Bob the Alien Interviews… Ida Keogh

Bob: Well what an interesting specimen we’ve beamed up here. Who are you and why have you got a tail? Other humans don’t seem to.

Ida Keogh : Hi Bob! I’m Ida, creator of words, wrangler of precious metal and occasional mermaid. Thank you for having me. Tails are great, aren’t they? Other humans are missing out.

Bob: Is this mind probe thingy working? It tells me you’re another one of these writer types. What makes you want to do that?

I.K: I have words inside me that need to get out. I love to shape phrases, sculpt paragraphs, stack pages. Sharing my words with other humans makes me glow.

Bob: First thing in the day, when your Earth sun rises, I sit on the roof of the old saucer and drink a refreshing pouch of zthark? What happens when you wake up human writer type?

I.K: Lately it seems I spend my mornings chasing out the neighbour’s cat with a water pistol. But when the yowling has calmed down I can settle in with a cup of Earl Grey Rooibos tea and try to get some beautiful words down before work.

Bob: Before I abduct you, I feel it’s only fair to tell you that my last Earth Cassette of the human called Englebert Humperdink got chewed last week. No, you may not ask how. You must bring me a new ‘al-bum’ to replace it. What will you bring me and why? Careful, if it’s crap I may space you.

I.K.: How could I possibly choose one album from all the wonders the world has to offer? Instead I’ll give you my Irrepressible playlist, which always cheers me up when I’m blue. It has everything from Toploader’s Dancing in the Moonlight to Aronchupa’s I’m an Albatraoz. Pay special attention to Children of the Night by Blackswan, it’s really beautiful.

Bob: Your book appears to be about Fish. Some of my best friends are fish. Tell me about it.

I.K.: Fish! is my debut novella, published by the wonderful folk at NewCon Press. It tells the tale of a Merfolk refugee crisis as a war deep in the ocean forces Merfolk to flee to shallow waters across the world. The story is written as a mosaic, with 19 different points of view exploring the impact the newcomers have on the United Kingdom. It’s a queer love story, a political piece, a re-imagining of classical mermaids. Readers have said some wonderful things about it, and it’s reached the longlist for the BSFA Award this year.

Bob: What’s that strange sparkly squiggly thing you’re wearing? I like shiny things.

I.K.: Me too! When I’m not writing I make jewellry. I love to weave wire and I often include fantasy and sci-fi elements. I find it meditative, and I love collecting all the beautiful gemstones.

Bob: Next stop the ocean trench off the coast of San Diego. What’s next for you though?

I.K.: I’m trying my hand at writing some horror! It’s scary stuff. After that I think it’s time to finally plunge in to The Novel, which is a gritty dystopian sci-fi set in near future London.

Bob: So having razzed around your charming neighbourhood, there’s a lovely café I’m going to take back with me. But it seems like an exchange is in order. What piece of alien tech would you like me to leave in return?

I.K.: Do you have a cunning gadget that would allow me to breath underwater without all that clunky scuba gear? I would love to go swimming with all my ocean friends and explore the sea bed for real Merfolk!

Bob: Well, thank you for your time Sarah Keogh. Any last words before I engage the anti-grav?

I.K.: I’d love to give a shout out to all the lovely members of the BSFA and see whether they would like to read Fish! and perhaps vote for it in the BSFA awards? I just hope everyone who reads it enjoys it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Bob: That’s all from me for this for now. Let me know on the primitive comments section if you like this. If any more human writers who are members of BSFA would like to participate in a probing interview from Bob, please let me know at info@paularvidson.co.uk. Obvs if anyone there would like to nominate Paul L Arvidson’s book Darkest for a BSFA award, he says that’s be cool too.

Bob’s other interviews can be found here!