Gavin Wilson, otherwise known as TheOrangutan around Wattpad, is the SF-er of this issue. Gavin joined Wattpad in July of 2010 and has since gained the privilege of being a Wattpad Ambassador. He has over the years had his works published in magazines and compilations such as Spinetinglers, Five Stop Stories and Sanitarium Magazine. He was also given an honourable mention on the L Ron Hubbard writers of the future website.

Interview With Gavin Wilson - TheOrangutan

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

glittery, jumentous, supermodel, oompa-loompa, spanner, bathykolpian, slubberdegullion, ginglyform, ventripotent, khyphorrhinos, xylopolist and probably 99% of other words available in the OED.

What was your nickname in school?

at primary school it was Weed (not that I smoked pot at 6yrs old, I was just very small). Later on it was just Gav really, although some of my Uni friends used to call me Orangutan.

When you were little, what did you want to be?

A fireman, or Spiderman

Who do you look up to?

anyone taller than me, unless they're sitting down. Usually people I know and / or respect.

What is your favourite quote?

- I have three, all from the same author and they're called Clarke's 3 Laws. From British writer Arthur C. Clarke (deceased). They are:

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Other than writing, do you have a hobby?

I read a lot (can't write if you don't read). I also climb, cycle, play guitar, listen to music, make beer, and love food and drink.

What's something about you that many people don't know?

I'm a geologist by trade and occasionally get to abseil down a cliff as part of my job. It's kinda fun.

Writing Rituals

What was the first writing piece you were ever really proud of?

A Gift in the Dark. It was one of the first short stories I ever wrote and it won a competition which surprised me somewhat at the time. I was supremely proud and it gave me the impetus to keep going.

Who is your favourite author?

I don't really have one, but I love Terry Pratchett, Arthur C Clarke, Neil Gaiman, Larry Niven, and many others. Have a look at my Goodreads profile, you'll see what I mean.

When you write, what do you use to get a muse going?

I usually don't need a muse as such; the idea is what gets me going. Sometimes I write with a picture in mind, and occasionally an idea will be prompted by something I've seen, heard or read. Ideas can come from anywhere at any time.

What do you use to write?

normally Word on my computer, but I've been known to write in a notebook, on my tablet, even on my phone on occasions

Out of all the things you have ever written? What was your favourite?

A Gift in the Dark remains my favourite short, but I've also done poetry and longer stuff too. All of them have something that I like about them. There's no point not liking your own work. If you don't like it, what chance has anyone else got?

Was there one idea that you had that didn't turn out the way you envisioned it?

ideas are twisty little things sometimes. I've had some stories, particularly the short ones, which have changed and morphed as I've been writing them. I rather like that.

Do you use real life experiences to assist your writing? If so, which parts?

Much of my work has bits and bobs of my own life in it. For example, A Gift in the Dark was inspired by marrying a Cornish lady, and working around the tin mining areas in Cornwall. There are some great local legends down there. A lot of my characters are loosely based on people I know or people I've met, and some of my strongest ones are people I've greatly admired in my life or who I'm close to.

Sci-Fi Semantics

If all Sci-Fi writers weren't actually from earth, but another planet, what would the planet be called?

The Planet YeahButWhatIf?

You're the first person to achieve faster than light travel, where did you go and how did you do it?

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, with great difficulty and probably by listening to Arthur C Clarke.

If you were to get control of some sort of time travel device, where would you go?

To Mr Clarke's house to show him =] Perhaps I already have, and that's why he wrote such great stories.

What fictional Sci-Fi universe is your favourite?

I love dystopian and alternate history type stories. One of my favourites is Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven. The asteroid hits about a third of the way through the book, the rest is what happens next. Loved it. The World War books by Harry Turtledove are also superbly done. I tend to prefer SF that is set relatively close to home I guess.

If you suddenly got superpowers what would they be and what would you use them for?

I'd love to be able to grow stuff, really quickly. Rainforest gone – zap: there you go, have a new one. Starving children – zap: have a field of corn. I like feeding people and seeing people enjoy food.

First Contact

If you were abducted by aliens, what would they learn about the human race?

that they're bloomin' odd.

What alien race would you most like to be a part of and why?

I rather liked Q in Star Trek. It'd be quite cool to be able to go anywhere and do anything, at least for a few millennia anyway.

If aliens invaded, would you bow down to our new alien leaders or fight them in resistance?

If aliens invaded, I suspect fighting wouldn't be an option (read Trust by David Moody, it's on Wattpad). All that Will Smithian, Independence Day stuff is complete bull. If they've managed to travel this far, a bunch of tool wielding apes ain't gonna stop 'em. If the alien was more of a microbe, then we might have a chance.

Do you think we are alone in this universe?

- No. Whether we'll ever ascertain that or be able to have contact depends on many factors including communication, travel, whether the races are amicable or hostile, or any other numerous factors. I'd quite like to see it happen in my lifetime though. I think the most likely form of life we'll encounter is something pretty basic, and probably within our own solar system. I think that there will be many other forms of life out there, in the same way that there are many other species on this planet. Will we make contact with another race similar to our own? Who knows, it's a very big place.

There's still a hell of a lot we don't know about our own solar system, let alone the larger galaxy or universe. We may find life on Europa before we find signs from elsewhere: we may find a large watery marble... the universe is almost infinitely large (apparently), and then there's all the parallel universe theories and whatever else SF writers and scientists want to ponder about.

This is why I love SF; so many questions, so much potential, so much we don't know, and of course so much scope left to write some cool stories =]

Gavin has also taken to more or less self publishing his own story, if you would like to check out his book, "A Gift In The Dark" a compilation of short stories written by him, then go visit its page on smash words, here! http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/247656

Or, if you just want to know more about him, visit him here! http://www.wattpad.com/user/TheOrangutan