Wednesday, October 6, 2021

INTERVIEW: Canadian Science Fiction Author Liam Gibbs



Liam Gibbs


but “Aren’t You the Guy Who Owes Me Money” to some


Ottawa, Canada




 

Good morning, Liam, and welcome to Vision and Verse, the site 


for books, art, and authors and those love them. Love your puppy. 


Can you tell us a little about what you’ve written?


I’m proudest of In a Galaxy Far, Far AwRy, the best sci-fi space 


comedy since the last sci-fi space comedy!

 



What is your favorite genre to write?


Science fiction, but I like to dabble in horror and tall tales about saving


orphans from fires.

 


Favorite food.


Peanut butter. I’d swim


in it if I could. Hmmm...

 


Tea or coffee?      


Tea


                                                                      Pizza or ice cream?


Both, but definitely not


at the same time


Okay, at the same


time on a dare.


 

Wine or beer or soda 


or what?


Soda, if I had to pick


from the three of 


those. Or maybe


what. I’ve heard good 


things about what. I think they’re making cherry what now.



 

Haha! I can't wait for Cherry What!


 Where would you like to visit?


Downtown Cybertron, but failing that, Europe

 



Favorite musical artist.


Faith No More

 



Do you listen to music when you write?  What?


I can, but I have to turn it off if my concentration gets wonky. 


The “what” is up to my mood.




What makes you laugh?


Just about everything. I’d like to say decisions from government, 


but I think those should make me cry instead. Or maybe a good 


quirky outlook on life.

 


Favorite work of art or sculpture.


Where I live, there’s a stainless-steel spider outside the National 


Gallery of Canada. It’s a 30-foot-high monster sculpture, and if 


you look at its underbelly, there are 32 marble eggs hanging off. 


It was built in 1999 and still stands there.

 



How old were you when you started writing?


I’m told I was four years old when I first wrote a tiny book about 


a cow going into a field and eating grass. It was coloured and 


everything. My parents lost that book somewhere in their 


keepsakes, but if they’re telling the truth, apparently I’ve been 


writing for over 40 years.

 

I mean for over 15 years. Because I’m not in my forties. I’m 


young. Right?



 

Yes,  right. 


Do you plan out your book with outlines 


and notecards? Or just write?


I’ve gone back and forth. I’ve planned my current work in


progress up to about halfway, give or take. But there have been 


times I just winged it. Both methods give me degrees of 


success. I’ve been really proud of ones I’ve planned and ones 


where I winged it. On the flipside, there are ones that I’ve 


planned and ones that I didn’t plan where I thought I could have 


done better. I’ve even planned things and then abandoned the 


plan partway through. All depends on what I feel I need to do to 


start it off.

 



Describe your perfect evening.


Either calm, relaxing, and quiet, or raging and bustling. A party 


exploding like dynamite. Two polar opposites, and I’ll take either 


of them, but I’ve definitely got to have company along the way. 


The middle ground is too boring.



 

Where do you get your inspiration?


Would it be weird if I said comic books inspire me to write 


prose?



No.


 Aside from that, I get inspired from funny things: anything from


movies to TV shows to stories I hear online to even just a witty line or 


comeback.

 



What do you do when you get a writer's block?


Go for a walk. Walking helps pump blood, and if there’s anything my 


discount brain needs, it’s a good blood pumping. Walking helps me 


wake things up, but it’s not too intense that I can’t think at the same 


time.


 




Who is your favorite author?

F. Paul Wilson, Fabian Nicieza, and Dean Koontz all come to mind.

 



Best book you ever read.


Not sure if I have just one, but if I had to pick, The New Warriors Vol. 


1 Omnibus. My stories are heavily inspired by New Warriors, and that 


omnibus has the first 26 issues with a bunch of guest appearances and 


side stories thrown in.

 



Last book you read.


The Bible and Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by 


Adrian Harte.

 



What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?


Meh. Probably a web designer or a waiter. I’m serious on that last one. 


People always think of being a world traveler or hotshot actor. I just 


like talking to people in a low-stress setting. There’s nothing more 


low-stress than getting people their food…unless you have a problem 


customer.

 



Oh, ugh, Liam. I think people are at their worst when they're 


hungry. Rude, impatient. HANGRY!


But no one bases their dreams on the bad times, only the good times. 


So in my dreams, there’s no such thing as a problem customer.




Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the 


most and why?


Maybe my grandfather. He’s been gone for about 20 years, but he was 


the one who told me to push my writing hobby to the next level. The 


question was about my personal life and not my writing life, but my 


writing life has affected my personal life in a huge way, so there it is.

                                                                 

                                                                         


 

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, 


living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?


Probably Stan Lee. I never got to meet him in real life, and I want to 


dig into his thoughts about...well...so many subjects. To make me pick 


one conversation to have with him would take me pages upon pages 


here.


 

Apart from him, my grandfather from the previous question. “Hey, 


Papa, look what happened.

 



What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a 


writer?


Learn your craft. Read everything on the subject. They say that 


doing is the best way to learn, and that’s totally true. But there’s 


no reason you have to bump around in the dark while you learn.

 

Also, don’t stress it. I’ve been to the edge of burnout and back 


with my writing career. Or “career.” Not sure which. Burnout 


steals everything, even the joyful parts. It makes you scared of 


everything. Don’t go there. Stop kicking your own butt. Take it 


easy. Laboring over everything to the point of exhaustion does 


nobody any good.

 



Do you have some links for us to follow you?


Definitely.


Amazon: http://tiny.cc/iagffa_amazon (where the first ebook of my In 


a Galaxy Far, Far AwRy series is free at http://tiny.cc/iagffa1_amazon)


Website: https://www.inagalaxyfarfarawry.com


Facebook: http://tiny.cc/iagffa_facebook


Twitter: http://tiny.cc/iagffa_twitter


LinkedIn: http://tiny.cc/iagffa_linkedin










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