D. W. Gillespie

Born and raised in Middle Tennessee, D.W. Gillespie has been daydreaming for as long as he can remember. His first short story was in second grade, and it involved (unsurprisingly) monsters wreaking havoc on some unsuspecting victim. Some things never change, and now Gillespie writes a healthy mixture of horror, sci-fi, and supernatural fiction.

He began writing seriously in 2002, and after winning the MacDougal Award for his short story "The Home", he's since been published many times in print and online. Gillespie's body of work includes a dozen novels and dozens of short stories, including the novels Still Dark, The Toy Thief, and One by One. In recent years, he’s moved into middle grade horror, and his new novels include Give Me Something Good to Eat and Grin.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

With Grin, I knew I needed a title that could double duty. It’s the name of the book, but also the name of the arcade game inside the book. It’s short, simple, and hopefully intriguing for readers, especially when paired with that absolutely awesome cover.

What's in a name?

For me, names are always a gut feeling. I don’t spend a ton of time going through deeper meanings or trying to be overly symbolic with my character names, but they do have to feel right if that makes sense.

Danny is a sweet kid, but he’s also anxious and unsure of himself. Contrast that with Uncle Bill who is straight to the point, simple, and uncomplicated.

One fun bit of trivia about his friend Jodi… I don’t know where the name came from, but it just sort of landed on the page and I ran with it. She’s artistic and a little quirky, and the name just clicked. But during edits, my publisher was a little concerned that the name might seem out of place for a kid that age (admittedly, it does sound like an 80’s name). I was prepared to change it, but on the next round of edits, they said, “Nevermind…she’s Jodi. It just fits!”

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

I have asked myself that question a lot, and I usually don’t have a great answer. But for Grin, I’m pretty sure my younger self would be thrilled. Knowing that I took my lifelong love of videogames and turned it into a book is something both thrilling and special to me.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I usually know where I’m going, even if I might change paths to get there. Very early on in the process, I knew exactly how the “big showdown” at the end of the book was going to play out, and it was more a case of just getting the chess pieces in place so to speak. I will say the “to be continued” final chapter was a surprise!

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

It’s a boring answer, but yes and no to both questions. They’re all me. The good guys, the bad guys, the ones that are more heroic than I could ever be, and the ones that do horribly unspeakable things. I’m all of them, which is another way of saying, I’m none of them!

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

This is another easy answer, but when people read this book, they’ll understand that it wouldn’t exist without my love of gaming. I’m sure someone could have conjured this same idea, but it would likely be drastically different. There’s a nuance to my pointlessly encyclopedic knowledge of gaming’s history that bleeds through the pages. If anything, I had to tone some of that back to keep from boring non-gamers.

Visit D. W. Gillespie's website.

My Book, The Movie: Grin.

--Marshal Zeringue