I’ve been a huge fan of author D.Wallace Peach [Diana] since I read her speculative fiction novel, The Bone Wall , so when she asked if I’d like to be interviewed about Vokhtah, I felt honoured. Then I read her questions, and I could barely contain my joy. Here’s a taste:
THE most original sci-fi book I’ve ever read is Vokhtah by Andrea Flory. The depth of her world-building and character-construction is highly creative and intensely alien, right down to the language these insect-like creatures use. I’ve been wanting to interview her and finally got the chance. Welcome Andrea!
1. You decided to create an alien world without humans. Lots of authors do that, but their characters are often “human in disguise” with human-ish thoughts and emotions and cultural variations. Your characters are definitely NOT human. What inspired you to create a completely alien species?
Aaaah Diana! Thank you for inviting me, but…you’ve opened a real Pandora’s box here. What inspired me? I could say it was the original Mr Spock played by Leonard Nimoy, or the character of Dexter, the ‘good’ psychopath, or the aliens of The Left Hand of Darkness by the late Ursula K. Le Guin, but that would only approximate the truth.
To give you a genuine answer I would have to change your question to ‘Why do so many humans create aliens in the first place?’
To that question, my answer is that we’re looking for answers about ourselves.
You can read the whole interview, and Diana’s review of Vokhtah here:
https://mythsofthemirror.com/2021/08/05/vokhtah-sci-fi-world-building-with-acflory/
I’m off to chat to people on Diana’s blog, and I’d love to see you there as well.
Hugs,
Meeks
August 8th, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Just read it! … well done. 😀
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August 8th, 2021 at 6:54 pm
Thanks, Widds. 😀 Have a good weekend.
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August 7th, 2021 at 12:32 pm
I commented over at Diana’s but followed you back over here. The interview was so interesting that I read it a second time. Thanks for letting us inside your head.
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August 7th, 2021 at 1:37 pm
Thanks, Pete. I’ll head over to Diana’s again in a sec. One of the things that fascinates me the most in my own reading is trying to answer the questions about ‘what makes people tick?’ I studied some Behavioural Psychology, but I think that authors can often discover a ‘truth’ about the human condition easier. I’m positive we can communicate it much easier.
One of the things I LOVE about scifi is that it allows authors to put people in extreme, impossible, unthinkable situations, to see what they’ll do. In Vokhtah, I just took that idea a little further because ultimately, no matter how alien my creation may be, it still comes from the mind of a /human/. So in a way, even my aliens are part human. 🙂
lol – too much?
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August 7th, 2021 at 3:44 pm
Haha! Not too much. Too bad our own species can’t communicate with one another.😒
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August 7th, 2021 at 9:34 pm
Yeah. Sometimes it feels as if we’re at least two species instead of just one!
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August 7th, 2021 at 11:21 am
Wonderful!
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August 7th, 2021 at 1:37 pm
-hugs-
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August 7th, 2021 at 2:01 am
congrats on the great interview! I’ll get over there to Diana’s blog shortly. 🙂
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August 7th, 2021 at 8:31 am
Good morning, Pat. I’ll be over there myself very soon. -hugs-
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August 8th, 2021 at 1:49 am
Impressive. One of these days I’m boing to get into Voktah…the most alien atmosphere I’ve ever encountered. I want to do it with a real paper book in hand though, kindle just doesn’t cut it sometimes.
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August 8th, 2021 at 7:54 am
Thanks, Pat but I won’t hold you to it. 😉
Speaking of reading, I just read the first Wizard of Yurt book and really enjoyed it. Thanks for recommending it. 🙂
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August 7th, 2021 at 1:45 am
Thanks for sending your fans over to the interview, Andrea. I enjoy chatting with authors and I loved asking you about the book and your astonishing creativity. Vokhtah was a feat worth sharing. I’m so glad you’re having fun!
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August 7th, 2021 at 8:32 am
You said it would be fun, and it is. I love that there are so many real conversations going on. Be over in a tick to say good morning to everyone. 🙂
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August 7th, 2021 at 9:04 am
I love the conversations. It’s time consuming, but the connections are so much fun.
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August 7th, 2021 at 9:34 am
I usually try to write first thing in the morning [now], while my brain is fresh, but today is like going to a party. 🙂
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August 7th, 2021 at 9:35 am
Lol. Enjoy. It will start winding down a little.
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August 7th, 2021 at 9:38 am
I know, and I have to go grab some breakfast soon, but it really has been fun.
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August 6th, 2021 at 11:22 pm
Great interview! Your wonderfully inhuman characters deserve praise and so do YOU!
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August 7th, 2021 at 8:54 am
Candy! I’ve missed you. Thanks for popping in. How is the new apartment going? Have the cats settled in happily? Have you?
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August 6th, 2021 at 11:19 pm
Congrats. Very cool.
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August 7th, 2021 at 8:55 am
Hi Yvonne. Lovely to see you. -hugs-
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August 6th, 2021 at 10:29 pm
Well done, Meeks, congrats! May more fame (and fortune) come your way!
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August 7th, 2021 at 8:56 am
lmao – hi Stephen! Many thanks for the kind words. I’m having such a good time. 🙂
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August 6th, 2021 at 9:03 pm
Congrats on the interview! I love Diana’s work – I first came across her when I discovered her short SF story “The Ghost Ship” – absolutely loved it. Really interesting what you’ve done with your world building & associated biology / social interactions.
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August 7th, 2021 at 9:02 am
Hi Babbitman. Nice to meet you.
I thought I’d read most of Diana’s work, but I don’t know that one. Thanks, I’ll check it out! And thanks for the kind words too. It’s hard to be objective about your own stuff, but I think it hangs together. 🙂
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August 6th, 2021 at 6:52 pm
Celebrating your every success
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August 6th, 2021 at 8:58 pm
Thanks, Annette. You’ve become a real mate on Twitter and it’s lovely to see you here as well. -hugs-
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August 6th, 2021 at 5:41 pm
Huh, this is all old hat now since I saw the interview at least yesterday and commented.. Great Interview and it seemed you had fun, which is good,
Huge Hugs
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August 6th, 2021 at 8:59 pm
lmao – never old hat! I’ve had so much fun it should be illegal. 😀 -hugs-
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August 6th, 2021 at 3:58 pm
Brilliant interview Hugs xx
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August 6th, 2021 at 8:59 pm
-hugs back-
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August 6th, 2021 at 2:47 pm
This sounds like a real treat. I’m off to Diana’s.
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August 6th, 2021 at 3:11 pm
lol – just found your comment and replied on Diana’s blog. I’m so glad you came. 🙂
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