Voyager Online Q and A

This Interview Originally Appeared on Voyager Online

http://www.voyageronline.com.au/authors/profile.cfm?Author=101

 What inspired you to start writing?

A desperate creative urge, i guess, that wasn't being satisfied by my career in environmental science.

Who is your role model/mentor?

I can't say that i have one, really. I just decided I wanted to be a writer and went about it in my own way.

Which writers do you most admire?

I like Jack Vance, Ursula le Guin, Tad Williams, Michael Scott Rohan, Connie Willis, among others

Which of your books do you like the best? Why?

Not an easy question to answer. I could say the last one (my eco-terrorism future thriller, "The Last Albatross", which has just been published) because it's so different to my other work. or I could say my first one ("A Shadow on the Glass") because of a sentimental attachment to the first book I ever wrote. Or, the one I'm currently writing, a fantasy called "Geomancer" (the first of my new trilogy), because I've learned so much about writing in the last few years.

Which of your characters do you most hate and why?

Probably Hercus in The Last Albatross, because he's trying to do good but he becomes corrupt and ends up destroying so much that was good.

Which do you find more interesting to write about: good or evil?

Unlike most fantasy writers, I rarely write about good and evil, because whenever I start to write about a character who is a right scumbag, I find that as the character develops I find aspects of them that are good, or wise, or noble or decent. Besides, good vs evil is such a cliche in fantasy, and it's really limiting to the plot and the development of the character. Once the reader discovers that a book is about the struggle of good vs evil it makes the book more or less predictable.

How do you overcome writers block?

I've never had it, though I'm told that the best advice is "When you can't write, write." I write anything.

What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done?

Leading a team of environmental scientists on a couple of survey missions to Sumatra. What a disaster that was. Boats run aground, and impounded by the authorities, staff in the brig etc. Never again.

What five books/items would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island?

1. A complete set of Patrick O'Brian novels
2. A crate of port
3. A gallon of Tabasco
4. A few reams of paper
5. Some good company

What's your favourite quote (or joke)?

Samuel Johnson 'Nobody but a darn fool ever wrote for anything but money.'

What imaginary friends did you have as a child?

I don't think I did, poor sod.

What would be the first thing you'd do if an alien spaceship landed in your backyard?

Hide under the bed!

If you could go back in time to change any event in history, what would it be?

Perhaps the destruction of the great library at Alexandria. All that knowledge gone to waste.

What major scientific advancement do you think will be made this century?

Re-programmable genes. May even be able to make politicians altruistic instead of self-serving.

If you could possess any psychic/supernatural talent, what would it be?

X-ray vision. Of course, I'd only ever use it for the good of humanity ...

What would your Utopia be like?

Solitary confinement

How do you think the world will end?

Buy my novel, The Last Albatross, and find out.

If you were granted three wishes by a genie, what would you wish for?

Health, happiness and time to write