A NAIT student has turned a long-kept passion for writing into a published science-fiction novel, blending imaginative storytelling with real-world environmental themes.
Forrest C. Richard, a second-year Conservation Biology student from Stony Plain, self-published Ver’Nova: Evergreen Sunlight — Part One in November 2025. While Richard is nearing the end of his academic program, the book represents an idea which took root years earlier.
“Since high school I always liked writing,” Richard says. “I kept that hobby pretty secret. I didn’t really tell any family or friends that I was a writer because I didn’t really know if my stuff was good or not.”
Ver’Nova follows Joel Robson, a forestry technician struggling to find purpose in his own world as alien species preserve and study life in the vast universe.
As a long-time fantasy and science-fiction lover, Richard was drawn to big, imaginative stories. The story and characters in Ver’Nova developed gradually from Richard’s days in high school and into adulthood.
“And then about … two and a half years ago I finally was like, ‘You know what? I’m kind of sick and tired of just imagining this story and I want to put it into words,’” he explains. His goal was to get published, so he started writing. “I just had to find that little push to start writing the story.”
Although the concept was there before he entered NAIT, Richard says his conservation biology studies played a significant role in shaping the novel’s environmental and science-fiction elements.
“When I came to NAIT, conservation biology helped me fine-tune the details that I needed for those environmental story parts, which was awesome,” he says.
According to Richard, incorporating real biological aspects helped add more weight and relatability to his writing. “I thought that writing my book that I would like to introduce a lot of environmental and wildlife aspects that we find in our own homes, especially in Alberta,” he says.
But with six classes a semester and heavy lab and fieldwork requirements, Richard’s program at NAIT was demanding. “We had a botany class, we’re collecting, like 40 different plants, and we had an entomology class, we’re collecting 15 different types of bugs, and then I was working a summer job,” he says. “Anytime I found that I had free time I was writing, so if I had a break between classes and I had no homework I would go to the library and I would just write.”
For his first book, Richard chose the self-publishing route rather than traditional publishing, which he says gave him “a lot more creative freedom.” He worked with a local printer called PageMaster Publishing, describing the process as relatively accessible for first-time authors.
One of the biggest challenges, he says, has been getting the book into readers’ hands as a self-published author. He hopes to pursue traditional publishing for future work, but that comes with its own challenges. “I feel like sci-fi is a very niche genre,” he says. “Whichever publisher takes on my story, I feel like they really need to believe that it’ll fit in with their home.”
Richard had doubts about his writing at first, but reader feedback has been encouraging. “So far, my first book’s been well received,” he says, adding that initial reviews were mostly given by his family and friends. “But I don’t take them to be liars, so it’s nice for a little bit of honest feedback,” he laughs.
For students interested in pursuing creative projects, Richard recommends building confidence by not letting self-doubt take over and just going for it. “I found the internet can make it very intimidating … it’s like this pit of information that can kind of drown out the creative process,” he says. “The moment I figured out you just kind of have to just start writing and don’t write for any specific person, you write the story you want to write, then it makes the process so much easier.”
Richard says he is finished writing part two of his series, Static: Evergreen Sunlight, and is currently writing book three.
Looking ahead, Richard plans to focus on his conservation biology career while continuing to write. “I would like the writing to be just a hobby for now,” he says. “I am pretty pumped to start my career as a conservation biologist.”
NAIT students can look forward to seeing Ver’Nova: Evergreen Sunlight — Part One in some local bookstores in February, but until then, it can be purchased online and through PageMaster Publishing.
Feature image via NAIT Content Collective
