#AmQuerying
Karin … that’s my name in everyday life. A moniker not recorded on official documents, due to a peculiar Dutch tradition of bestowing multiple official names on one’s progeny, then using an entirely unrelated, unregistered calling name.
I was born and raised in the Netherlands. After brief stopovers in Luxembourg and France I landed in the UK, where I have lived for over twenty years now. English is my second language, a language that I cherish above all others.
I am a mathematician and writer, passionate about both. I completed several writing/editing courses, am a beta reader and member of two critique groups. I attend workshops for autistic writers, occasionally presenting exercises, contributing to anthologies and their ‘The Space Beyond’ magazine.
The Stench
YA, Speculative, SFF, Apocalyptic, #ND #Own; 81,830 words
The War Between the Land and the Sea x A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
Illness – Cure – Curse
Chrissy Walker
Age: 17
#9,137 of 15,908 infected worldwide;
Symptoms: patient emits ‘putrid-fish-stirring-slurry-pit’ odour;
Cure: No known cure
Infected with The Stench and hunted by authorities, Chrissy flees with her dads to the woman she’s named after, but has never met. As she connects with an ancient subterranean species and frees other Stench victims from a defence lab, an initially harmless common cold sweeps the Earth, before killing all infected, bar those marked with The Stench. Her fathers desperately ill, Chrissy unravels what happened, and realises the worst is yet to come.
For a 1,000-word sample, click here
The Stench is set in various parts of the UK.
Trimethylaminuria, the Mycorrhizal network and Celtic mythology of Thin Places, are the inspiration behind The Stench.
Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) is a syndrom which causes the body to be unable to break down an organic compound called trimethylamine, a chemical which smells like rotten fish, leading to a fishy body odour. The Mycorrhizal network, a.k.a. the Wood Wide Web, combines my backgrounds and interests in mathematics and microbiology.
Dig Two Graves …
YA/Crossover Adult, Speculative SF Thriller; 81,100 words
The Spy Coast x Alias Emma
She escaped the people who made her – now they want their weapon back
They taught her not to feel; now she fights for the ones she loves
Morgan has spent her life believing she is like any other girl raised by loving parents in a Hong Kong basement apartment. Then her new philosophy tutor, Yǔzé, helps her uncover the truth: the Lis abducted her shortly after she was born.
Morgan escapes, determined to claim her freedom. But the Lis will do anything to retrieve their most valuable asset.
As Morgan builds a found family in Canada and begins to understand what it means to be human, the Lis close in. To protect the people she loves, Morgan must confront the ones who raised her; and decide whether she can be more than the cold and ruthless tool they designed.
For a 1-chapter sample, click here
Dig Two Graves … is inspired by my experience as a mathematician, and Confucius’s quote: ‘When you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves’.
Settings: Hong Kong, Newfoundland and London.
Themes: Identity, found family, trust, survival, humour, romance subplot,what defines a human, double agent. Diverse cast.
Series potential: Yes.
Shortlisted, WriteMentor 2025 Novel Awards (Adult category)
Winner, SCBWI January 2025 Slush Pile Challenge (YA)
Third Place, WestWord 2025 First Chapter Competition
Shortlisted, Page Turner Golden Writer Award 2025
‘I loved the concept, and I absolutely adore a twist in the tale.’
‘The first sentence drew me in straight away and was followed by a strong voice and vivid descriptions.’
Incendiary Ascent
Teen/YA, Speculative, Sci-Fi, Action/Adventure; 83,000 words
Percy Jackson x Guardians of the Galaxy x Skyward
Blood is thicker than water – Unless the planet is about to explode
Saving Earth wasn’t on her to do list
Fifteen year old Misha is thrilled to be recruited by an interstellar organisation who audits developing planets – including Earth. But when she uncovers a conspiracy by DOMINIAN, a rogue faction led by the woman she believed was her mother, Misha becomes their primary target. DOMINIAN plans to seize global power using a planet destroying weapon, and Earth’s audit provides the perfect cover. As sabotage, betrayal, and assassination attempts close in, Misha must decide: family and a crown, or foil the plot and save her planet.
For a 1-chapter sample, click here
The idea for Incendiary Ascent struck during a news segment that jumped from accountancy to human‑driven climate change. I found myself wondering what might happen if an interstellar organisation existed to audit developing species – and Earth’s assessment was next. That question became the foundation of U.W.A.P., ten minutes later, they’d recruited Misha.
Themes: Identity, found family, trust, survival, humour, romance subplot, double agent.
Settings: Earth, various other planets.
Series potential: Yes.
The Second Choice Den
YA/Crossover, Speculative, Science Fiction, Adventure, #ND #Own; 89,000 words
Percy Jackson x Eternals
‘Humans will be rarer than the North Atlantic right whale,
of whom there are fewer than 370 left’
A planet on the brink of collapse.
Extra-terrestrials, about to remove humans from Earth’s equation.
Six teens and a whale watching boat captain.
A power-mad president, remnants of the CIA, armed to the teeth.
Humanity was never closer to extinction.
Sarah (15, ‘yes’ to engineering, cheese and dark chocolate, ‘NO!’ to pink) and her friends have three things in common: they are autistic, attend the same special needs class (Second Choice Den) and are about to go on a whale-watching trip.
Lucas (autistic whale-watching boat captain) receives a visit from an extra-terrestrial: to prevent a man-made catastrophe which would wipe out all life on Earth, an Interstellar Assembly (I.A.) will Reset the planet – minus humans. Lucas (1 of 13 humans with a special string of DNA) must select seven ‘suitable’ companions for a restart. After Charlotte, his marine biologist tour-guide (romance subplot), he draws a blank.
3,000 miles south, the CIA, informed of alien intent, – wrongly – assume that killing Lucas will prevent the Reset. They choose the day of the teens’ whale-watching trip. The assassination fails, the boat’s a goner, but Lucas found his remaining companions.
After the Reset, the teens and Charlotte move into Lucas’s home in Maddox Cove. The teens prepare a defence – just in case– but with weapons vetoed by the I.A., creativity and autistic hyperfocus gear into overdrive.
In a special bunker, president Drum survives with some military. Drum’s plan: capture Lucas, establish New Washington in Newfoundland. After an ill-planned initial attack the CIA flee.
In response to the violence, the I.A. decide to remove all humans after all. But Sarah has a plan to survive.
During the CIA’s next assault, one teen comes out worse for wear, dangling head down from a window at home. At a hospital in town, Sarah is taken hostage.
Final confrontation: president Drum drown at sea (mirroring the assassination attempt on Lucas’s boat), and an overland squadron is trapped in Lucas’s garden. One CIA agent escapes, taking (non-verbal) Alex hostage. In a former masonic temple, Alex, with an unlikely ally (long-lost brother subplot) overpowers his captor.
For a 1-chapter sample, click here
The Second Choice Den is a stand-alone parallel to Between Scylla and Charybdis.
Settings: Newfoundland.
Themes: Identity, acceptance, found family, lost sibling, survival, humour, romance subplot.
Series potential: Yes.
Diverse cast, neurodivergent protagonists (OwnVoices).
Between Scylla and Charybdis
Adult, Speculative, Science Fiction, soft, dystopian; 92,500 words
Axiom’s End x Eternals
“Seeing eight billion humans erased from Earth because of an Event I rubber-stamped
… How do you think that feels?”
As if a Reset of Earth alone isn’t bad enough, Caila must select 7 companions for a human restart. As unintended survivors reignite war, and an alien leader discovers what’s hidden in Caila’s DNA, it may well be Farewell H. sapiens forever … Unless Caila can convince the leader of the extra-terrestrial’s Interstellar Assembly otherwise.
Extra-terrestrial, Mateos, tells 53-year-old, accident-prone mathematician Caila, a man-made catastrophe is about to annihilate all life on Earth. To avert an all-species disaster, the Interstellar-Assembly (I.A.) intends to Reset humanity. All they ask of Caila, is to agree and select seven companions for a restart.
When Caila accidently changes her husband’s DNA – I only touched him! – , Mateos confesses she possesses a copy of his sister’s genetic material, giving her some not so human skills. After dodging a pre-Reset MI5 assassination attempt, post-Reset, Caila and her companions are joined by 12-year-old accidental survivor, Rebecca, who wants to become a vet like companion Peter.
MP-with-PM-ambitions, Baldwyn, survives and attacks Caila’s group. He is send packing, but five of his soldiers defect.
Citing ongoing violence, the I.A. announce, all humans will be removed after all. Mateos admits Caila’s pilfered DNA influenced that decision. Caila confronts I.A.-leader Guvnor (Mateos’s father) and learns the truth about Mateos’s sister’s death. She pleads with Guvnor to tell Mateos the truth, and not punish all humans for her sake. Guvnor does [tell Mateos], and the I.A. decides to remove only hostile accidental survivors.
Before then, Baldwyn re-attacks. He is defeated, but a mole shoots Caila. Caila needs human surgery, and a related Neteru to heal the alien part of her physiology. Vet Peter, also injured, guides first-month medical student Rebecca through the surgery. Mateos is uncontactable (furious because Caila trusted his estranged father); Guvnor arrives helps Caila instead.
Mateos and Caila reconcile, the day of the repeat Reset.
For a 1-chapter sample, click here
Between Scylla and Charybdis is a stand-alone parallel to The Second Choice Den.
Inspiration. A whiff, fresh as first day of spring, at London Victoria station during the early morning commute – it doesn’t get any stranger than that. That’s how idea of a gentle alien reset of Earth was born.
Settings: UK – Kent, Hever Castle (childhood home of Anne Boleyn).
Themes: Identity, acceptance, found family, lost sibling, survival, humour, romance subplot.
Series potential: Yes – see ‘Between Eos and Eris’ below.
Diverse cast
Between Eos and Eris (WIP)
Adult, Speculative, Science Fiction
Sequel to Between Scylly and Charybdis
Comp1 x Comp2
Brief synopsis – coming soon
For a 1,000-word sample, click here
Rebecca’s Diary
25,000-word companion novelette to Between Scylla and Charybdis
Rebecca’s Diary started as a couple of notes to better understand Rebecca; it grew into a 25,000-word companion novelette, penned down in five days, and surprisingly popular with my beta readers.
To read the first 7 days of Rebecca’s Diary, click here