were proudly showcasing the cover of Goblin, a novel by MA Creative Writing graduate Ever Dundas, to be published by Freight in May. But the good news doesn't stop there - Creative Scotland has just announced funding for Ever's work on her second novel, HellSans.

It's a great boost for Ever who has fibromyalgia, a chronic condition with symptoms that include chronic pain, exhaustion and cognitive problems. The illness forced her to give up part-time work, so the funding will go a long way to help her keep writing.

HellSans is a near-future sci-fi thriller with lashings of body horror. Ever calls her fun action thriller an excoriating indictment of normative society and the current UK government. Here's a blurb for the work in progress:

HellSans is a ubiquitous font; when exposed to it, most people experience contentment, but a minority are allergic. The HellSans allergy sufferers (HSAs) are persecuted and live in poverty in a ghetto on the edge of the capital city. 

Jane, CEO of the company that manufactures the Inex (a cyborg doll-like creature that replaces mobile phones) is successful and famous until she falls ill with the allergy and becomes embroiled in a government conspiracy. She loses her job and her wealth, ending up in the ghetto where she meets Icho, a scientist who has invented a cure for HSA.

Icho is on the run from governmental factions and The Elegy Seraphs (the ghetto ‘terrorist’ group), who have their own agenda for the cure. Jane and Icho work together to expose government corruption and bring the cure to the ghetto.