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"A cerebral space thriller that trades explosions for existential dread—and wins."
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"This isn't loud sci-fi. It's haunting sci-fi"
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"Explores what happens when a normal person is forced to accept losses and still carry on because the stakes are too high to give up."
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"Thought-provoking, intriguing... lives in the realm of 'what if.'"
The ESV Thorfinn’s mission to the exoplanet Tyche was supposed to be simple: investigate a communications blackout, fix the problem, return home.But their lander explodes on entry.Stranded on a barren alien world, Dr. Karin Amani finds the research base abandoned and her squad scattered. The pale vegetation engineered to terraform the planet has grown completely out of control —and it’s hungry for more.As she searches for survivors, Karin uncovers a disturbing truth: this mission was compromised from the start. Someone knew what she’d find down there.Now she faces an impossible choice between her own survival and stopping a contamination that could destroy humanity.A gripping survival thriller for fans of The Martian and Annihilation.
Hard science fiction
Standalone short novel ~48,600 words
Available ebook, paperback & KU
A millennial who grew up reading everything from Taoist philosophy to Dune's endless sand, which explains both his existential dread and his love for hostile planets.REMISSION is his first indie release: a survival novella about a doctor, a deadly planet, and the very bad decisions that brought them together.He took a professional course in literary editing, which means he can tell you exactly why your manuscript doesn't work while his own sits unfinished. He also lived in Ireland for a bit, where he learned top-level self-pity that worsened his writer's imposter syndrome. When not writing, he practices professional-grade procrastination.Recently he started Procrastinator Press — which should tell you everything about my relationship with deadlines — a mailing list documenting his journey through publishing, one failure at a time.He currently lives on Earth, where he divides his time between writing, reading, and wondering if Matt Damon is available for adaptations.
Procrastinator Press is where I document the unglamorous reality of being a debut author: the process, the industry, the failures, and the occasional thing that accidentally works. No productivity hacks. No "10 lessons I learned from writing my debut novel." Just an irregular newsletter for fiction lovers and creative masochists. Monthly(ish) short stories, commentary, and mild existential dread.
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Damova
Writing fiction. Eventually.
© 2026 M. R. Damova. All rights reserved.