About the story - "Angel Virus"

A young custodian cleans up a spill in a virology lab. He gets infected, but he just gets stronger and better looking. Every symptom that develops seems like an improvement. Until he starts seeing devils.

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About the author - guywortheyauthor

I'm a Wyoming native but I traded spurs and lassos for telescopes and computers when I decided to pursue astrophysics. Away from my day job, I write fiction, now in the slightly less rectangular state of Washington. I play jazz bass and keyboards and occasionally play with my classical violinist wife, Diane, who is now a twice-published children's book author. 

 While I do have a book series in print, I like WattPad for experiments and pieces of fiction that I don't know what to do with. Also, the people are fun.

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"She wanted to be an astronaut, and she had the brain for it. She just didn't have other necessary parts, like two working ears and legs that wouldn't lurch when she walked. Like I say, sometimes your dad dies. You just have to carry on. Sometimes, you don't get what you want."

- from Angel Virus 

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Q. What makes you start writing on Wattpad? What is the most memorable moment you have encountered here? 

Starting in 2016, I began a series of adventures meant to be read by teens and I began self-publishing them. The (true) rumor was that WattPad had a lot of readers of that age, so I actually started posting stories on WattPad as a way to reach a demographic that is otherwise really difficult to target and make them aware of my book series in the real world. That idea didn't work for me whatsoever. But now that I'm established on WattPad, I like it. I post writing experiments there, and I am involved in critiquing and judging. 

Perhaps the most memorable thing in recent times was a policy goof by Wattpad. Pardon my poor memory, but it was either the Ambys or the ONC where WP put up new rules that pretty much stripped all copyright protections from the writers that entered the contest. The community response was overwhelming and negative, for understandable reasons. In the midst of protesting the change, however, I made a lot of new friends. Yay, friendship! 

Q. Your book "Angel Virus" revolves around RIk who works as a janitor in a virology lab, and happens to clean up a broken test tube. From that moment, weird things started to happen, as he caught a virus from the lab, and his sister Trixie caught up the virus too. How did you come up with this storyline? Why did you choose to write it like that? 

This story idea came from an ONC prompt: "Accidents in the science lab can go seriously ... right." I thought that was a brilliant prompt, and wondered what things could go right for the protagonist. Could they get healthier? Stronger? Better-looking? Superpowers? And I basically said yes to all that. But as anyone who has read Spiderman knows, getting powers is a sure road to misery. 

Q. What do you think makes a good and intriguing fantasy genre? How did you manage to build up a good relationship for your characters Rik and Trixie as a sibling? 

Good fiction in general must have memorable characters first, and an appealing plot or interesting theme comes second. My siblings, Rik and Trixie, support each other unconditionally because other aspects of their lives are unpredictable and sometimes cruel. I illustrate this early on in the story when Rik makes Trixie's school lunch (to illustrate his sense of responsibility to her) and speaks to her good ear (implying Trixie is hearing impaired) and watches her get safely down the stairs (because Trixie's legs are shriveled due to birth defects). Rik wants to be a songwriter but took a janitor job after his father passed away, leaving him the oldest in the family, now shrunk to two people. Rik certainly isn't perfect, but he shouldered this huge responsibility without complaining. Well, not too much complaining, anyway.

Q. Since it is ONC season, what is your inspiration and motivation to write an ONC work in a limited time duration? 

I like the novella word count. The "half-novel" length means fewer plot twists and side trips, making me focus on the main aspects of the story. I tend to write spin-offs of other things I have written, but Angel Virus is an example of a story that beamed from outer space without any connection to any of my other projects.

Q. A famous friendship/family relationship in fiction or media works that you are obsessed with?

Recently, I have found Wednesday and Enid's relationship to be quite entertaining. Classically, Jem, and Scout are mutually supportive siblings in To Kill A Mockingbird. I absolutely loved the Sherlock Homes story in which he seeks help from his brother Mycroft, who is far more brilliant than Sherlock but also vastly lazier. And on the dark side, in the recent Loki series where Loki (male) feels lust for Loki (female). That added dimension of self-love is hilarious. Somehow, it must be completely wrong, but it's not easy to put in words exactly why since the situation is literally impossible. 

Q. What is your advice for new writers who want to try writing themes revolving around a healthy relationship?

I'm no expert, here, but I'd say "Keep it real." Even a healthy relationship has pulls and pushes. Most relationships that don't involve common external enemies are likely to devolve into bickering of the destructive variety. In a healthy relationship, one partner will be willing to make sacrifices for the other, and it's a two-way street. If it's a story about the growth of the relationship, it's often a story about how one partner decides to make a key sacrifice for the sake of the other.

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~ More to come, friends.