Enter the Lone Wolf

Wil VanLipsig, AKA The Lone Wolf, is the hero in my new sci-fi novel, "Lone Wolf". We interviewed him awhile back and he graciously allowed us to post his replies. (In other words, he didn't threaten to kill us if we did.)

Second Wind: We're here today to talk to Wilhelm VanLipsig captain of the ship the Loup Garou. Wil, what did you do before running freight for the Mining Guild?

Wilhelm VanLipsig: I was a colonel in the Galactic Marine Corps. Then I did contract work.

SW: Where does the handle, The Lone Wolf, come from?

Wil: I got that name serving in the Marines. I like to work alone and I'm ruthless.

SW: Are you the hero of your own story?

Wil: I'm the hero of every story.

SW: What is your problem in the story?

Wil: Some psycho son-of-a-bitch wants me dead and then he wants to take over the universe. The usual.

SW: Can you tell us something else about yourself?

Wil: I'm 86 years old, look like I'm 26 and I've been changed so much by the Marine doctors, I don't think I'm even quite human anymore.

SW: Do you embrace or run from conflict?

Wil: I make love to conflict, then I beat until it surrenders. Incidentally, I don't treat women the same way.

SW: How do you see yourself?

Wil: I am the bringer of death. If you see me coming, you've got 10 seconds to say your prayers.

SW: How do your friends see you?

Wil: I don't really have any friends.

SW: How do your enemies see you?

Wil: I'm the shadow of death, the invisible man. If they see me, I did something terribly wrong.

SW: How does the author see you?

Wil: Dellani thinks I'm dead sexy, smoking hot, seriously jacked, evil and dangerously seductive.

SW: Do you agree with her analysis of you?

Wil: I'm not arguing.

SW: What do you think of yourself?

Wil: I'm the coldest hearted asshole in the galaxy.

SW: Do you have a goal?

Wil: Get the other bastards before they get me.

SW: Do you keep your achievements to yourself?

Wil: Most are classified. The only ones who know what I've done are the others who were there with me. Most of them are dead.

SW: Do you have any special strengths?

Wil: My battle plans have made the textbooks and are required reading at the officer's academy. One general said, "VanLipsig's battle plans are a symphony of destruction with each movement bathed in the blood of the enemy." I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of that.

SW: Do you have any special weaknesses? Other than your obvious modesty?

Wil: Amusing, really. Yeah, I can't carry a tune.

SW: What do you believe?

Wil: I believe in honor and I adhere to it. Not everyone agrees with my code of ethics though.

SW: What do you regret?

Wil: I regret the fact that I wasn't there for the people who needed me.

SW: What, if anything, haunts you?

Wil: The faces of everyone I've ever had to kill.

SW: Has anyone ever betrayed you?

Wil: Yeah. And I killed her for it.

SW: Have you ever failed anyone?

Wil: Pretty much every day, I imagine.

SW: Did anything newsworthy happen on the day you were born?

Wil: According to my old man, hell opened its doors and spit me forth. I hope he's waiting for me when I get there. I'll kick his abusive ass.

SW: Was there ever a defining moment of your life?

Wil: Meeting Matilda. She has made me become the man I wanted to be and couldn't seem to find on my own.

SW: What is your most closely guarded secret?

Wil: If I told you, I'd have to kill you. You look like you think I'm kidding.

SW: Do you have any hobbies?

Wil: Does sex count?

SW: What is your favorite item of clothing? Why?

Wil: I don't really care what I wear but I always have my gun belt, even if I'm naked.

SW: Name five items in your pockets.

Wil: Nothing. Too much stuff slows you down and can identify you when you're dead.

SW: If you were stranded on a desert island, would you rather be stranded with, a man or a woman?

Wil: What the hell good would another man be? A woman with lots of stamina. It would be nice if she was intelligent too, but that's not a requirement.