About

Will Soulsby-McCreath is absolutely not secretly 14 cats in a pair of dinosaur dungarees. They’re a completely human writer, cosplayer and unwarranted advice giver.

Will has been writing stories since they could string together sentences, and constructing them since well before. Even in this day and age, they’re never found far from a notebook, preferring to scribble ideas down long form – it’s the dyslexia.

As a cosplayer, Will enjoys making costumes and roleplaying a character. It’s like dressing up for grown-ups! One step down is playing too many Table Top Gaming campaigns. No costumes but still all play.

Problems are made to be solved, right? Will thinks so. They also think problems are made to be shared. And what better way to both solve and share problems than by giving advice about problems they themself have faced? Even if nobody asked for that advice.

When not writing, cosplaying, or dispensing advice, Will can usually be found at home with their equally nerdy wife and the one whirlwind of a cat that somehow escaped the dungarees.

F.A.Qs

They/Them/Their.

Eg:
They are a really good writer.
I follow them on Instagram.
Their advice can be really useful.
Will wrote a book all by themself! (It wasn’t all by myself, I had a lot of help, but this is a nice sentence to demonstrate the use of themself).

Have you been searching for sci-fi and fantasy that centres disabled and queer characters going on quests, exploring space, and generally getting to be regular sci-fi and fantasy protagonists? Genders, sexualities, and disability inclusive worlds are kinda my jam.

Also, anyone who, like me, tends to skip long passages of description (for me, it's the dyslexia, but I'm not judging). If you want to be plunged into the world like you've reached the abrupt end of a super-fun water slide, you might want to check them out.

So in short:

  • Low description
  • LGBTQIA+/Queer characters
  • Disabled characters
  • Sci-Fi/Fantasy (separate from one another, althought I have dastardly plans for a space fantasy too)

 

I think I always knew? I remember in primary school I wanted to either be an author, an actor, or a vet. Then I realised how much death and ick and biology was involved with veterinary medicine so that went away (nothing but respect for actual vets). I realised that I liked amateur dramatics and drama clubs more than I would have liked being a professional actor, so author was the only option. I think 5 year old me would be proud.

Gaming. I’m a sucker for video games, board games, D&D. You name it I’ll play it - except monopoly. 

Cosplay, I love being part of a fanbase, making the costumes, going to events, making videos and taking photos. I just love everything about it, I’ve been cosplaying since I was 16 and I’ve shifted in and out of fandoms throughout that time. 

I also love just spending quality time with my wife, and squeezing time into everyone’s busy lives to spend time with friends. 

I didn’t even realise I was doing it until somebody pointed it out to me. Most writers draw on the reality they live in, my reality is filled with LGBTQ+ people so my books are too.

I have so many plans and ideas that I’m excited to share but… maybe when they’re a bit more solidly in the works than they are right now. I try to share a Works In Progress video over on YouTube every year, but I make no promises here nor there about what exactly is coming out next.

Right now I've just opened the door to the Inter-Planetary Alliance a tiny crack, there's a whole universe to explore there. There might well be more from Merry. And, of course, I'm not stopping at just one set of pirates.

The best way to keep up with my work is definitely via mailing list but if you’re super particular about what you like in your inbox (I get it, inboxes can be overwhelming), there’s always YouTube, Instagram, and Tumblr, as well as my short story blog.

You can usually find me  as @nopoodles – I use that pretty much everywhere but the specific places I’m currently active are Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube.

You can also read my weekly short stories for free, either click on the blog at the top of the page or head over to nopoodles.wordpress.com
 

Aka why don't I blog my short stories here?

A couple of reasons.

  1. I started nopoodles.wordpress.com short stories back in 2017 when I didn't know if I'd ever even finish a book, let alone publish one. I built a platform for myself there and I'm loath to leave it.
  2. It's a blogging sphere where people can make accounts specifically for the purpose of following your things, it's like YouTube subscriptions with written words.
  3. This website was made possible by one of my very best friends and I am incredily grateful to him for it and that wouldn't have been possible by converting nopoodles.wordpress.com
  4. I can schedule my short stories in advance on wordpress in a way I wouldn't be able to do here
  5. I'd have to move 7+ years of stories over and my perfectionism would want to edit every single one of them into a better version (and then nobody would see me for years and I certainly wouldn't be able to publish books alongside that)

I might change my mind at some point but, for now at least, nopoodles.wordpress.com is staying exactly where and as it is. Have you read my most recent story yet?

I don’t have a Patreon or a Ream or anything like that, but I might make one if enough people express an interest in subscribing to one and I can come up with perks to offer that I can actually provide sustainably.

In the meantime the best ways to support me include:

  • Buying my books (signed copies are the most effective way of getting that payment to me but any method is wonderful)
  • Talking to your family, friends, and that co-worker you kinda tolerate about my books (if you think they’d be interested in them)
  • Interacting with my content (shares and comments are often the best way to boost your favourite small creator)
  • And then, if you have a little cash to spare (which you probably do if you’re asking about Patreon), I do have a Ko-Fi account [linked here].

I have not knowingly used AI for writing or art. I have no intention of using AI for writing or art. This includes writing prompts, actual writing (be it books, stories, or even media related pieces), book covers, or graphics.

I do not consent to my writing being fed into AI.

I'm not taking a militant anti-AI stance. I think AI and machine learning have their purpose. I am, however, against AI/ML being fed artwork without the artists' consent and I am against the idea of AI being put to use on creative projects. As a species, humans have been creating since the dawn of time and I think replacing human artists with machines fed on their data sounds like a dystopian story more than a reality I would want to live through.

It got summed up nicely in a post I saw that said: "Why should I bother to read something you didn't bother to write?"

Don't worry, these things are complicated. If you're looking for a little more guidance (like "how do you pronounce Souls though!") or more detail ("Why do you pronounce it that way?") I've laid out what I can here.

If nothing else, just please don't rhyme McCreath with Wreath (eeeeth), it's a pet peve.

Souls - "Souls" - like the non-animate part of you, or the soles of your shoes.

By - "Bee" - like the flying insect.  (Viking ending, like Whitby)

Mc - "Muh" - like the beginning of Much. Yeah, I know you wanna put the C in there, like "Muck" (which you can) but, because of the following C, it's pointless.

Creath - "Kreth" - Rhymes with breath or death.

If you're interested: Will means "Wild" in Scots or "determined" in English (Sheer force of Will, anyone?),
Soulsby started as a Viking location-based surname (Soli's farmstead or from a Sallow place),
and McCreath is a Scottish name meaning "from the clan of luck/prosperity"

That's a tough question, and it's one people ask me when I do live events too ("Which is your favourite?" and "What do you recommend?" go here too). Honestly, it depends what you're looking for but I've got a pseudo-flow chart to see if I can help.

The Home Page has my quickest book/series pitches so you can see what grabs your attention there but: