Interview between Leucrota Press Editor in Chief Danielle Kaheaku and author W.D. Wilcox.

DKaheaku: Tell just a little about yourself.

Wilcox: I am ever so old, 56, but it seems like thirty. I am an accomplished musician and have sold seven songs in Hollywood, CA. I run a retail mattress store and write in between customers. I was a musician and songwriter for over twenty years. When I finally settled down, I put all that aside and started a family and a successful insurance business. But I wasn’t happy. It was my wife who encouraged me to do something that I really enjoyed, which was creating…writing.

DKaheaku: Do you have other previous publications? What are they?

Wilcox: Not really. I mean, my stories and poems have appeared in literary magazines, and I have been in several major E-zines across the web, but never by a big publishing house like I want. Most recently, you can find my work at BewilderingStories.com and AsininePoetry.com.

DKaheaku: What inspired you to write “The Voyage of the Wayfarer?”

Wilcox: I was inspired by two of my favorite stories: ‘Frankenstein,’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey.’ Basically, I wanted to create Frankenstein in Outer Space. At least that was my original intent; it kind of turned into ‘something else.’

DKaheaku: Were you trying to write with a deeper message within your story?

Wilcox: I guess you could say the message is: Man vs. Machine…but I also wanted to describe the horror of having someone working on your brain, your body, doing inexplicable things to you, and the feeling of being completely helpless, and unable to stop them. Each time the main character awakens something new and more horrifying has been done to her. It is unnerving.

DKaheaku: How many times did you rework the story until you were satisfied?

Wilcox: I’ve rewritten this over a dozen times and still tinker with it on occasion. I’ve even considered turning it into a novella.

DKaheaku: How long have you been writing science fiction? Or rather, fiction in general?

Wilcox: I’ve been a sci-fi buff forever, as my library will bear out, but for me, it’s not so much the adventure of space travel as it is the horror of the unknown. In my sci-fi stories, aliens are never friendly, and space can kill you in a million different ways.

DKaheaku: Many writers have a formula or routine they follow when they write. Do you?

Wilcox: I just write. Whenever I try to make something happen it comes out contrived. I like spontaneity.

DKaheaku: What time is your favorite time to write? What about your favorite place?

Wilcox: I mostly write in the early mornings or late at night. Life always seems to happen in between. Like most writers, I work at my computer desk, but I’ve been known to scribble on any piece of paper I can find when the muse hits me.

DKaheaku: What role does your family play in your writing?

I am married and have four daughters. At times, my house can be estrogen central, but if it weren’t for my family, I wouldn’t write at all. They are very supportive.

DKaheaku: What is your ultimate goal for your writing? What do you hope to do in the future?

Wilcox: I am seriously working on two novels at once. One is a horror/mystery where the sense of smell is used to revive a woman who has been comatose since she was brutally attacked. The other is a straight-out horror story about a guy who works in a slaughterhouse and looses his grip on reality. I have hundreds of short stories. I’m hoping a novel will push me over the top and into the lap of a good publisher.

DKaheaku: If you could give one tip of advice to new writers, what would it be?

Wilcox: Read. Read all the time and study how successful authors write.

Editor’s Note:
You can read more of W.D. Wilcox’s writings by viewing his online portfolio at http://writing.com/authors/billwilcox.

Abaculus 2007 is a collection of the best science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories of the year. The book will include authors from all levels of writing, and from all corners of the earth. Other authors include Willis Couvillier, V.E. Kimberlin, and Trevor Hopkins. We will also be featuring several pieces from comic artists Joe Navarro and Marlo Ting, as well as debuting the cover artwork by the newest adopted Leucrota Pack member, Elizabeth John.