Have Orchid explain his stance on being an alien, the various levels - alien to Grace City, to New Paradise, to humanity..? When you cease to be an alien in terms of citizenship of a nation, you are 'naturalised' - the alies are unnatural by design.

Heard some good things at dinner tonight. How being pleased with £3000 fees, Mark felt like he had the fuckin moon on a stick. How Alan used to shag doors. How Kim is only with her bloke for the Ferrari and she bought a T-shirt with 'Gold Digger' on the front. How Mark and Alan once shared a bed and woke up with a stick of rock in between them and no memory of how it got there.

US astronauts get their wings when they reach the altitude of 50 miles.

Inconsistensies, anxieties and trauma: what's wrong with my novel?

a) Just how well does Shelley know her cousin's family? I have no clue, and it shows.
b) Why would they wait 3 days before calling her?
c) Where is her mother all this time; isn't there a family grapevine?
d) Would she really quit her course to work on a novel she doesn't even have an outline for? I don't think so...
e) Her cover story to Coral isn't convincing
f) If I was her I'd read all Jamie's diary entries in one sitting - maybe I shouldn't try to work them in logically, it's too constraining.
g) I don't think I've exposited enough, and still it's boring. How can I put more description in without making the reader fall asleep, wake up and shoot themselves rather than read any more of this tedious drivel?

put some additional frustrations into Shelley's life, like a delivery man that doesn't come or a plumber or something.

remember things smell!

Loosen up a bit, flesh it out, play with the order.

if I was shooting this as a film, what would I show? paint those pictures!