If you had to describe yourself in one word, what words wouldn't you use?
Country
What did you want your nickname at school to be?
Published Nerdy Author Kid or Optimus Prime
When you were a young 'un, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wrote a book starring myself when I was 5. Writer. Dream for life.
What's your favourite quote?
Danny: "There's a girl in the garden."
Shaun: "What?"
Danny: "In the garden, there's a girl."
Tell us about your reading/writing habits.
Stay up until the middle of the night, type with my eyes closed, and read the horrible, turgid slurry that I've just birthed into the world.
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!
Something by U2, You Can Do It by Ice Cube, and In the Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg.
Who is your all-time favourite author? How much, if at all, has their work influenced your writing style?
Toss-up between a) JK Rowling and b) Douglas Adams. Both have greatly influenced me, and if I ever meet either of them, I'll either a) soil myself and fall over or b) hope that I got all my ducks in a row with my Last Will and Testament.
Of everything you've written, which piece is your favourite?
Hemingway Man.
Pitch the above story to us. Make us really want to read it!
It's semi-autobiographical. A boy loses his father, and is suddenly at a loss about how to become a man. He tries to follow Ernest Hemingway's list of what a boy needs to do to become a man, and according to Big Bad Ernie, that involves fighting a bull.
To what extent does the mythical 'real life' influence your writing?
Real life is the source of the greatest insanities the universe has to offer. A trip to Walmart, a call home, a visit to your child's principal all have the potential to be just goldmines for stories, characters, and tasty lines throughout your stories. I absolutely plumb the depths of real life for inspiration.
If you could have any superpower, what would that be and why?
Not having to wait until I'm dead to enjoy the fruits of my literary endeavours.
What would you do if you woke up to discover you were Superman?
Tell Warner Brothers to stop making my movies so dark and humourless.
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?
Because anything on the Internet is forever, I'll say it excites me, if that pleases you, O Great and Benevolent Megatron.
Who was your first Sci-Fi crush? Who is your current one?
First: Leeloo Dallas Multi-pass. Current:
If you could experience the world of any Sci-Fi story on Wattpad, which would that be and why?
I've barely scratched the surface of what's out there, but 'Four Baristas of the Apocalypse' by Reffster is a truly delightful, funny story that has a rich, wonderful world. It's like Douglas Adams wrote a sixth book in the Trilogy of Four and had spent a lot of time making espresso before he got to work.
And finally, any words of wisdom to new and aspiring Sci-Fi writers?
As cheesy as this sounds, your imagination doesn't have the same boundaries you do. When you're writing your masterpieces, let it take over.
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