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

Tall, conversationalist, relaxed, pushover. Well, I hope not on the last one, anyway.

What did you want your nickname at school to be?

What did I want my nickname to be or what was my nickname? If the former, then I had an A5 list somewhere with a Daenerys-esque gaggle of titles. I think one of them may have been 'Master of the Universe' and that one actually stuck for a day or two.

If it's the latter, then it's maybe a combination of 'Peter Pan' (or 'Twinkletoes' because I bounced about a lot in lieu of decent footwork in fencing club), 'The Tracker' (back when, yes, I thought I was half time lord — I honestly have no idea why I was so crazy as a kid and can't remember most of it) and...actually, I think that's it.

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

Clearly a Sith. *Ahem* No, I wanted to be a paleontologist. Then when I realised that would never get me a decent career or finances (good call), I thought about being a brain surgeon (good thing I didn't choose that because I unwillingly faint at the sight of injections/anything sharp being stabbed into people).

I was very interested in space, but thought pursuing a career in it was too popular and made the unfortunate mistake of regarding biology as 'slimy science', despite it being my best and favourite subject outside of maths. Then it was quantum physics (which I decided was dull), then before I left school it was nanotechnology (which I still think is really cool — check out the Nokia Morph concept).

What's your favourite quote?

Oh, please don't ask me this. I have so many. I think I'm going to have to provide two. The first is from Ender's Game (one of my all-time favourite books):

'In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves.'

And that quote doesn't really need an explanation. The other quote is from a Star Wars: The Old Republic comic called The Lost Suns. It kind of suffers out of context (non-Force-sensitive who grew up believing they could use the Force), but it's still a favourite:

'Imagine being told that the universe is full of light. Once you open your eyes, the light will guide you and comfort you in your darkest moments. Now, imagine realising that the light exists, but that you've been blind, you've always been blind, and you're never going to see anything.'

Other than writing, what hobbies do you have?

Reenactment. I started doing 12th century and Napoleonic, but the group I did it was a) littered with some not very nice people, b) not only historically inaccurate but completely disrespectful (I've seen pictures of events I wasn't at where they 'red-faced' to look Arabic :( ) and c) unsafe (they ordered us to charge a misfired cannon from the front, I got hit in the eye with a spear... you get the picture).

So now I guess I'm independent. I'd like to do 12th century again, but it's slow to get the proper kit together. At the moment I do 40s civilian and I nearly have the kit to display as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service. The thing about reenactment is that it's educational — everything needs to be as accurate as possible and you need to be able to talk about it. Anything less, especially for something as recent as WWII, is really not on. It gives completely the wrong impression to the public if you rock up in terrible kit and spend all weekend messing about.

The awesome thing about 40s reenactment is when the people who were alive then come up to you and start talking about it (or even younger people talking about their relatives). You hear some good things.

I realise I waffled on for a while, so other hobbies: drawing, painting figures, playing games and getting lost on Wookieepedia.

As your crew cast your lifeless body into the core of the nearest star, list three pieces of music likely to be rattling the bulkheads.

End of my Journey — John Dreamer (only just realised it's a Mass Effect tribute. Huh.)

All Along the Watchtower — as much as I love the BSG and Hendrix ones, I have to go for the version from Lucifer, because it's awesome (as is the show).

I'm Proud of You — from Mass Effect 3, because if they won't cry at me they'll definitely cry at what happened in that scene.

https://youtu.be/eZKF9-HNZW0

Who is your all-time favourite author? How much - if at all - have they influenced your writing style?

Again, a question with so many potential answers. I'm probably going to have to go with Terry Pratchett over anyone else, for obvious reasons. He used to be a heavy influence on my writing style, but as I grew older I was less able to write like that. I'm sorry, humorous footnotes. You will be missed.

Of everything you have written, what is your favourite?

I actually really like the piece I've just written for your Zombiepalooza. It's the first time I've written anything about zombies and I really enjoyed making them different to your usual shuffler/runner combo. It probably helped that I'd just finished playing The Last of Us beforehand, too.

...and what is your fans' favourite?

Well, not many people read my stuff on here, so the stats aren't high enough to draw any conclusions from. Considering the reception it's had elsewhere, I'd say Revel (part of The Ocean Deep series) is probably the favourite. It's a Star Wars story and it's on here as well if you fancy checking it out! (Updates once or twice a month with 3-4000 words.)

We know some of the big authors, Orson Scott Card and Tolkien, for example, incorporate their religious beliefs into their work. Are you religious? If so, do you incorporate those beliefs into your work?

Nope, not religious. I guess you could say I incorporate that into my work because I never really mention religion (outside high fantasy, anyway). I wouldn't necessarily say that means my characters aren't religious — I guess they're just like most people I know and never need to say anything about it. Thanks for reminding me I probably ought to think about that more often.

How much does real life experience influence your writing?

In the short term, if I'm annoyed about something, I find I tend to work it into whatever I'm writing and pick it apart or knock it down a few pegs. In the long term, it means I can write about some things without having to do too much research beforehand, and I guess it just gives me more breadth of ideas as I'm going along.

If an alien race was, unbeknownst to us, watching and studying us from afar, what do you think their primary findings would be?

Depends on the aliens and their motives. They could be saying 'these are interesting, let's keep an eye on them', 'these are primitive but have potential, let's wait for their worth to mature a bit before subjugating them' or just 'we should probably let these people know about the new hyperspace bypass'. Generally I think they'd be impressed by the adaptability, unsurprised by the conflict and a little bit disappointed in the lack of further manned spaceflight.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I watched Heroes when it first came out and remember someone called Joan (I think) who could do anything she saw someone else do. It would be a really cool way to learn new things in the blink of an eye and, if you extended it to anything you could visualise in your mind, practically limitless. Just watch Star Wars again and you're all set.

Is there a particular moment in history that you would change if you could, regardless of the consequences?

Everything is a product of its past — dark and light moments all rolled into one. To change even something that would seem a positive change is to deny evolution and progress.

There are countless variations on the 'punk' subgenre of Science Fiction, and we're guilty of creating a few of our own, too... Which is your favourite, and why?

I'm having to load up Wattpad just to check the list again. I'll admit I haven't had much time to read recent issues (I read Sword and Planet, I think). Nanopunk is pretty cool — I said above that I like nanotech, so that'll be where that comes from.

The Technological Singularity presents a rather daunting, some say inevitable, future. Does the prospect of that level of Artificial Intelligence excite you, or make you quake in your boots?

As long as people handle it well and we don't become overly reliant on digital systems, we should be fine. True AI would ideally be limited to large-scale projects rather than individual devices. I quite look forward to being able to chat to an AI without talking round in circles like the current chatbots.

The Earth is, at some point, gonna' die. There's nothing we can do about it, certainly not realistically and definitely not with our current technological level. Of all the things that could possibly destroy our homeworld though, which do you think is the most likely and why?

The current most likely nuclear war scenario (India v Pakistan) isn't actually too bad in terms of global consequences, so I don't reckon it'll be that. If we can't jet ourselves off this planet, even just to a space habitat, pretty soon then I imagine it will be food and (drinkable) water shortages that do us in.

Myths and Legends have been around since forever and will most likely continue to grow and develop until we, the human race, are nothing more than a memory but of all such things you have read, what is your favourite 'modern,' interpretation of a particular tale of old?

Well I like the originals, personally. Does Lucifer count as a retelling? If not, I think the only thing I've read that's relevant is the Percy Jackson series. Actually there's a cool game called 'Year Walk' that takes Finnish(?) folklore into account.

Of all the sports in the world, is there one in particular you'd like to see given the Sci-Fi treatment? In your mind, how would that work?

Quidditch. Maglev(ish) broomsticks. 'Nuff said.

Given the opportunity, would you board a Generation Ship knowing full well it'd be very unlikely that you would never set foot upon land again? Explain...

If the Earth was definitely screwed, yep. If the rest of my relatives were dead, yep. If I were guaranteed an interesting and useful job on the journey, yep. The thing about generation ships is for it to be really feasible, they'd have to make it good to live in. I'd miss land and everything, but considering I'd need a damned good reason to get on that ship in the first place, I figure it would be worth it.

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

I think I liked Captain Becker from Primeval, back when that was on TV. I blame the lycra shirt. Nowadays it changes pretty often, but is usually an RPG character because if the writing's good enough I get really attached to them (e.g. Garrus).

You're a low-ranked crewman on an intergalactic cruiser. It pays well enough but it's not the most exciting job in the 'Verse. Drinking one night whilst on shore leave you find yourself deep in conversation with the leader of a band of space pirates. What do you do next?

Either chat with them, then leave them alone, or let them think that I want to join them or something to get as much information as possible out of them before sending the information over to law enforcement. Under a pseudonym. Preferably with a different face.

Now this one might prove to be a bit of a shout-out to a fellow Wattpadder, but that's no bad thing if you ask me! If you could experience the world of any science fiction book on Wattpad, first hand, which world would that be and why?

None of the books I've got round to reading, that's for sure — it's a mad-house out there! That said, if I had absolutely no attachments on Earth then I wouldn't mind KimberlyTate's Colonised and Pioneered. I love that kind of thing — there's not so much to explore down here anymore and it would be amazing to get the chance to discover everything on a whole new planet. I also reckon I'd have a better shot at safety than that lot, but that's the beauty of not being a main character ;) .

And finally, any words of wisdom for new and aspiring writers?

If you mix 'it's' and 'its', I'll hunt you down.

Nah, just kidding. Just write, really, and if you don't know something, look it up. Always seek critical feedback and don't fling your own fecal matter at people who actually bother to give you constructive criticism.

Everyone finds their own way, so tips like 'write five hundred words a day' and that are useless. That said, there's an app called Writometer that's pretty useful if you like to project manage your books.

Although, as reference to my original point: If you ever plan on self-publishing anything, please for the love of all that is written hire a proofreader at the very least, unless you're super-confident in your own ability or have a friend who can read through it for you. I feel pretty confident but I'd still want to hire an editor — once it's out, it's out, along with any embarrassing mistakes.