#justimagine Author Drew Wagar on Fusion, sci-fi and Elite : Reclamation

My next interviewee is Drew Wagar, a British drama, sci-fi and fantasy writer. His story Metal appears in Fusion. Drew is also the author of the Oolite Saga and Torn, a contemporary drama. He graduated from the University of Brighton in 1992, with an honours degree in Computer Science and has worked in various capacities within IT since then. He currently works in the City of London.

To add to his impressive sci-fi credentials, Drew has recently acquired a license to write an official book based on the 'Elite : Dangerous' space trading game. The novel which will be called Elite : Reclamation is due for release in early 2014. http://www.wagar.org.uk/elitereclamation/

Drew first heard by text message that his story had been selected for the Fusion anthology. ‘A fellow author let me know as he was scanning his emails at the time.’ Drew adds, ‘I was delighted as I knew the quality of the entries would be very high. I thought my story might get an honourable mention, but it was a real pleasure to have it selected.’

As to his motivation for entering the competition, Drew tells me, ‘My father is suffering with skin cancer so yes, the charity donation was a major motivator for me.’

He says he saw it as a positive to be published alongside established writers. ‘It meant, to me at least, that my story was sufficiently well crafted to stand up alongside their works.’

Not just to you, Drew. Metal is a beautifully crafted tale that very cleverly weaves many journeys: emotional and space-time, into an alien landscape.

Along with all the shortlisted authors, Drew worked with Fantastic Books to polish his story for publication. He says of the process, ‘The editing was absolutely marvellous. I thought I'd done a reasonable job with tweaking my story into a final form, but the extra insight and fine-tuning provided were really rather eye opening. The story is much better for their expert review. I'll definitely be doing something similar in the future and trying to apply those lessons to my work in advance.’

When I ask Drew to suggest a book to ease the tedium of a long-haul flight, he does not hesitate. ‘Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca" - my all time favourite book. A beautifully written and compelling tale.’

I ask Drew to become a space scout for an alien race who has discovered Earth and learnt its history. What will he recommend to his people? ‘I'd recommend that they avoid contact with all government officials, politicians, heads of state and so on; rather they should send envoys to the writers, musicians and artists of planet Earth, who showcase the best this little planet has to offer.’

As a fellow writer, I heartily approve that response and go on to ask Drew about his current writing project, Elite : Reclamation, and find that it is a book based on a game he played back in 1984. He says, ‘It made a big impact on me back then – kickstarting my writing in fact. The game is being given a 21st century makeover and I've nabbed an opportunity to write an officially licensed book for it. This is a real 'dream come true' for me. So far the plot is coming together. I've got to have it all finished for March 2014!’ You can find details of Drew’s Elite : Reclamation project here. www.elitereclamation.co.uk

To learn more about Drew and his writing, check out his website www.wagar.org.uk or click here for Torn, his contemporary drama in which religion faces off against science