Author: Emily Chance

At the age of 63, I began writing, and now, six years later, my first novel is to be published.

Overview

Update Febuary 2026

The Route to Publication

The manuscript has been proofread, the corrections signed off and returned to the publishers.

The various ideas for the front cover are under review.

Short teasers have been produced for each of the tales and further reels offering more background on why I write, literary and cinematic inspiration are in preparation.

Background

Hermes is a cycle of four tales, which pass through time, each set in a different era, driven by character and connected by an overarching narrative. The tales’ principal storytelling mode is historical and is enriched by glancing at elements of fantasy and speculation over their journey of 12,000 years of alternative history.

Each element is anchored in relatable characters (Erihapeti and Nikau, Eawynn and Edmund, Wynn and Robert, Elizabetha and Jake), beset by humanity’s greed and rottenness. Through them, we explore the essence of being human.

Synopsis

When the Hermes Project, humanity’s most ambitious space mission, returns to Earth decades too early, unchanged by time and heavy with secrets, the world demands answers. Elizabetha Chandrika—the brilliant architect behind the mission—remains elusive.

As governments, corporations, and hidden powers scramble to understand what went wrong, a far deeper truth begins to emerge—one that stretches across centuries, links ancient encounters to future technologies, and challenges humanity’s belief that exploration is always a right. The mission was never just about reaching another world. It was about whether humanity could be trusted with what it might find. Hermes and its four tales offer an answer.

Sweeping from deep space to forgotten histories, from scientific ambition to quiet acts of courage, this novel weaves hard science with myth, love, and sacrifice. At its heart lies a haunting question: what if the future has already judged us—and acted accordingly?

An epic, thought-provoking work of genre-defying fiction, this is a story about guardianship, destiny, and the fragile hope that one day humanity may be ready to hear the song it has long ignored.

Further Questions.

This page is intended as a gateway. I welcome questions and messages on Facebook and TikTok. Find me at Emily Chance Author.

For the moment, though, the priority is to find ways to spread the message amongst the book-reading community and to ensure the story of Hermes is a journey that enquiring minds want to take.

Emily Chance

About Emily

Emily Chance has been writing her highly regarded blog about her great passion, music, a theme which underscores Hermes, for almost two decades.

The publication of Hermes, her epic first novel, will signal the beginning of her journey as an author, with a follow-up story, Angelia, already written.

Emily is a keen hiker. So, when she is not writing at her home in the Middle East, she can be found at different points in the year in the Alps of Switzerland, the mountains of New Zealand and the South Island of Japan, reminding herself of how precious and unique our homeworld is.