An Interview with: Gillian Secord and her No-Bullshit Guide to Writing

Secord can be found at:

• Website: https://gilliansecord.wordpress.com/
• BlueSky: @gilliansecord.bsky.social

Don: Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing?

Gillian Secord: Sure! I’m a writer, reader, and all-around nerd from Toronto, although I grew up north of the city, in more small-town territory. 

I’ve been publishing stories for the last few years but I’ve been writing in some form or another since I was a kid. I’ve always adored reading, to the point I was notorious at our local public library for taking out as many books as I could physically carry. Once it occurred to me that I could write down my own stories, I never looked back.

I also have two cats, who like to contribute to my writing process by sleeping on my keyboard (often while I am using it), and staring judgementally at me when I shoo them away.

Congrats on the Aurora Award nomination for “BUDDY RAYMOND’S NO-BULLSHIT GUIDE TO DRONE HUNTING”, henceforth known as BRNBSGTDH! What gave you the idea for the concept?

Thank you! The genesis of this idea was the war in Ukraine, and the use of drones in that conflict. It got me thinking about how guerilla warfare would look in an era of drones. How do people fight back when the machines after them are small, fast, deadly, and outfitted with cameras and wifi connection?

Somewhere along that line of thinking it occurred to me that a big drone was about the size of a duck. And that image—a duck hunter taking down a drone—just sent the whole story spiralling out from there.

I originally planned to write a more straightforward story of two kids in the woods, a shotgun between them, trying to hunt down their first drone. And as that story developed I figured they’d need a guide to help them out. As soon as I started writing that guide, I realized I was far, far more interested in the opinionated old crank writing the guide than I was the kids reading it. So I got out of his way, and let him tell his story.

What went into crafting Buddy Raymond’s strong voice and persona?

I think Buddy is the quintessential old-backwoods-Canadian-hunter. The only person crazy enough to figure out this method of drone hunting, and then go and write a guide about it, would be some angry, small town guy with a chip on his shoulder and a lot of firearms. As soon as I figured out his voice, the rest of the story came pretty quickly. He’s very opinionated. That’s generally when I know I’ve got a good story on my hands—when I’ve figured out the main character’s voice.

What possessed you to write about this crazy, impossible scenario where the USA turns against Canada? cough

Well at the time that felt like a much more distant possibility than it does now… This story was written and published over a year before Trump got elected, so it was definitely not supposed to speak to current events!

I think Canadians have always had a low-grade anxiety about our friends to the south. I know when I was growing up, the general consensus was that one day, in the far off future, the USA would invade Canada for our water. We’ve got 20% of the world’s fresh water, and they’ve got a fondness for building sprawling cities in the desert without the water to back them up. I thought it might be interesting to explore that scenario.

How much thought went into actual theory behind how one might hunt drones?

There was a lot of research put into this story. That’s unusual for me—I tend to write fantasy, where I can invent most of what I need to make a story’s world. But for this one, I really wanted to see if this idea I had was physically possible, if the techniques would line up with reality. I probably spent an equal amount of time writing the story, and researching facts for this story. There was a lot of lurking in duck-hunting forums (they exist!), trying to make sure I had all my facts right and, more importantly, that I had the general vibe of what a duck hunt feels like. I wanted it to be authentic. 

So sci-fi authors do research, and fantasy authors do not… Sounds like a roundabout way of saying sci-fi authors are superior to fantasy authors, no?

I think it’s a difference in technique. The superior fantasy writers have to have strong, skilled imaginations to create real, honest-feeling worlds. Sci-fi authors just steal worldbuilding from those ridiculous things known as ‘scientific studies’ and ‘how the world we live in actually works.’ Very different.

What do you think ol’ Buddy and his son Colton were doing before the USA invaded?

I imagine Buddy was someone with a garage full of spare parts and junk, a refusal to replace anything he could fix, and a slightly unhealthy distrust of government. A disaster prepper before it was cool. He definitely got some great ‘I told you so’ moments out of the invasion. Colton was probably busy being a teenager. School, tailgate parties, arguing with his dad…

I’m sure there’s a Mrs. Raymond out there somewhere too. Not sure what she’s up to.

Quite recently, we saw drones used to devastating effect by Ukraine against Russia. Do you think they’re here to stay in modern warfare?

Absolutely. They’re cheap to manufacture, tiny, and very effective. Ukraine has become the proving ground for drone warfare, and the advancements they’re making out there will be used in whatever the next armed conflict is, both on the offensive side and the defensive side. I think the rest of the world is watching very closely, because they know that what they’re seeing right now is a war that will be remembered as the first of a new era of warfare. 

BRNBSGTDH isn’t your first published work–or even your first Aurora Award nominated work! Tell us about your other publications?

I have a few published short stories currently out there in the world (shameless plug: you can find links to all of them on my website gilliansecord.wordpress.com). I’ve been publishing on and off for a couple years—it’s always thrilling to take a story and send it out into the world, and see who it resonates with. 

I know you can’t give spoilers, but any hints as to what’s in your authory future?

I love writing short fiction, and while there’s nothing I can announce yet, there will definitely be more short stories in my future. I’m also working on a novel, but no spoilers about that yet either. If you want to keep updated on what I’m up to in the world, I’m active on bluesky (@gilliansecord.bsky.social) where I post about my time writing, reading, and post the occasional photo of my cat.

There might be a Buddy Raymond sequel in the works one day. I haven’t written anything, but the no-bullshit guides lend really well to a series, and I don’t think Buddy has quite had the last word in how to survive in his post-invasion existence … so we’ll see.

Thanks for taking the time to share with us!