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Welcome to the website for the Viridian System series, a science fiction adventure for older teens and adults by Jemima Pett.

Things to do and see:

  • check out the Books
  • read the latest news and information on the blog
  • explore the characters in the books
  • sign up for the newsletter – with updates on book progress and special information for subscribers such as previews and offers.
  • follow the series and the author, Jemima Pett on social media

Use the menu bar above, or the social media buttons at the bottom to navigate around the site.

News

Plans for 2024

First off, I have no plans for further books in the Viridian series. Sorry. In person appearances I will be selling the paperbacks at Craft Fairs again this year. I have the following dates/venues booked. I may add more after the summer. These are all in Hampshire, UK, except Chichester, which is West Sussex. Prices …

Books

The Viridian System Series is an adventure in the far reaches of the universe, where people try to keep independent from those who want to ‘acquire’ their planet. It seems to tell the story of Big Pete and the Swede, and while they take up a lot of space, the women in their lives, Aramintha, Dolores and Maggie, gradually take over the important parts of the plot.

Series outline

Big Pete and the Swede, more correctly known as Pete Garcia and Lars Nilsson, are asteroid miners in the far reaches of the galaxy.  The asteroid belt of the Viridian System is rich in orichalcum, a rare, very useful, and therefore extremely precious metal, which everyone wants. The Imperium, a dominating oligarchy which masquerades as a benevolent democratic institution, wants it badly.  And after years of being happy just to trade it and leave others to do the dirty work, it wants to control it, like it does other useful things.

Planets that produce grain abundantly?  Take them over. Planets with the raw materials for plasglas? Turn them into manufactories.

The only organisation that seems to have any hope of opposing the Imperium is the Federation, and they aren’t strong enough to be everywhere at once. Besides, they have their own type of nasty dictator…

…and then, what would happen if there was a galactic disaster?

Continue reading “Books”

Characters

Big Pete

Known as Pedro Garcia, or Pete Garcia, Pete is called ‘big’ because he’s quite short – around 5ft 2in.  He’s a miner with a secret, which gradually emerges in book 1.  He’s a skilled pilot, and he can navigate asteroid fields like a dream.  He’s more introvert than the Swede, perfectly happy in his own company for long periods, and not really a party animal, although he’s happy socialising at the right time.  His favourite spare time occupation is designing new spacecraft and gadgets, especially things to improve the way they work up in the asteroid belt.

He’s a casual dresser, tidy, often in jeans and shirt with a cowboy look about him that goes well with his shaggy brown hair and droopy moustache.

The Swede

Goes by the name of Lars Nilsson, he’s tall (6ft 2in), blond and well-muscled.  Pete is muscled as well, but Lars tends to show his off more, since he has a tendency to walk around in shorts or less at home.  Lars is open, fun-loving and very fond of good-looking women, although he prefers them to have a good brain if he’s to enjoy their company long-term.  Like Pete, Lars is a good pilot, fond of racing, and a dedicated miner.  He enjoys keeping fit, especially running and surfing.

He takes care of his appearance, prefers a smart look like dark blue pants and white shirt, nothing ostentatious.

Aramintha

Tall, well-built, feisty, but with rigid self-control.  Aramintha gives the impression of having been born to greater things. She is knowledgeable about many aspects of space travel, and when challenged waves comments off with a story of helping her brother pass his exams.  She doesn’t find it easy to mix with other women, but rubs along with Dolores and Maggie since both of them spend time with Lars and Pete.  She may well feel that Lars could have been a suitable mate for her, if things had not gone so wrong with her life.  She is long past resentment, though whether she will exact revenge is something we will have to find out.

Aramintha’s backstory is told in this flash fiction story.

Dolores

Dolores is smart, easy-going, and very careful with her clients. Like most of the women in her situation she’s making the best of a bad thing.  Unlike some of them, she sees creating a classy appearance as a necessity, not a delight. She always looks well-groomed, but would rather be messing about in coveralls with something more practical, or at least intellectually stimulating.  She’s learnt to make herself useful as protection against ill-treatment, and caters for most of her clients’ appetites without necessarily enjoying it.  It’s just a job, one that she can’t get out of.

This piece of backstory gives a flavour of Dolores’ past life

Maggie

Maggie’s experience of being enslaved still gives her nightmares.  A slender, bubbly blonde most of the time, although her natural colouring is mousy, she knows how to make the most of her more athletic figure, even if the other girls have larger ‘assets’. She has a flare for homemaking and trained in the culinary arts.  She is always delighted to work for Pete and the Swede because they appreciate her cooking so much.

Get to know the characters better with these interviews on Jemima’s blog

 

Flash Fiction

The Viridian System series has three books, The Perihelix,  Curved Space to Corsair, and the last in the series, Zanzibar’s Rings.

There are also a number of related stories featuring Big Pete and the Swede, and other characters or places in the Viridian System’s universe.

How it started

The short story that started it all off was a piece of flash fiction called Paradisio.  The challenge for the piece was to do a mash-up of two films, and I got Casablanca and Star Wars.  Some refugees from the Imperium were after some free passes anyhere in the Galaxy that had somehow fallen into the hands of a bar owner in Paradisio – named Rick, of course.

Next came the Orichalcum Library – that was the title I got at random, and I had to look up what orichalcum was.  Some orichalcum miners, in from the asteroid belt, were old fashioned enough to want real books, and they asked Zito – who runs a bar on Pleasant Valley that seems remarkably like Rick’s at times – if he could lend them some. Zito managed to get some from someone who had taken them in exchange for food from some refugees from Paradisio with free passes anywhere in the Galaxy…

Then these orichalcum miners got names, Big Pete and the Swede, and they had some more adventures, often surreal.  Various properties of the asteroid belt were revealed on the way, like if you get too close, all your power dies.  Pete has a solar sail he can unfurl to help pull them out of danger when that happens.  One year they caught a passing angel – or was that the one with Father Christmas and his reindeer?  I forget the detail.

Continue reading “Flash Fiction”