Tevun Krus Author's Spotlight: this month with johnnedwill

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

Organised. Tidy. My bookshelves are stacked triple-deep, and there is spillover onto the floors and staircase. The games collection is just as bad!

Think back to when you were in school. What was your favourite subject?

It wasn't a subject. I was in the naval cadet force at school. It was a voluntary thing, but if you joined you had to be in it for two years. I must have liked it as I spent six years in it! In that time I learnt how to sail, how to navigate and a few other things of somewhat more dubious merit. I also got to spend time on naval vessels.

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

In my grandmother's house there were a lot of 1950s encyclopedias that were full of articles on the Space Age and the Atomic Age. So, it should be no surprise that I wanted to be an astronaut or a nuclear engineer. Try not to imagine me giggling while bathed in the glow of Cherenkov radiation,

What does Tevun-Krus mean to you?

It's a community thing, mainly. It's good to know there are others out there who share the same interests and who will give support when needed.

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

I'm a voracious reader. I've even been known to read the back of mineral water bottles if there's nothing else to read. I usually have a couple of books on the go - one set of short stories to dip into, and a novel to go at. Sometimes you just need a change.

As for writing, I always carry a couple of black Moleskine hardback notebooks with me to jot things down in. My first drafts are done in hand, using a Manuscript 1856 fountain pen that a very good friend gave to me on my 48th birthday. That way I keep another of my friends happy. She works as an archivist at the Bodleian Library and is of the opinion that writing everything in software means that we will lose our insights into how writers think.

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!

Hmm. I think I'd start with the march from Pucell's 'Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary':

https://youtu.be/-MGqVkk3Uss

Then, as the casket drifts into space, Komm Sußer Tod by Shiru Sagisu:

https://youtu.be/rQiHzcdUPAU

And as the solar flares embrace me and turn me into star-stuff, some Pink Floyd:

https://youtu.be/9wjZrswriz0

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

There is one author who has stayed with me throughout the years: Jonathan Swift. I love the 'Voyage to Laputa' in 'Gulliver's Travels'. It's a reminder that science fiction is all about wonder and ideas. I just wish I could write with the same wickedness he could.

Out of the more modern writers, I like Stanislaw Lem. Sometimes satirical, often surreal, always thoughtful.

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

I've written a lot of short stories and flash fiction with a science fiction bent. But my favourite isn't among those. My favourite piece is one that only exists in fragments in my notebooks. It doesn't have a title yet. I just think of it as my 'Anno Domini' story.

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

The story is set in an alternate universe where the cosmos is very definitely pre-Copernican and the Church has kept progress at bay for almost five centuries. A priest, intrigued by stories of a book that contains the true history of the world, sets out on a voyage to the New World to discover its secrets and why the world is the way it is. Somewhere along the line there will be an assassin, godlike aliens and Mormons.

It's all in my head. Of course, this doesn't mean I'll ever write it!

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

A lot. It's strange what sparks the imagination and sends it down its myriad ways. A word, a picture, a snatch of music. It doesn't take much, sometimes, to inspire a story.

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

I'd like a fully-equipped secret base and an army of loyal henchmen to do my bidding, if you please. I've already got my supervillain alter-ego and plans sorted out. All I need is the backing.

What would you do if you woke up one day and suddenly realized you were an alien from another world?

I'd make sure nobody found out. I wouldn't want any interference with my mission on this planet.

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 don't think we will ever have true AI. The best we will ever have will be personal assistants like Alexa, Cortana or Siri. On the other hand, I believe in a transhumanist future where our memories and personalities will be uploaded into computronium substrates. I'm fine with that. I've come to an agreement with my future selves that the original me will remain organic, but any digital forks can do what they like,

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

There were so many on British tv in the 70s and 80s. Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering in 'Buck Rogers'), Jacqueline Pearce (Servalan in 'Blakes' 7'), Louise Jameson (Leela in 'Doctor Who'). But my first real sci-fi crush would be Lalla Ward (Romana II in 'Doctor Who'). There was just something about that Edwardian-era sailor dress ... .

Now I'm a bit too old for crushes. Although I wouldn't mind having a drink with Mary Robinette Kowal. I'd like to discuss some of the issues she raises in her 'Calculating Stars' series.

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

Can I plead the Fifth on that one?

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

Read as much as you can - not just science fiction. Science fiction is meant to be the fiction of ideas, so anything is fair game.

Thanks for the interview!

どういたしまして.