Tevun-Krus #65 - AcidPunk

Author Spotlight: @minusfractions

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

Neat. Tall. Coffee-free.

What did you want your nickname at school to be? 

N/A

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

I wanted to be a movie-maker, then an astronaut, then a writer, then a mad scientist, then a cake decorator. Somewhere along the line I settled on engineer? Yeah, I know. A strange path. Your guess is really as good as mine.

What's your favourite quote?

"Go then, there are other worlds than these" from the Gunslinger by Stephen King.

Tell us about your reading/writing habits. If you're not a writer, then simply the former will suffice!

I'm not a fussy reader, but I don't have much time to read, so I do end up discriminating a bit and sticking to high fantasy, space opera, and short stories because they're my favourites. Also, if a story has mystery in it, I'll be on it faster than a fox in a wheelie bin! I read little snippets before bed and in micro-breaks throughout my day. I'm also not a fussy writer. With my short stories, I try to do a mix of genres and styles, but with novels I've stuck exclusively to sci-fi so far (with heavy helpings of mystery), though that is about to change... Trying to write a little every day means I write a lot on trains, on my phone while walking between places, and sometimes, if I'm lucky, at an actual desk. I write predominantly in notebooks these days, because it's therapeutic, and forces my inner editor down until the first draft is complete and can be typed up and fixed.

As your crew casts your lifeless body into the heart of the nearest star, list three pieces of music likely to be rattling the bulkheads of your beloved vessel!

If they're not playing something ironic to my cause of death, I'd be quite upset. I'd like "Circles round the sun" by Dispatch, "Soon soon," by Tom Rosenthal, and "Bomb through the town" by Admiral Fallow, probably in that order too.

Who is your all-time favourite author? How much, if at all, has their work influenced your writing style?

For this I'd have to say Stephen King and his fantasy/western type books like "The Gunslinger" . Although his works have had the biggest impact on my writing, I don't think it's an influence that's easy for readers to see. At the time in my life that I started reading his works, all I really read was YA fantasy/sci-fi adventure stories, so all I really knew or thought to write was YA fantasy/sci-fi novels. Reading things like "The Gunslinger" and its series opened me up to things I'd never seen before: a protagonist whose actions aren't always portrayed as good and heroic, a world where "things have moved on", grey morality, and so on, and I loved it. As a young writer, it was a huge eye opener of what I COULD do with a novel. Obviously, there are many novels that do these things, but Stephen King had the biggest influence on me because I was exposed to his stuff first.

Of everything you've written, which piece is your favourite? 

"Nineteen" is my favourite novel. Although it needs some work before I can attempt to publish it, the way all of the elements in it came together, I think it has the potential to be something really great.

Pitch the above story to us. Make us really want to read it!

Rich parties, new technology, and violence. "Nineteen" is a part of a greater tale about memories, the technology used to manipulate them, and the people who seek to abuse it. Set in the fantasy world of Doemaré at a time where turmoil is just around the corner, the story unfolds in the lavish hotel Ioone on its opening nights. Join Dagna Coban as she enters a world of lies and excess far beyond what she's ever known and caught in events beyond her control. Join Hans Ryer, a bounty hunter on his last chance, as he finds entirely the wrong woman, and so does all of his opposition.

To what extent does the mythical 'real life' influence your writing?

It definitely has its influence, but not as much as it used to. I'm most of the way through an Electronic Engineering degree, so there have been times when a lecturer has been talking about something and off-offhandedly said "I wonder if we'll see something like X in the future," even just more generally talked about how certain technologies have evolved already and left it to us to daydream where it might go, and I've perked up going "that would be cool to write about". But I'm not into detailed hard sci-fi so if I do carry ideas over, it tends to just be the idea and a loose, believable description of how it would work, rather than me actually using my studies to explain it accurately. These days, the real world is mostly just influences my characters and their relationships.

If you could have any superpower, what would that be and why?

Teleportation! I'd love to travel the world, and it would certainly make it a lot easier.

What would you do if you woke up to discover you were Superman?

Panic, immediately have to tell someone and give away my identity, and then, when I've calmed down, try to fly somewhere cool.

The Technological Singularity presents a rather daunting, some say inevitable, future. Does the prospect of that level of artificial intelligence excite you, or leave you quaking in your space boots?

I find it very exciting. It will totally change society as we know it, and that could be a very interesting thing to live through. It's certainly interesting to think about now.

Who was your first Sci-Fi crush? Who is your current one?

N/A

If you could experience the world of any Sci-Fi story on Wattpad, which would that be and why?

N/A

And finally, any words of wisdom to new and aspiring Sci-Fi writers?

Don't worry, you'll fit in somewhere. Sci-fi is vast and strange, with countless subgenres, so even if you worry you don't fit into what's generally considered sci-fi, I can almost guarantee that you'll find your place somewhere.