After wildlife biologist Dory is abducted by aliens, she finds herself on a mysterious planet populated by prehistoric creatures—and two very hot aliens named Lok and Sol. We talked to Lemming about surprising inspirations (Furbies!) and what she’d want to make sure she had on an alien planet.
I’m calling it now: 2025 is the year of the alien romance and who better to kick it off than you! (I’m a big alien romance reader, and you have my unwavering adoration.) What compelled you to write an alien romance?
I was watching Meerkat Manor in between binging alien romance novels and I couldn’t help but think of how funny it would be if an animal researcher got abducted by aliens and became the animal being studied. Then I thought, “Well, what if the alien research team was hugely underfunded and had to cut corners?” That got me thinking about all the mishaps that could come from trying to create a habit for a species you didn’t know the first thing about. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen those old photos of T. Rex fossils posed upright in those prized fighter positions, but for generations we thought those eight-ton behemoths were running around with excellent posture. Who’s to say aliens four star systems away wouldn’t make similar mistakes? When I had the idea that they’d just have their AI populate the world with DNA they stole from a dinosaur exhibit, I knew I couldn’t rest until I wrote this book.
“I’d have been killed immediately trying to pet all the dinosaurs.”
When you were creating your alien species, the Sankado and the Biwbans, how did you decide what physical attributes you wanted them to have?
There’s a running joke in my family that Furbies are evil aliens sent to destroy us. The one I had as a kid would insult you any chance it got (no clue where it got that from) and had a habit of turning on in the toy box at night to scare the ever-loving shit out of my mom. So I made the Biwbans kinda look like that. As for the Sankado, I kind of just had the idea of these alien satyrs that breathed fire. Then a friend of mine demanded to know how these satyrs breathed fire, which sent me on a research spiral and ended up with me changing their appearance a bit to add patches on their skin that allowed excess steam to roll off and a long tail with a breath tube at the end to help take in more air for fire-breathing.
Lok and Sol are both able to produce flames as a result of the way their body digests yeast. What other fun, niche areas did you find yourself researching for your world building?
I already knew animals like goats and cattle produce methane, and the thought of an alien species powered by garlic bread cracked me up, so I went with that method. I also spent far too long researching how much weight a parasaurolophus could safely carry for one scene, but that’s neither here nor there. I mostly spent my time researching how to see the world through Dory’s eyes as a wildlife biologist. She’s endlessly curious about the world around her, and it was a lot of fun to figure out how nature could still survive and thrive on a planet where wildly different species of plants and animals were just tossed together into one big melting pot.
Read our review of ‘I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com’ by Kimberly Lemming.
Dory finds herself with not one but two possessive, alpha aliens madly in lust/love with her, going against the “fated mate” trope we see in a lot of monster and alien romances. Tell us about why you decided to give Dory two partners.
Lok was originally meant to be a rival that got killed off. But I liked him too much and just added him to the trio. Sol needs all the help he can get with keeping Dory alive. So it all worked out.
Dory is a fighter! While she occasionally gets overwhelmed, we never find her defeated even though her life has been completely upended. (I hope I could muster a fraction of her chutzpah in her situation.) How do you think you would fare in her boots?
I’d have been killed immediately trying to pet all the dinosaurs. If the Biwbans wanted me to survive, they’d have to assign a team of Sankado to watch me round-the-clock so I didn’t run off to explore. All bets are off on an alien planet. Survival is secondary, I need to see if the pterodactyl will let me ride on its back. It won’t, but that’s what the team of Sankado is for.
If you were abducted by an alien species, what would you hope would be in your cargo pants pocket to help you once you landed?
Old Bay seasoning, a phone with the same solar-powered case [Dory] had so I could still listen to music, and a book on what plants are safe to eat so I don’t choke to death on a bad berry.
One of my favorite things about your books is that even when the characters are scared out of their mind or trying their best to survive, you have a way of defusing the moment with humor. (Hello, giant pink T. Rex who is allergic to soap bubbles.) Why are humor and camp such important elements in your books?
Life sucks and then you die. May as well laugh about it.
Okay, I have to ask: Our trio finds themselves in a very sexy situation while riding on the backs of two large dinosaurs—and yet, they don’t fall off! How did you go about diagramming this scene while writing?
I imagine parasaurolophus run with a very smooth gait. No, I do not have any research to back that up.
I love hearing who my favorite authors are reading: Who is someone you want to make sure is on our radar in 2025?
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell was my favorite read [last] year. I’m hoping he’s got more on the way for 2025. I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea is a close second!
What’s next for you?
I’m in the middle of writing the second book in this series now. After that, I’ll probably go back to fantasy for a while. My readers have been very patient waiting for the next Mead Mishaps book, and it’s about time I gave it to them.
Alien Romance This or That:
Horns or Tail?
Horns no question.
Your Planet or Theirs?
Earth? In THIS economy? Theirs.
Wings or Hoofs?
Wings. I imagine hooves would be hell on my hardwood floors
Fire or Poisonous Saliva?
Fire. Poisonous Saliva would probably stain my pillows or something.
Pink T. Rex or Giant Frog?
Pink T. Rex. I WILL befriend her and she WILL let me ride around on her back.
Photo of Kimberly Lemming © Kimberly Lemming.
