Joseph
asked
Craig Alanson:
First off; Just want to say You Rock!! Keep up the awesome work, I'm loving Expeditionary Force. Okay, a wanna-be writer-ish question: Is the Expeditionary Force storyline something you've been tweaking over many years, did the story idea come to you all at once in a flash, or is it somewhere in between?
Craig Alanson
It is completely true that I rock (my wife is rolling her eyes as I write this but ignore her).
ExForce came together somewhere in between a flash and many years. I had the basis of the story (Earth is invaded and rescued and the rescuers may be the bad guys, humans go offworld to fight) back in 2011-12. That is why in Columbus Day the US president is a woman, I wanted to set the timeline "sometime after Obama but not very far in the future." That is also why Joe fought in Nigeria instead of Iraq or Afghanistan.
My inspiration for the story came from the movie Battle: Los Angeles. I got tired of movies like Battle:LA and Independence Day where aliens with the ability to TRAVEL BETWEEN FREAKIN' STARS are defeated by humans with rifles.
ExForce came together somewhere in between a flash and many years. I had the basis of the story (Earth is invaded and rescued and the rescuers may be the bad guys, humans go offworld to fight) back in 2011-12. That is why in Columbus Day the US president is a woman, I wanted to set the timeline "sometime after Obama but not very far in the future." That is also why Joe fought in Nigeria instead of Iraq or Afghanistan.
My inspiration for the story came from the movie Battle: Los Angeles. I got tired of movies like Battle:LA and Independence Day where aliens with the ability to TRAVEL BETWEEN FREAKIN' STARS are defeated by humans with rifles.
More Answered Questions
Stacey R-Artist
asked
Craig Alanson:
I would love to know what inspired you to create the character Skippy the Magnificent? I'm on book two, and I absolutely love it so far! I would have guessed that you are a rocket scientist based on your above monkey level of understanding of the universe. I have been illustrating (post it sized doodles via instagram) of the most poignant moments from your series, and I have to say you give me plenty of inspiration!
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