Bob The Alien Interviews… Emily Inkpen

A new series of author interviews carried out by visitor to Earth, Bob the Alien. This week we welcome Emily Inkpen.

Bob: Tell us a little about yourself Emily!

Emily Inkpen: Well, I’m a female human creature from a country called the UK. I’m in my thirties, and I live in a little Victorian house with another human creature, to whom I am bound by law.

Bob: I gather from my mind probe that you’re a writer. What does a writer day include for you?

E.I.: Well I’m a copywriter for a game studio in my day job. That’s a technical style of writing that relies on tone of voice, key messages, character limits and distilling messages into tight spaces in a way most people will understand. After work I get on with my own writing projects. If I’m being good, I finish work, exercise, shower and then work until I sleep. If I’m being bad, I finish work, start working, then put off exercising and showering until far too late and don’t get enough sleep.

Bob: When I’ve finished a hard day, beaming and flying about I climb back in my slime pod. What do you do to relax after a long day authoring?

E.I.: I sleep! I mean, I do relax sometimes. If my brain is too tired to think, I draw while watching silly TV shows. I sometimes escape into Skyrim for a few hours and ride around on my horse and fight Draugr and hoard loot. Every week or two I play DnD with my gang from work. We’ve been playing for over a year now and we’re pretty tight. I would say I read, but I’m an active reader and I always have a pencil in my hand to make notes, so reading is like a medium switch-off for me.

Bob: When I beam you up after our interview, I’m afraid there’s only room for you take one book. What are you bringing?

E.I.: Okay, I should make this count. It’s a split between The Lord of the Rings, and the Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. With Lord of the Rings, I just love the story. It’s so epic I’m pretty sure it would steel me for any challenge. I mean, if Frodo could get the ring to Mordor, I can survive whatever you throw at me, right? I’ve also never made it through the Appendices, and I expect they would keep me busy for a while! With the Norton Anthology, there’s just SO MUCH in there and that edition is incredibly varied. There’s something for all moods and it feeds my brain.

Bob: I’m pleased to discover that your series the Dex Legacy is about ‘the other’ and what it means to be human, or not. Want to tell us a little about that and why it’s that you’re writing about?

E.I.: Well, as I’m sure you’re aware from your extensive brain probing, humans are fascinating. My book is about aliens, but alien humans. SP714 is a colony planet, so my aliens feel a connection to Earth, and throughout there’s this feeling of “looking back” for meaning while moving forward on their own. The stars of The Dex Legacy are at the forefront of this “forward thinking”, which would be noble were it not for their horrific methods. During the series we follow the four founders of the Dex Industries munitions corporation, and their three primary victims. Varian, Isra and Ren are the adopted children of President Nathaniel Dex, and they’ve been molded into super soldiers. But instead of presenting a Captain America-style ideal, I challenge the trauma behind the process. They’re dehumanized and abused by those who raised them, and yet they remain stubbornly human and loyal to one another. There’s layers to everything that happens, and they’re all deliciously complicated people.

Bob: And apparently the sound feed that’s been interfering with my deep-space communications is one of yours? Where can humans who *want* to listen to it tune in?

E.I.: We’re on every audio platform, so just search The Dex Legacy in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, wherever you usually go, we’re there. You can find direct links, plus lots of bonus materials at www.thedexlegacy.com. It’s a great place to find out more about the cast, listen to Allen Stroud’s soundtrack, check out world maps and browse a gallery of character art. There’s also scripts for those who like to read along as they listen, and a bonus short story.

Bob: Next for me, once I’ve beamed you up, is to investigate those cows over there. What’s next for you though?

E.I.: Well I suppose once you’ve beamed me up I’m at your mercy! We can check out the cows together and I’ll read them Lord of the Rings while you tip them over. It’s an Earth thing, I’ll tell you about it on the way!

Bob: Lastly, what redeeming feature do you think the human race has, that could prevent me reducing your planet to a smoldering ball of ash?

E.I.: Our stories. If you kill all the humans, you’ll be killing our ideas and you’ll never know what happens next!

Bob: Well, thank you for your time Emily Inkpen. Any last words before I beam you up?

E.I.: So long and thanks for all the fish, folks! Also, go listen to The Dex Legacy! It’s deliciously dark and gritty and raw, the actors are incredibly talented, the production is fantastic, props to Alternative Stories for that, and the soundtrack by Allen Stroud is amazing. I’m so lucky to be working with such an amazing team, and I want everyone to come on this journey with us!

Bob: That’s all from me for this for now. Let me know on the primitive comments section if you like this. It’s better that you comment in writing. Lots. It’s not that I can’t read minds. It’s just you humans are so rubbish at projecting.