The Scorching: The World in My Hands follows a select group of humans who are brought to live on alien ships when the Earth is headed for global collapse. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The original concept came from wanting to write about a very possible near future in terms of the ‘The Scorching’ and the environmental situation we have been developing through indifference. Once I had the world in my head, I then needed to ensure there were engaging stories to be told. In this case, dual murder mysteries involving people with little-to-no power within an organisation very used to being in control.

I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from and how did it change as you were writing?

The plantships were a concept from Just Press Play, and in a way were a reference to the benign role of the Drathken. They have grown a ship that acts with automaticity, and though the humans try to influence what happens, their only real impact is on the internal society. The ship runs itself, and this evolved as I wrote into the concept of the Seed Queen and how the ship finds its next home. You can take this as an allegory – the public can have a say in how we want our world to function, but the real power acts in the background of society.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The lack of voice those without power truly have, and where ultimate control of what happens to us and our world lies. My main characters have stark choices to make, and you, as the reader, may not agree with the direction they take when faced with survival.

Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?

I would like to explore two more themes within The Scorching. One would be the can of worms opened in this book about what was known in the 1950s about climate change. This would likely be a short novella. The other, an exploration of the new Earth once the Drathken have completed their mission to deal with the damage to our atmosphere. Of course, they would need to be fun stories, one full of intrigue, the other more action-orientated.

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