ka applegate: there’s some aliens in my books
editor: ok, so what are we talking, little green men?
ka applegate: i’m thinking more like…giant blue deer-people with no mouths and scorpion tails
editor: little green men would be easier to put on the cover
ka applegate: yeah, but deer-people are cooler
editor: but what about the cover?
ka applegate: don’t worry, I got you…covered
editor: this is just a cocktail napkin with the word “horrifying half-human half-animal abomination” underlined six times
(ka applegate has already skateboarded away)
OP it’s vital to me that you know that KA originally wanted to put little grey men in her books, but Scholastic told her to be more “creative.” Knowing that it was 1990-something, and Scholastic was planning to maybe make a TV show, KA responded by being petty as hell and making the most absolutely batshit insane alien ever. Something hard to, say, do in SFX if you’re Nickelodeon in 1995-ish.
Something like blue deer scorpion people with no mouths.
This is a book series built on SPITE