Interview With Author Will Gibson
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am Will Gibson, and I live in Newcastle with wife, Victoria, and my two children, Elijah and Xanthe.
My day job is as an executive in the retail and telecoms space. I’ve visited over 75 countries and have lived in the UK, Moscow, Singapore, Miami and Athens during my lifetime. I’m an avid traveller and a lover of science fiction from Arthur C. Clarke to namesake William Gibson, it’s long been on my bucket list to write a novel. I started in 2018 writing on an iPhone while on yet another international flight. This is my first novel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first novel is called “The Unravelling” and it is a near-future dystopian science fiction thriller that imagines a world set in the year 2038 where automation rules everything. My work in the telecoms space inspired a lot of world-building themes in the novel and I’m a tech geek too so that helps. In my industry I often try to imagine what is next for the telecom industry, and connected everything and the death of the smartphone are two topics explored in the book that are both a risk and an opportunity for my industry.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
80% of the book was written on an iPhone! I started a blog to document my process which I guess in unusual, but it works for me. I’ve got the bug now and I’m on to novel #2 which is very different, but still in a similar genre.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My influences are firstly movies, and secondly books. I wrote a blog about those which you can find here. As a child of the 80’s, BBC classics like “The Day of the Triffids” adapted from the John Wyndham classic left a mark on me, as did things like “2001, A Space Odyssey”. I was big into computer games, and the BBC Micro classic “Elite” (a space trading game) was something I could get lost in for days not hours.
What are you working on now?
I’m 3 chapters into my next novel – another science fiction thriller called “The Paranoid Android”. It’s inspired by the Radiohead song and is set over 100 years in the future about a sentient house butler who learns to dislike his corrupt master fiercely, while remaining steadfastly loyal to his wife. I’ve got the bug now and am hoping to have that done by the end of the year and released.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am open to ideas! Currently trying absolutely everything as a newbie, so I will report back on that at a later date if that’s ok!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t procrastinate. Move forward at the sake of accuracy and clarity. Keep your story moving forward and only when it’s done go back and edit, edit, edit.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
JFDI – “just f***** DO IT!”
What are you reading now?
Vert by Jeff Noon and Deamon by Daniel Suarez.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to get this story out to as many people as possible, and have some engaging discussions about the future of the smartphone and what fully automated everything can bring to society. Then publish my second book before Christmas.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Neuromancer – William Gibson
Robopocalypse – Daniel H Wilson
The Running Man – Richard Bachman
2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C Clarke
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