Author Focus – The Dex Legacy by Emily Inkpen
This month, I’m using my blog to feature the work of new writers. Whereas my Influences articles look at the authors I’ve loved for a long time who directly shaped my writing, this occasional series is aimed at putting the spotlight on talented new writers whose work I admire. They’re the ones to watch out for in the future!
Emily Inkpen is a fellow novelist and we’re both lucky enough to be represented by John Jarrold’s Literary Agency, although we actually knew each other before she signed with John in 2020. Emily’s sci-fi series, The Blood Road, is currently out to publisher submission. With her trilogy now complete, this is the stage when some authors might be tempted to sit back and wait for something to happen. Unsurprisingly to those who know her, Emily has taken a different approach. Over the past 18 months she’s branched out into audio drama, taking her detailed world building and in-depth character development to another level.
Working with the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities podcast, her first audio drama short, The Bomb, was released in 2020. The follow up, The Hunt, came out in the summer of 2021 and work on further episodes is now underway, with the latest story The Firm scheduled for release in a couple of weeks. Series One of The Dex Legacy series is now planned to run for six episodes. These comprise various prequel stories to the main trilogy, serving to flesh out the origins and motives of The Blood Road’s central characters, Ren, Isra and Varian.
The Dex Legacy series employs a cast of professional actors and their performances really bring the screenplay to life. With its sweeping soundtrack, these dramas have a cinematic feel, pulling you in and setting the tone right from the start. However, what I like about these stories is what’s left unsaid is just as important. I grew up listening to plays and shows on the radio and this series reminded me of that period of my life. In contrast to TV or movies, where the audience is still involved but in a more passive way, the listener plays a crucial role in the overall experience. In a similar way to reading a book, the listener’s imagination fills in the gaps, makes those links and thus is involved in telling the story (a concept I’ll be focussing on in my next blog post).
Emily Inkpen is a skilful writer with a vivid imagination. She paints stories using a vast canvas but they’re driven by her characters and their interactions. Whilst likeable, Varian, Ren and Isra are also complex, damaged, ruthless and violent. They’re a product of the world they’ve been born into and, crucially, they also represent Dex Industries’ cutting-edge military technology. Whilst these stories feature action and adventure, they don’t shy away from the consequences of war and violence. This is dark edged sci-fi and it leaves you with something to think about afterwards.
I honestly believe it’s only a matter of time before The Blood Road hits the shelves of bookstores, so this is a great time to discover more about the forthcoming series. You can find links to the audio dramas, short stories and all things Dex related gathered together in one place on the dedicated series website:
Links to the podcast episodes and other interesting things can be found here:
Emily Inkpen
Author of The Blood Road Trilogy & The Dex Legacy series
