Blog Tour: Aliens Made me do it! written by David Macphail and illustrated by Rory Walker

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for Aliens Made me do it! Today, I’m sharing a post from the author, David Macphail:

What inspired you to write this book?

One day I was stuck in traffic on a grey, grim, grotty road, the kind of place where even the pigeons look depressed. I happened to wonder if aliens were looking down, watching, perhaps from somewhere up on Alpha Centauri, little green folk with three eyes, maybe, sitting in front of a tiny little TV screen, monitoring the Earth. Which begged the thought, oh boy have you got the wrong channel! There must be something more exciting in the galaxy than watching a sad line of cars creep past a shabby discount carpet warehouse. “Have you tried Netflix, guys??”

But then it struck me. What if instead of watching, the aliens came to Earth? What if they came here on a desperate mission? What if the fate of the Earth was at stake? And instead of swooping into Washington D.C. or parking outside Number 10, they landed in a kid’s back garden in some plain, middle of nowhere town? The alien stomps forward, demands, “Take me to your leader!” And the kid, doing his best, marches the alien straight to the only level of leadership he has access to – his grandad, who’s sitting watching Countdown and picking hobnob crumbs out of his cardigan.

From that silly thought, the story began to develop. Maybe the fate of the world depends not on presidents or prime ministers—but on kids. And the action plays out in a town where their usual idea of drama involves the chip shop running out of vinegar.

In this book, the universe’s biggest crisis shows up in the most ordinary place possible—and it’s up to ordinary kids to save the day. Just as well. Let’s face it, if Earth is counting on us grown-ups, we’re all doomed.