Short version

Till Noever: born last century in Germany; now a citizen of both Australia and New Zealand; resident in Brisbane, Australia. Married, with two adult daughters. Writes novels and screenplays and makes occasional movies. Has published one novel with EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing in Canada, else, plus several more using POD. Practices swordcraft; derived from traditional Japanese sources.

Longer version

I was born in Germany into a family of visual artists; surrounded by books and with TV being either unavailable or actively discouraged. I read like it was going out of fashion by the time I was six, grew up on Grimm’s and Anderson’s fairy tales, Karl May’s adventures, American crime fiction, and German pulp sci-fi, especially the perennial ‘Perry Rhodan’ series. I also developed a very early preoccupation with the notion of mortality. Personal extinction, decided the pre-teen, is a very bad thing indeed. I still believe this to be true.

After studying astronomy and physics for over a year, one day I said ‘enough’ and walked out in the middle of a lecture, to apply for an immigration visa to Australia-just about as antipodean to my former life as I could go. I spent some years traveling around Australia and some of South and Central America, before, years later, resuming my studies in Australia, and later New Zealand—but this time with a strong leaning toward the life- and cognitive sciences.

For over a decade I earned my living with programming, then gave software devlopment away in the late 90s and coverted myself into a technical writer, graphic designer, editor and, of course, video producer. After years in the UK, US, Japan and New Zealand, we have now settled firmly onto a rural property just north of Brisbane.

Writing ‘came’ to me in my very-late teens, but it was unformed and embryonic at best. In partiular, I didn't know then what I know now: That it isn't about 'writing' per se, but about telling stories. The change of languages from German to English held things up, as might be expected, and so serious and other-than-crappy writing didn’t manage to get a decent foothold in my life until some years later. There was also a young family—which changed life-priorities, and so things got delayed yet a bit more. Now, more than a dozen novels, stories and screenplays, as well as a feature-length movie, later, with my two daughters grown up, I’m still telling stories. It's a good way to spend your life.

I don’t think I’m ‘inspired’; but I’ve found that I don’t have to be. I basically write what I would like to read: stories populated with characters I’d like to love or hate; dealing with the basic parameters of the human equation: love, hate, generosity, greed, loyalty, betrayal, hope, fear, life, death, sex, peace, war, violence, forgiveness, retribution, curiosity, misunderstanding, reconciliation, ambition, surrender, cowardice, courage, and whatever else happens to come along. Among all that, good people who are trying to find their way through the minefields of their existence, attempting to eke a meaning from it; while not-so-good people, for reasons perfectly valid to themselves, do their best to put obstacles in the good-folks’ way.

My main ‘literary’ influence is Jack Vance. His Lyonesse trilogy is, to me at least, the most enchanting fantasy ever written; and Night Lamp, a more recent novel, is just pure magic. Past influences also include Heinlein, Clarke, Saberhagen, and Asimov. I think that the craft of ‘story’ is also exemplified by the, now rather unfashionable, tales of Edgar Wallace. I admire the contemporary fantasies of Tim Powers and James P. Blaylock; enjoy well-crafted psychological crime fiction by the likes of Jeffery Deaver; the ascerbic and gritty South-Florida capers of Carl Hiassen and James Hall; as well as the giddy escapist sci-fi of Stephen Gould. And then there's the unabashedly 'action' and often racy work of Steve Perry.

And, yes, I sneak in romances; good ones, and definitely not of the M&B ilk! What's life without romance? I also write an occasional one, usually of the 'suspense' kind.

Good, engaging stories, written or cinematographic, convey the truth about the human condition and its complexities better than any learned, ‘popular’, or ‘spiritual’ non-fiction treatise ever could. They do this by the simple expedient of ‘entertain’ and ‘show-and-don’t-tell’. And the less pretentious they are, the better they work. The less the ‘message’ shows, the more readily the audience will listen to it, though they may not even be aware that they are listening.

The focus of my stories is on people, because stories about anything else are basically boring. Everything else is just 'background'. Lurking inside these stories is usually a serious framework of ethical and everyday-life issues, questions, suggestions. In Keaen, its sequels in the Tethys series, as well as Seladiënna, Continuity Slip and others still forthcoming, these include my views on history and human destiny and its manipulation by those who would aspire to do so, however beneficent their putative reasons; social versus personal obligations; weighing society’s taboos against personal feelings; coming of age, whether it be in one’s youth or later life; finding one’s destiny; finding meaning; struggling against ethical turpitude; having hope; and staying alive—for only then can there be hope. I'm also preoccupied with the ethical question as to whether the decisions we make in life should be considered as instances, or examples, of 'higher principles' (or maybe 'ideals') in action; or whether 'principles' are, at best, over-simplified descriptors of the infinite variety of the possible. (In other words, was Plato talking nonsense? I suspect this to be the case.) I have no definite answer to this either; but it troubles me that the vast majority of humanity appears to have no notion that the question might actually be significant to their lives as well.

Story-telling requires, above all, a high standard of personal integrity. I completely agree with Harlan Ellison's dictum about taking your work seriously, not yourself. If you don't tell stories because you really want—possibly need!—to, do the world a favor and find something else to do. It took me decades to figure out that it's not about 'art', but just the simple, yet glorious, craft of telling stories to entertain people—and through this help them live their lives, because they can weave them into their lives and thus become stronger and more capable of coping with its vicissitudes.

Next to soldiering and prostitution, story-telling is probably one of the oldest and most venerable professions extant. We owe it reverence and integrity; instead of using it to seek glory, adulation and wealth. If we, by some great streak of good fortune, happen to find these along the way, so much the better. But let us never forget why we started doing it in the first place. The moment we do, we will lose our way and our sense of purpose.

More, entirely useless, information and personal commentary

I'm fascinated by helicopters. To me, they are the most amazing machines ever invented.

I love fairy tales. That's probably because I grew up with them: the real thing; pure Brothers Grimm, unadulterated by political correctness and cutesy sanitization. Maybe that's why I love Bill Willingham's comic series, Fables; which is like the Brothers Grimm's tales—and every other fable ever concocted, including and freely mixed in with others you wouldn't expect—on speed. I sense the presence of a kindred soul, who obviously loves these stories just as much as I do.

I have become a fan of Joss Whedon's Firefly TV-series and the spin-off movie, Serenity. Wish there were more of this.

Favorites

People: My wife and daughters.

Movies: Avatar, The Duellists, Blade Runner, The Illusionist, Stardust.

Writers: Jack Vance, Robert Heinlein.

Composers: Hans Zimmer, Jean Sibelius.

Peeves

Any sentence starting with "But I was going to..." or something along those lines.
People who refuse to take responsibility for their actions or who endlessly complain about the consequences of their choices.