Six years ago, Steve Parker - pen-name Carl Jamieson - began writing a novel during a holistic holiday on the Greek island of Skyros, which was run by Shanklin-based holiday company, Skyros.

Steve, who grew up on the Isle of Wight, undertook a second writers’ course on the inspirational island and the novel began to take shape.

When the pandemic hit, events in the book seemed strangely familiar.

The Patmos Revelation, a near-future dystopian thriller, has now been published, leaving the author wondering whether any more of the strange story will come true.

Isle of Wight County Press: The cover of the new book was designed by Isle of Wight company, New Fusion Media. Photo: Steve Parker.The cover of the new book was designed by Isle of Wight company, New Fusion Media. Photo: Steve Parker. (Image: Steve Parker)

If the idiom, truth is stranger than fiction, has any bearing on reality, then we could be in for a wild ride.

Steve went to schools in Ventnor and Medina, graduated in physics from Bath University and then was awarded a doctorate from Warwick University.

After pursuing a scientific career in the West Country, he moved back to Shanklin on the Isle of Wight with his family, working for Rheinmetall Electronics UK Ltd in Newport, where he designed processing algorithms for the Trailblazer driver vision system for military vehicles and other products.

He took early retirement but immediately faced lockdown as the pandemic struck - a perfect time and place for refining his dystopian novel.

An Isle of Wight graphics design company, New Media Fusion, supported him by taking cover artwork from concept to polished product.

Steve’s novel follows the protagonist Arlo Jones after he detects a strange signal from an exoplanet orbiting a distant star.

Shocking events unfold, which appear bizarrely connected to his discovery, threatening his family, sanity and even freedom of the world.

Set in 2052 the genre is, strictly speaking, near-future science fiction. But, at its heart, the story is about human vulnerability, loss, and conflict.

CLICK HERE to see The Patmos Revelation, which is available from Amazon in both e-book and paperback formats.