As part of our SFFWorld.com’s Member Spotlight Series, Nila interviews Mark Chitty, long-time science fiction reader, blogger, and reviewer.
Hello Mark, glad you could join us! Life is short, but feel free to settle in for a while.
Mark: Not a problem – thanks for asking!
SFFWorld: What’s your SFFWorld.com’s forum alias and why did you pick it?
Mark/chitman13: My alias here, and pretty much everywhere else I’ve ever joined, is chitman13. The reasons for choosing this are so far in the past that my memory has failed, though I do remember choosing it when I joined my first forum over at piggybackinteractive.com (the site is still running, but no more forum). After that I used it for anything and everything else – easier to remember the one username!
SFFWorld: How did you discover SFFWorld.com and why did you decide to join?
Mark/chitman13: Once again I must confess that my memory is not what it used to be (I hate this business of getting old), but I know that I had looked around the internet and found a few forums that I could talk SF on, but SFFWorld.com was by far the best of those. I liked that it had a dedicated science fiction community, rather than the fantasy-heavy ones of others sites. And, of course, once I started posting it was so welcoming, and the discussions that took place encouraged me to join in. It was after joining here that I started participating more in the wider SFF community as well as starting to review over at walkerofworlds.blogspot.com.
SFFWorld: How long have you been a member and what keeps you coming back?
Mark/chitman13: My profile says I joined in November 2006, so that’s getting on for 9 years now. Wow, doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? As for why I keep on coming back – much like I said earlier, SFFWorld.com is a friendly place that has the discussions I like to participate in, or sometimes just watch from the sidelines. And now that I’m part of the reviewing team here there’s even more reason to return – not that I needed any encouragement!
SFFWorld: What’s your favorite book?
Mark/chitman13: Hmm, this is a tricky one as I have so many that I could choose from. If I were pinned down to just one I would probably cheat and say Eric Brown’s Bengal Station trilogy (Necropath, Xenopath, Cosmopath). I love the way he can write a very human story in the midst of so much alienness, and also make it so personal when against a big backdrop.
SFFWorld: Who’s your favorite author?
Mark/chitman13: I’m not going to single one out here, but three, and each for different reasons:
Eric Brown for his character-focused and emotional tales.
Peter F Hamilton for his sprawling and multi-charactered Space Operas.
Neal Asher for his ability to create the most alien and nightmarish creatures.
SFFWorld: (shudder – remind me not to look at another Neal Asher cover) What’s your favorite genre?
Mark/chitman13: I think it’s pretty clear that Science Fiction is my genre of choice, and will likely stay so for many years to come. I do like the odd Fantasy novel, and Urban Fantasy series, but mostly I like my ray guns and spaceships. There is something special about the endless possibilities that the genre can offer, and often it can be all too imaginable in our future.
SFFWorld: Where’s your favorite place to read?
Mark/chitman13: I’d like to say in a comfy armchair next to a real log fire, but I have neither! Typically I read on the sofa or in bed, though I listen to a fair amount of audiobooks during my commute and while I’m pottering around the house doing chores – it’s all about the escapism!
SFFWorld: Favorite con (convention)?
Mark/chitman13: I’ve only been to a few conventions – Eastercon (in 2009 and 2011), Alt.Fiction (around the same time), the SFX Weekender (in 2012 and 2013), and most recently Edge Lit in Derby. I live out of the way of most major conventions so don’t usually have the funds to attend them.
SFFWorld: What do you do when you are not reading or messing around on SFFWorld.com?
Mark/chitman13: To be honest, not too much. I’m a bit of a boring old fart and tend to enjoy the comforts of home – reading, gaming, relaxing. I do try and take my unfit backside out for a run a couple of times a week – my theory is that if I do plenty of exercise I can treat myself to nice food. I usually find that my love for food trumps my desire to go running – it’s a vicious circle!!
SFFWorld: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Mark. Anything else you’d like to add?
Mark/chitman13: Thanks for taking the time youself, Nila! And a thanks goes out to Dag, Mark, and Rob for their part in running SFFWorld.com – it’s all well worth it for such a great community. 🙂
© 2015 N. E. White / Mark Chitty / SFFWorld.com
