George Ivanoff

answers the Usual Questions

George Ivanoff

Has your interaction with fans, for example, at conventions, affected your work?

I've been going to conventions for years... mostly as a fan myself, although I do try to do a bit of promotion as well. The main influence it's had on my writing is encouraging me. I started out my writing career as a fan writer, contributing to fanzines and newsletters. Seeing other fans make the jump from amateur to pro encouraged me to do the same thing. It took a while. But writing is now my bread and butter.

Is there any particular incident (a letter, a meeting, a comment that stands out?

In the dim dark past of 1983, while in Year 10, my English teacher handed back one of my short stories and told me that he thought I had a future in writing.

Of course, I didn't believe him at the time, so I spent many years in other jobs such as shop assistant, admin assistant, project manager and web designer.

Do you have a favourite author or book (or writer or film or series) that has influenced you or that you return to?

Every book I have ever liked has influenced me in that I get inspired to write more and try to improve my own writing. The very first science fiction book I read as a kid was Eleanor Cameron's The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. I credit that book with sparking off my interest in science fiction, which is what, in turn, led to my interest in writing.

Who is the person you would most like to be trapped in a lift with? or a spaceship?

My wife.

Who is the person you would most DISlike to be trapped in a lift with? Or a spaceship?

My brother. :-)

What would you pack for space? (Is there a food, beverage, book, teddy bear, etc that you couldn't do without?)

How large a bag do I get? Note book and pen. Chocolate (dark Lindt). Coffee (and I suppose a mug, kettle and coffee plunger to go with it). A bottle of Rockford Black Shiraz. A bottle of French Champagne. A bottle of Talisker single malt Scotch Whisky. My iPod. Do I still have room for more? A second bottle of Talisker. At least the top book on my must-read-soon pile (although more, if there's room). My iBook. I've probably used up more than my allocated space by now.

What is the most important thing you would like to get/achieve from your work?

The knowledge that people are reading and enjoying my writing. Although financial remuneration is always a good thing.

What is the special satisfaction of your work?

Getting paid for something that I love doing. After all, I used to write but not get paid for it. There is also nothing that quite compares to receiving a copy of your latest book. My first book was published in 1999. Ten years later, I still get a huge kick out of holding a copy of the latest book for the first time - seeing my name on the cover and knowing that I wrote it; gazing at the cover art; and just enjoying the feel of the book in my hands. So I am very much looking forward to holding a copy of my teen science fiction novel Gamer's Quest in October.

I've just got to mention one more thing here. I recently got the chance to write a short story for one of the Doctor Who anthologies published by Big Finish in the UK. My story, Machine Time, appeared in Short Trips: Defining Patterns and was favourably reviewed in Doctor Who Magazine. Having been a Doctor Who fan since I was 10 years old, it was a HUGE buzz to get to play in that universe and get paid for it.

submitted by George Ivanoff

January, 2009
Updated September, 2009

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Just the facts:
Born: Melbourne 12-Feb-1968
Resides: Melbourne, Australia
Selected Bibliography/Awards:
Gamers Quest (Ford Street Publishing, Oct 2009) http://www.gamersquestbook.com
House of Cards (Rigby, Aust, 2008)
Cory Jansen: Teen Spy [5 book series (Pinnacle Press, NZ, 2008)
Planet Max (Rigby, Aust, 2008)
Moon Bubble (Thomson Learning, Aust, 2007)
Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge booklist:
Life, Death and Detention (Margaret Hamilton Publishing, 1999)
Real Sci Fi (Horwitz Martin, 1999)