stephen_dedman's questions...

[martinlivings]

1. How old were you when you decided you wanted to be a writer?

I don't think a light switch or anything like that went off for me. I've always written fiction, from the moment I started reading and writing. I remember sending some awful stories to Far Out magazine when I was in high school. But I think the serious bug was given to me at my first Swancon back in 1990, when I met the Eidolon crowd and Terry Dowling. That was probably the main moment. So, twenty.

2. What had you wanted to be before that?

An astronaut when I was a kid. Then a computer programmer, preferably making games. I even sold some that I'd made for the Dick Smith VZ200 and VZ300, as my own little company, while I was in high school.

3. Have you written, or do you plan to write, a sequel to Carnies?

Yes, one day, if I ever find a good plot for it, or manage to resell Carnies to an overseas market and it's successful enough to warrant one. It already has a title, Bitches, and a tentative prologue which will probably not be used if I ever get around to writing it. The hard part will be making it as standalone as I can, so that readers don't have to have read the first book to enjoy the second. How the hell do you do that???

4. Where would you rather be - a Perth summer, or a London winter?


London winter, without hesitation. It's much easier to get warm when you're cold than to get cool when you're hot; you can always put more clothes on, but you reach a point where you can no longer take clothes off, not without getting arrested. Plus, you know, if it gets too bad, you can climb on a train and be in Spain or the south of France in a matter of hours!

5. What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?

Funnily enough, it's probably the same as the happiest thing. November 23rd, 2001, meeting Izz for the first time in the flesh. :)