We are thrilled to share that, as part of our participation in Angry Robot Books’ online book tour for the amazing new queer sci-fi novel KEY LIME SKY, we had the opportunity to do a written interview with the author, Al Hess! We’re incredibly grateful that Al took the time out of his busy schedule to answer a few of our questions, and we’re excited for you to dive into his insights below.
KEY LIME SKY is available now, so don’t miss out and grab your copy today!
Guest
Al Hess (he/they) is author of World Running Down, Key Lime Sky, Yours Celestially, and the award-winning Hep Cats of Boise series. When not hunched before a computer screen, Al can be found at his art desk. He does portraits in both pencil and oil paint, and loves drawing fellow authors’ characters nearly as much as his own. He writes cozy and uplifting stories with queer, trans, and neurodiverse representation. Al is represented by agent Ren Balcombe at Janklow & Nesbit.
You can find him on Instagram @alhess_author and by visiting his website www.alhessauthor.com
Synopsis
An alien invasion hits the town of Muddy Gap, but a disgruntled pie aficionado is the only one who seems to remember it…
Denver Bryant’s passion for pie has sent him across Wyoming in search of the best slices. Though he dutifully posts reviews on his blog, he’s never been able to recreate his brief moment of viral popularity, and its trickling income isn’t enough to pay his rent next month.
Driving home from a roadside diner, Denver witnesses a UFO explode directly over his tiny town of Muddy Gap. When he questions his neighbors, it appears that Denver is the only person to have seen anything – or to care that the residents’ strange behavior, as well as a shower of hail-that-isn’t-hail, might be evidence of something extraterrestrial. Being both non-binary and autistic, he’s convinced his reputation as the town eccentric is impeding his quest for answers. Frustrated, he documents the bizarre incidents on his failing pie blog, and his online popularity skyrockets. His readers want the truth, spurring him to get to the bottom of things.
The only person in town who takes him seriously is handsome bartender, Ezra. As the two investigate over pie and the possibility of romance, the alien presence does more than change the weather. People start disappearing. When Denver and Ezra make a run for it, the town refuses to let them leave. Reality is folding in on itself, and it’s suddenly a race against time to find the extraterrestrial source and destroy it before it consumes not only Muddy Gap but everything beyond. Denver’s always been more outsider than hero, but he’s determined to ensure that a world with Ezra – and with pie – still exists tomorrow.
Interview
Shit We’ve Read: We like to start our discussions by sharing what we’re currently reading. Could you briefly tell us about a book or two you’ve recently finished or are reading now?
Al Hess: I’m currently obsessing over The Magnus Archives. It’s not technically a book, but still counts toward my Goodreads challenge, so I figure it’s close enough. So many readers fall head-over-heels for a series to the point that it becomes a massive fandom, but it’s been a very long time since anything has hooked me like that. I’m on my second playthrough of all five seasons and drawing fanart when I have time. Michael is my favorite – I can’t help loving a quirky monster. Other recent favorites have been The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle by Steve Hugh Westenra, Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson, and Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa.
SWR: You’ve mentioned that when you were seven years old, you saw something in the sky you’ve never been able to explain. How did that experience influence this book?
AH: I drew on a number of elements from both that experience and my childhood for aspects of the story. I was the weird kid reading books about the paranormal on the school bus, always had an open mind about things that were unexplainable, and I hated cake and wanted pie for my birthdays.
I was on the school bus when I saw the craft. I tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for it but ultimately had none. I blurted, “It’s a UFO!” and was thrilled to be experiencing something possibly paranormal. But no one believed me, not even the kid sitting in the window seat next to me who had spotted it first. I was ignored, dismissed, or made fun of and couldn’t even get the other kids to look out the windows to see for themselves. I created a similar scenario for Denver. Xe knows xe’s seen something unusual, but no one believes xyr story even as things in Muddy Gap get progressively stranger.
SWR: Do you believe in the possibility of intelligent life beyond Earth?
AH: I don’t not believe in the possibility of intelligent life beyond Earth. I don’t know if the UFO I saw was an alien craft, but I’ve long accepted that there are so many things about the universe we don’t know and can’t explain, and it would be silly to dismiss them out of hand.
SWR: Aside from that experience, which books, authors, movies, or TV shows have influenced Key Lime Sky and your writing style in general?
AH: I don’t have any influences I can clearly point to as far as my writing style, but the more books I write, the more I can see how a story shapes into something that is distinctly my brand. Key Lime Sky was inspired by a random mental image that was so clear and strange that I had to build a book out of it (it eventually became part of the climax.) I drew from investigative weirdness like The X-Files and Twin Peaks while building Denver’s character and the town, and was also inspired by the intimately-focused narrative of Signs. Nope has a similar narrow and isolated perspective, and I thought it was a fantastic film, though I watched it after already writing Key Lime Sky.
SWR: Your writing features cozy and uplifting stories with lots of representation. How do you balance creating a comforting atmosphere while still engaging your readers with conflict and tension?
AH: This is something I naturally tend to gravitate to while writing. Conflict doesn’t have to be dramatic, world-ending stakes. In the case of Key Lime Sky, it is – there’s an alien invasion that threatens the world if it isn’t stopped – but the story is arguably even more about Denver. About xyr sense of identity in xyr small town, xyr struggle to make connections as an autistic person, xyr fear of abandonment and love of pie.
Alien abduction is scary, but so is talking to the cute neighbor without putting your foot in your mouth. Keeping that zoomed-in perspective on Denver’s feelings and the little moments of connection and humor between characters paints the story in softer strokes.
SWR: How do you ensure that your portrayal of queer, trans, and neurodiverse characters is authentic and respectful?
AH: No matter how accurately I may write something based on my own experiences, I will still be (and have been) accused of getting it wrong. Some readers have said Denver is “too autistic,” that xe feels like a stereotype, while other queer autistic people have gushed about how accurate Denver’s life experiences feel to them. Being queer, trans, or neurodiverse is not a one-size-fits all experience, and I will never be able to please everyone. So I try to draw from a place of personal authenticity.
Whenever I’m unsure about something, especially if it isn’t a trait or life experience I personally have, I rely on the help of research, my beta readers, my agent, and my editor to ensure I’m getting things as authentic as I can.
SWR: We know it’s hard to pick favorites, but let’s be real—do you have a favorite character, and why?
AH: Denver is definitely my favorite from Key Lime Sky. It was cathartic to channel many of my real life frustrations into his character, such as struggling with phone calls, misunderstanding social cues, and experiencing sensory sensitivities. But more than that, I wanted a story that showed that autistic people can be intelligent, perceptive, witty, sexy, and yes, even save the world whether they want that responsibility or not.
SWR: This book features a lot of pie. If you could only eat one type of pie for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
AH: That’s a hard question. I really enjoy custard-type pies, so anything like milk pie, egg custard, or coconut cream would be fine by me.
SWR: This book also includes a bit of spice. Was that something you planned from the start, or did it develop naturally as you wrote?
AH: During the time of drafting the book, I was pushing myself to write more detailed sex scenes, as I read a lot of romance books and it often includes them. I think it was a good exercise because writing a good sex scene – to me – requires a focus on emotions and how the scene is affecting the characters more than the physicality of it. And for Key Lime Sky, I think it works well to convey Denver’s growing desperation and need for emotional comfort.
However, I likely won’t be including spicy scenes in my next books, or at the very least they will be fade-to-black. I’m asexual, and I simply don’t have a desire to continue including that level of detail into my love scenes.
SWR: How different is this final book from the story you first set out to tell?
AH: This book actually changed far less than most of my others. My main edits were additional world-building to Muddy Gap, expanding scenes, and adding more depth to Molly’s character. Originally, she was too one-dimensional and needed a lot more motivation behind her actions.
SWR: You’ve both self-published and traditionally published. What have been the biggest challenges and benefits of each path for you?
AH: The biggest benefit to self-publishing is being able to get really weird and take more risks than most traditional publishers are interested in taking on. There’s no big publisher or agent out there ready to gatekeep how much representation or diversity you have in your book. You have sole control over everything from your cover to your marketing style.
However, the biggest challenge is also trying to find marketing that works. Self-publishing is an ever-shifting landscape, and the marketing and advertising that worked for me five years ago isn’t relevant anymore. It also used to be that self-published books and authors weren’t taken as seriously as trad, but that attitude seems to have shifted.
The biggest benefits of trad publishing are exposure, distribution, and having professional eyes on your manuscript. I don’t need to worry about the marketing or getting my books into the hands of booksellers and reviewers because much of that heavy lifting is taken care of for me. Because of this, no longer knowing how to market my self-published books isn’t as much of an issue as it used to be, because my trad books help do it for me. Readers don’t care whether a particular book of mine is trad or indie. They’ll go on to buy my backlist regardless.
Challenges in trad publishing vary greatly depending on what agent and publisher you get. In my own experience, the biggest hurdle was simply getting my foot in the door. Signing with my agent and being offered that first book deal was the hardest part. I’ve heard so many publishing horror stories from friends, and I’ve been incredibly lucky with Angry Robot Books. I’m allowed a level of input and creativity that many authors don’t get. I’m paid to paint my own covers, I get my graphite character portraits in the interior, and AR is always interested in not only my creative input but my well-being as a person. They also aren’t afraid to get weird or publish books full of diversity.
SWR: Aside from being a great author, you’re also a talented artist! Do you have any rituals or habits, whether for writing or drawing, that help you get into a creative mindset?
AH: Thank you! Music is huge for me. I don’t have any musical talent, but my father is a musician and has been in rock bands since before I was born. I grew up listening to my dad play guitar and blast classic rock, so listening to music has always been a comfort for me and a way to zone in on my work. Spotify tells me that I listened to 101,000 minutes of music last year (and 11,000 of that was Dead or Alive.) That doesn’t count all my vinyl records.
I make playlists for all of my books, and they are often completely different bands and genres. Key Lime Sky, for example, has a playlist of nothing but synthwave such as Maxthor And Carpenter Brut.
Pinterest is also an essential part of my creative process when I want to start a new book or piece of art. I have so many boards of character inspiration and art references.
SWR: When you’re not writing or drawing, what do you like to do in your spare time?
AH: My town has very little in the way of entertainment unless you like drinking and gambling – which I don’t – so my activities are usually things like taking walks, reading, listening to music, and watching movies with my son. I also love antiquing, museums, and interior decoration, art deco revival in particular.
SWR: What impact do you hope your stories have on readers, particularly those who may see themselves reflected in your characters for the first time?
AH: Getting my books into the hands of the readers who need them was my driving force for pursuing trad publishing. I knew a publisher would have far more distribution power than I had on my own, and it was important to me that trans and neurodiverse people be able to see themselves as the heroes in stories.
If I’d read any books as a teenager or even in my twenties with trans representation, it wouldn’t have taken me so long to figure out who I am. I’ve always read voraciously, but back then, it was impossible to seek out what I didn’t know I needed. Any sort of queer rep would have made a world of difference.
It’s never too late to figure out who you are, but people shouldn’t have to stumble through the dark on their way there. I hope that my books contribute at least a little to people’s journeys, whether that be by helping them figure themselves out or simply as a comfort.
SWR: Is there anything you want readers to know before diving into this story—something beyond what’s on the page?
AH: The word “pie” is in the book exactly 314 times. 🙂