Tevun-Krus #94 - 10th Anniversary Special

Spotlight Author: @AngusEcrivain

Today, we put ten candles on the cake of Ooorah, the brainchild of one AngusEcrivain. So why not put Big Daddy Ooorah himself into the spotlight of Tevun Krus this month? With this idea in our head, we went in search of this mythical being. And believe it or not, we found him in a murky den filled with stale cigarette smoke, bent over a screen, typing away as if there was no tomorrow.

Hey, @AngusEcrivain, how are things going for you?

Pretty great, thanks! I certainly can't complain and let's be honest, no one would listen if I did anyways!

Do you have a moment in your busy day to talk about Ooorah? (If you remember that one, that is).

I've always got time to talk about Ooorah! Or at least I'll always make time!

We know that children hate to hear about the ugly details of their birth. So, what are the salacious details of the birthing hour of Ooorah?

To be honest it's all a little hazy now, 'tis a decade ago after all! But if I remember rightly, a couple of us originally created Ooorah as at the time there was no real sci-fi community profile - this was near enough three years before the days of ScienceFiction, after all! We wanted somewhere to call home, that Wattpad's SF community could call their own. Originally it was all about SmackDowns, writing contests and such. Though of course, we soon progressed to the Tevun-Krus ezine!

We imagine as a parent, you were mostly proud of your offspring. What were your best moments in these ten years of Ooorah?

I don't think there's one particular moment that stands out, but I reckon those moments when we conceived a new idea and realised how awesome it was probably rank pretty highly. The first Punk Wars issue comes to mind - I don't think anyone expected that to be as awesome as it turned out to be...

Any bad memories?

Definitely no bad memories at all! It's all been a blast!

And something really embarrassing?

haha, certainly nothing that comes to mind. Reckon it's fair to say anyone reading this who knows me knows full well embarrassment is something I rarely feel!

All parents make mistakes. Some admit them, others don't. What would you do differently next time?

I'd probably slow things down a bit, if I was to start over. Perhaps halve the number of issues of TK released annually, or at least trim things a little. Then again perhaps the number of issues released per year has always been spot on - certainly kept as all on our toes in the beginning, and continues to do so now!

Now your brainchild is nearing puberty, any words of wisdom for the next decade?

I reckon all I can say is keep on doing what you're doing, keep on making your dad proud! 😅

Do you want to give a shoutout to any coparents, godfathers (or mothers) or other partners in crime who helped Ooorah become what it is today?

If I shout out to one I have to shout out to all, and let's be honest we all know if I do that I'll miss a couple or three folk who've been integral to making sure Ooorah's gone on for 10 years! So I'm not gonna' do any individual shout outs. Instead I'll give a humongous mothertrooping OOORAH of thanks to everyone who's been involved, whether that means submitting a story or two, or taking a turn steering the ship!

We were wondering where Smith & Jones are hanging out this days. Have you heard of them?

Ah, S&J... I've not heard from them for a while. However, rumour has it they're making a special one-off appearance shortly...

What is your all time favourite issue of Tevun Krus? A particular story that stood out from all the others?

Oh man now you're asking! 😅 I'm a big fan of TK42, so I think that one's probably my favourite issue! Not because there's a story that particularly stands out as being better than other stories in other issues. But the issue itself is just pretty damn great!

Let's talk about food and booze. I reckon a round of Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters will get the birthday party swinging. But what about the cake?

It makes one wonder... How did the machines know what cake tasted like? Maybe what I think cake tastes like is actually Cheerios... Wait, I'm sure I've heard something along similar lines before now!

Can you give us three songs to launch the party for ten years of Ooorah?

Oooh, I get to play DJ? How can I refuse? Here we go, three tracks each taken from an album that like Ooorah, celebrates it's 10th birthday this month!

Sólstafir - Fjara

Steel Panther - Supersonic Sex Machine

Iced Earth - Dystopia

And one final wish for the future?

Not a wish, as such, but I hope to be back here again in another 10 years, talking about 20 years of the awesomeness that is Ooorah!

Thank you so much for the interview and the music — Ooorah!