An interview with
Douglas Young
What is, in your opinion, the best thing (or your favourite thing) that you’ve ever written? Tell us about it.
I think my second novel, Due South, may be the best work I've written because it is my first romance, it is arguably my funniest story, it has the most detailed and heartfelt characters, and it blends the most genres. So it is my most ambitious work and perhaps the most fun to read.
Who are your favourite writers, and what influences your writing?
I think F. Scott Fitzgerald has the most beautiful prose, especially in his early short stories. My favourite novelist is John Steinbeck. But there are many writers whose work I enjoy, including George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Richard Brautigan, Zora Hurston, Harry Crews, Jack Kerouac, and Milan Kundera. My writing is influenced by any writer whose work comes across as honest, thoughtful, heartfelt, and having a swell style.
What are your hobbies?
I love to read, write, visit family and friends, dine out, travel, and walk.
Describe yourself as if you are a character in one of your own stories / poems.
I'm the quiet nerd reading or writing, with occasional flashes of humour.
Tell us something crazy.
I believe in synchronicity.
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked in an interview? And what did you answer?
I have no memory of ever getting a weird question in an interview, but I'd love to get one!
What is your writing set-up? (E.g. your garden shed, a café etc) and are there any things you must have to get the words to flow, e.g. a lucky hat or a favourite shirt?
My writing desk is pushed against a large double window with a delightful view of trees and grass.
I think my second novel, Due South, may be the best work I've written because it is my first romance, it is arguably my funniest story, it has the most detailed and heartfelt characters, and it blends the most genres. So it is my most ambitious work and perhaps the most fun to read.
Who are your favourite writers, and what influences your writing?
I think F. Scott Fitzgerald has the most beautiful prose, especially in his early short stories. My favourite novelist is John Steinbeck. But there are many writers whose work I enjoy, including George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Richard Brautigan, Zora Hurston, Harry Crews, Jack Kerouac, and Milan Kundera. My writing is influenced by any writer whose work comes across as honest, thoughtful, heartfelt, and having a swell style.
What are your hobbies?
I love to read, write, visit family and friends, dine out, travel, and walk.
Describe yourself as if you are a character in one of your own stories / poems.
I'm the quiet nerd reading or writing, with occasional flashes of humour.
Tell us something crazy.
I believe in synchronicity.
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked in an interview? And what did you answer?
I have no memory of ever getting a weird question in an interview, but I'd love to get one!
What is your writing set-up? (E.g. your garden shed, a café etc) and are there any things you must have to get the words to flow, e.g. a lucky hat or a favourite shirt?
My writing desk is pushed against a large double window with a delightful view of trees and grass.