Interview with YA sci-fi author Nick Wilford

Today’s special guest is YA sci-fi novelist Nick Wilford and we’re chatting about his new novel, The Becalmer.

During his virtual book tour, Nick will be giving away a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Nick Wilford is originally from Brighton, England and now lives in a quiet town in Scotland with his wife, three daughters and six rescue dogs. Wanting to make a career from writing, he trained in journalism, but soon realized that the fictional realm was where his true passion lay. He enjoys writing speculative fiction, exploring the things that cannot be seen and “making the impossible reality.” Nick is the author of the Black & White YA dystopian series and has also published a collection of shorter fiction as well as curating, editing, and publishing a fundraising anthology featuring a diverse array of talent. By day, he works as a freelance editor, and he also enjoys travelling to inspiring locations with his family, listening to music and helping unwanted dogs find loving homes.

Please tell us about your current release.
The Becalmer tells the story of Harica, a girl with the ability to resolve conflicts using her mind. At the beginning of the story, she is in great demand among her peers to intervene in petty high school squabbles, so she is rather tired of this gift and sees it as something of a burden. The turning point comes when she is called on to stop a war on the planet around which her moon orbits. This comes in the form of facilitating an arranged marriage between the royal families on each side, where the bride is not playing ball. It turns out she shares the same gift but doesn’t use it for good, pushing back against Harica’s efforts and starting an epic battle of wills where Harica must learn to truly embrace her power if she’s going to prevail.

What inspired you to write this book?
The idea came while in lockdown, that pressure cooker environment where if you get into an argument with your family it wasn’t really possible to leave for a while to get some fresh air! The idea came to me that it would be very useful to resolve tensions basically by redirecting people’s brainwaves, which is the ability Harica has. It sounded futuristic, so it was natural to set it on a distant planet far in the future, and the rest snowballed from there.

Excerpt from The Becalmer:
The first man said, “We know she has the power to mediate disputes using only her mind.”

I snorted. “There’s more to it than that. It’s about the minds of the people in the dispute—I need to get into them and take control, and if one or both of them doesn’t want to let me in, I’ll fail. It’s not a superpower. It’s not guaranteed to work, and there’s a lot of times it doesn’t. I don’t know what you’re asking me to do here, but the first time I tried doing an adult’s dispute—as you call it—the entire contents of my stomach ejected themselves. I felt totally drained, in my mind as well as my digestive system.” I shuddered as I remembered that occasion in Mrs Jangaman’s office. All because she and the vice principal disagreed on a matter of discipline. Why was that down to me to sort out?

Dad stood up and took a couple of steps towards the men. “My daughter has schoolwork and responsibilities,” he said, trying to loom over them—although as a man of middling height, the effect wasn’t all it could have been. “She’s not a secret weapon, or a bargaining chip or however else you’d like to describe her. She’s a human being, and we ask that she’s allowed to get on with her life in peace.”

“We don’t even like her to get involved in her friends’ quarrels,” said Mum, putting her hand over mine on the couch. “We consider it a distraction. And we don’t think it’s good for her health.”

“Look,” said the second man. “There’s no guarantee it will work, of course. But your daughter’s intervention could be the thing that stops any more bloodshed and innocent civilians being caught in the crossfire. Wouldn’t you like her to play a key part in building a lasting legacy of peace?”

“I can speak for myself, you know,” I said, trying to make eye contact with the man, although he strenuously avoided it. It was like I was invisible to the two of them. “And yeah, I’d love to help, if I thought it could make a difference. But I’m not sure I can. It might be too much for me to cope with.” Truth be told, I was scared of the effects it might have, after what happened in the principal’s office. I didn’t want to give myself an aneurysm or something.

But being able to make a difference to the future of the planet? That wasn’t something I should pass up lightly, was it? And what if the conflict spread to our own home in the future?

“You heard her,” said Dad, standing up, ready to usher the two men on their way. “Our daughter’s health is paramount here.”

The fair headed guy looked to the guy in charge, who gave a very slight shrug of his shoulders, and then looked back at Dad, pinning him with an icy stare. “I wouldn’t think of this as over yet. If only there was a way your daughter’s talent could be harnessed without the adverse effects on her health. Get in touch if you change your mind.” He produced a card with contact details and set it on the table.

“Good day to you,” said Dad in his overly formal way, clearly unwilling to engage in any further dialogue. “You can see yourselves out.”

Both men stood up and made their way to the door, although not before the one in charge caught my eye and gave a knowing look as if to acknowledge that my own feelings weren’t quite as unequivocal as my dad’s. I just stared back blankly until the door closed behind them.

“I think we need to move to another planet,” said Dad.

“Now dear, there’s no need to be so dramatic,” said Mum. “They’ll find us wherever we are. If they ever come back, we just do the same thing—whatever they want us to do, we just politely, but firmly, decline.”

We? There’s no we here, Mum—I’m the one they’re after. Of course, fat chance of being asked my opinion on the matter. I shook my head and scooted up to my room, but not before scooping up the card left on the table, getting no objections from my parents—of course, to them I was clearly invisible, like with that man, and they probably didn’t think I would actually contact them.

Closing the door behind me, I paced up and down for a minute before throwing myself on the bed, but nothing helped me process my thoughts. A tidal wave of conflicting emotions was threatening to engulf me. I knew one thing—I couldn’t just dismiss the chance to make a difference to millions of people and potentially prevent countless casualties. My parents might have ruled the idea out flat, but that didn’t mean I had.

What exciting project are you working on next?
At the moment I’m working on an idea about the creeping impact AI has, combined with VR. The main character is given the opportunity to take part in a VR experience set in the world of her favourite teen show – a bit of a Dawson’s Creek-style thing. However, things soon go wrong, as they tend to do with anything I write. Is the AI growing out of control of its own accord? Or is it through humans pulling the strings? That’s the stage I’m at!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I started writing my first book in my mid-twenties – although I’d dabbled in it before that, I never really completed anything so that was the first time I really committed to it. I suppose I considered myself a writer from that point.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I’d love to be able to write full time but it’s not been possible yet, hopefully in the future! I’m an editor by day, so still working with words, which I enjoy, although a lot of it is more on the technical or academic side. However, it’s great that I can work from home. I’m an early morning writer because my mind is fresher then and I get peace!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I like to make up new and unique names for characters, places etc. These don’t always become apparent straight away and until then I use a system of symbols to represent them. That’s maybe not that interesting but it can make for a quirky read for critique partners who may have to contend with this!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I did want to be an actor, despite being chronically shy! I got into drama at high school, taking part in a club where we would write our own material and perform it on stage. That gave me the bug for writing, which I realized was more appealing than the performance part!

a Rafflecopter giveaway