Brentford-based teacher Set To Publish Debut Novel
Dan Batchelor writes science fiction for young adults
Dan Batchelor
|
May 23, 2025
A Brentford-based primary school teacher is preparing to release his first science fiction novel which is aimed at young adults.
Dan Batchelor’s “Jack Palmer: A New Order” is due to be published on 24 June and is described as a fast-paced story about a young boy navigating an alien invasion.
Drawing from his personal experience of a late dyslexia diagnosis and his work in education, Dan created a protagonist who he felt reflected resilience, curiosity, and hope. He wanted to inspire his pupils, and young readers everywhere, that challenges don’t define your potential.
When aliens make contact with earth and peace negotiations go sour, Jack Palmer – along with the rest of the world – is forced into subjugation, readers are left asking ‘how would humans react to being contacted by aliens?’; ‘are we ready, if it came to it?’, and ‘is humanity doomed to violence?’.
His narrative aims to be a playful and fun introduction to science fiction whilst remaining rooted reality, dealing with topics including morality, power and friendship.
Dan says, “When I first started writing my first novel, it was a passion project for me to reimagine how so many sci-fi stories go. It feels surreal that it is now being released for anyone to read, and I hope whoever gets a copy enjoys it. As a teacher, I always look to inspire who I teach to follow their dreams. As someone with dyslexia when growing up I did struggle with grammar and spelling, but I never gave up or stopped trying, with the tools available now alongside the support of my family and friends it’s never held me back. If I inspire just one person through my story, I’ll be proud.”
Published by Cranthorpe Millner Publishers, Jack Palmer: A New Order (ISBN: 978-1-80378-287-4) will be available in paperback (£10.99) and Kindle format.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |