Tevun-Krus #32 - AtomPunk

Spotlight Author: @fauxpunker

If you had to describe yourself in one word, what words wouldn't you use?

Polysyllabic

What was your nickname at school?

You know, I never had a nickname. Nothing ever really stuck. I almost managed one my last year of high school when I took a spill at cross country practice. We were doing downhill sprints and I stepped in a hole, which sent me flying face first toward the ground. I mean I was like a plow, or a boat anchor just dragging along. My shoulder ripped up a large patch of sod as I smashed into the earth (a teammate picked it up and placed it back over the bare patch of dirt I created). As a result I dislocated my shoulder, and my teammates called me Dozer for about a week or two, but even that didn't last.

When you were a young padawan, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was little I knew I was going to be a paleontologist. I knew dinosaurs inside and out by kindergarten. Digging in the dirt for fossils was my future. I was wrong of course, but that's usually the case.

What is your favourite quote?

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Other than writing, what hobbies do you have?

Besides writing I'm a brewer. Where some people can rattle off stuff about wine that the average person doesn't care about, I'm like that with beer. I've had people ask me why I haven't gotten a job with a brewery because of how much I enjoy it. But why would I want want to take the best hobby in the world and turn it into a damn job?

As your crew cast your lifeless body into the core of the nearest star, list three pieces of music likely to be rattling the bulkheads.

For a sense of the dramatic, kick things off with "Promentory" from the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. Transition into "Born to Lose" by Motorhead. And once my body is burnt crispy and incinerated, start the wake off with "Drunken Lullabies" by Flogging Molly.

Who is your all-time favourite author? How much - if at all - have they influenced your writing style?

Neil Gaiman is the reason that I ever put pen to paper. I definitely tried to imitate his style. I've grown away from that, but I still look to him for inspiration in finding the fantastic in seemingly mundane things. Also, Donald Barthelme is an author I've really come to admire. His ability to turn "word salad" into art is something I'm quite envious of.

Of everything you have written, what is your favourite?

Picking my favorite work is like picking a favorite child. I hate them all equally. Actually, I think my favorite is probably a drabble called "Talking to Strangers". I like my flash fiction more overall, but that one especially.

...and what is your fans' favourite?

"Characters Wanted!" is hands down the fan favorite. Nothing else I've done has come close to getting the response that it has. It's been on Wattpad for so long and it always surprises me when I get new comments on it and such. That said, I read it now and cringe at parts like I'm looking a pictures from my teen years.