Burning House Interview w/Aidan C Matear

ROGUE & GAMBIT: BURNING HOUSE INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEW WITH AIDAN C. MATEAR, WRITER

JS: PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
ACM: Hello, I’m Aidan C Matear, and I have always loved telling stories. Even as a small child I would make up stories (some of which nearly got my parents in trouble!) I studied Creative Writing at University and have had poetry, scripts and flash fiction published in university magazines and performed at Creative Shows. However, my first love is fiction, especially anything to do with science-fiction.

Because I am profoundly physically disabled, I use eye-gaze technology to write, where my eye movement moves the cursor and a ‘dwell’ is a click, just like a computer mouse.

The thought of being a writer crept up on me as I grew up. Because of my disability I couldn’t run around the playground or play football, so I had to find something I could do. Books were always there. And from reading came writing. When I write I am on a level playing field. It doesn’t matter that I can’t walk. When I write I am me.

JS: WHAT IS IT ABOUT ROGUE AND GAMBIT THAT SPEAKS TO YOU, AND CAN YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIRST FELT THAT CONNECTION?
ACM: I am a massive X-Men fan. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love a superhero? What I really like about Rogue and Gambit is that they always have each other’s back. They epitomize what I think we all want, a partner, a friend, someone we can always rely on, no matter how tough life gets. To be honest it was only when watching X-Men ’97 recently that I really got the Rogue and Gambit vibe.

JS: WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ERA FOR THE DUO?
ACM: My favourite era is the here and now. I think they are an awesome couple. They need each other and the world needs more of them. They don’t have it easy in a world that is afraid of mutants, but the world needs them so much more than it realizes. Rogue and Gambit’s story might be fiction but as we all know, “everything is fiction,” in one way or another.

JS: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT POINT OF DEVELOPMENT FOR EACH CHARACTER SINCE THEY FIRST APPEARED?
ACM: I’m not actually sure I can answer this one. There is so much to Rogue and Gambit’s backstory that for me there are many significant points of development. I guess the most significant is when they finally stop rejecting each other and realize that come what may, they are soulmates.

JS: WHAT’S YOUR EXPERIENCE OF WORKING ON BURNING HOUSE BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?
ACM: Oh my goodness, working on Burning House has been such a wonderful experience. I have loved every moment of it. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside such talented people. And I am very appreciative of the very constructive feedback I have had. I have learned such a lot about writing. The team has been so kind, so understanding and so much fun.

JS: IF YOU WERE IN CHARGE OF MARVEL, WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU WOULD DO WITH THESE CHARACTERS?
ACM: If I were in charge of Marvel, I would give Rogue and Gambit higher prominence in the X-Men movies. Timelines can be moved around! I would also continue the development of their characters and have a Rogue and Gambit spin-off series, animated or live-action. And I would be the first to volunteer to write a script.

Interviewed by James Silvester