1. Dust is a danger to starships. It’s enough of a problem here on Earth, but out in space it’s an ever-present hazard that erodes external shielding, clogs up mechanisms an instruments, and sneaks into all the little cracks between pieces of precision engineering

2. When the crew aboard the Athenia think about dust storms and heatwaves “back home”, they’re really thinking about our future — the future of Earth — turned up to eleven. All over the world, we’re already seeing the wild natural phenomenon spurred by changes in the climate: dust storms, rising temperatures, warmer oceans, erratic rainfall, bushfires. And most places can expect more of this unless we, as a global population, do better.

3. But doing better is complicated because we each have unequal amounts of privilege, power and access with which to make a difference. After all, what does “shopping sustainably” mean for someone living in a food desert or in an impoverished part of the country? Yet We Sleep doesn’t explore this in detail, but it does (tacitly) acknowledge the coexistence of unequal privilege, self-denial of personal power, and the struggle to reach a Happily Ever After.

4. Even though the biggest changes need to come from governments and industry leaders, there’s actually a lot that ordinary folks can do to develop a culture of care. And indeed it starts with care — for yourself and your community, before it can properly translate to caring for the environment. Once you’ve figured out what your Climate Superpower is, taking action seems much more straightforward. By the way, my superpower is Culture. What’s yours?

5. This book is a love letter to the teenaged first-generation immigrant I once was as well as to the person I hope to be. It’s a 63,000-word wish that we learn to care for ourselves, for each other, and for the planet we call home. Does love still exist on your world? asks the god-queen Titania. Yes, I say, and hope it’s enough to save us.

Yet We Sleep, We Dream by JL Peridot

Love triangles get bent out of shape when restless gods come out to play.

Relationships are complicated enough when only humans are involved — something the crew of the

starship Athenia know plenty about.

These children of a changing climate are no strangers to conflicts ofthe heart. And it seems there's a lot of conflict going on, even out in space.

When an alien dust finds its way on board, the veil between realms begins to fray. Old gods of a long dead planet resume their own romantic bickering while ancient magic wreaks havoc across the ship.

Grudges resurface, friends turn to enemies, unrequited love turns to passion — or does it? It's kinda hard to tell

with everyone at each other's throats.

Gentles, perchance you wonder at this show; but wonder on, till truth make all things plain. Yet We Sleep,

We Dream is a romantic space-fantasy inspired by Shakespeare's endearing hot mess, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

"I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was."

— Bottom, A Midsummer Night's Dream

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About JL Peridot

JL Peridot writes love letters to the future on devices from the past. She's a qualified computer scientist, former website maker, amateur horticulturist, and sometimes illustrator. But most of the time, she an author of romantic science fiction. She lives with her partner and fur-family in Boorloo/Perth, Australia, on Whadjuk Noongar country.

Visit her website at jlperidot.com for the full catalogue of her work.