Author David Macinnis Gill says he'd like to be censored...

We're very pleased to have Young Adult author David Macinnis Gill at DPL BookTalk!

David is the author of Soul Enchilada, Black Hole Sun, and the forthcoming Invisible Sun, all from Greenwillow Books. His short stories have appeared in several magazines, including The Crescent Review and Writer’s Forum. His critical biography of young adult author Graham Salisbury, Graham Salisbury: Island Boy, was published by Scarecrow Press. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English/creative writing and a doctorate in education, both from the University of Tennessee.

David is the Past President of ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) and is an Associate Professor of English Education at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. His nonfiction, book reviews, essays, and academic work have appeared in a variety of publications, including The English Journal, Teacher-Librarian, and many others.

DPL:  David, thanks for stopping by DPL BookTalk!

DMG:  Thanks for having me.

DPL:  You’re currently working on Invisible Sun, the sequel to Black Hole Sun.  Since you’ve already published 2 books, has the writing experience been easier this time?

DMG:  It’s been easier only in that it’s more focused and efficient. In the past, I’ve written 120+ thousand plus words and whittled those down to the final 75k that ended up in the final version. With Invisible Sun, I spent more time hashing out the story before writing a final draft, so there wasn’t as much cutting. The actual sentence by sentence, word by word writing was still a grind, however. I think it will always be.

DPL:  Where's your favorite place to write?

DMG:  On my laptop. I’m very good at blocking out noise and other stimuli when I’m writing, so I can write just about anywhere. In fact, crowds kind of give me energy. One the one thing I can’t do, though, is responded verbally to people. I must use the same parts of my brain for talking and writing because nothing derails my train of thought faster than having to talk.

DPL:  What do you enjoy the most about YA literature?

DMG:  In YA, you can try anything in any form. You can be as experimental or as traditional as you like, and the audience will go right along with you. When I was writing literary fiction for adults, I was often told that certain narrative forms were anathema for those readers. Teens so don’t do anathema.

DPL:  Do you base any of your characters on real people?

DMG:  Bug, the main character in Soul Enchilada, was an amalgamation of several teen girls that I knew as a high school teacher. She has the brains, wit, pluck, and problems of those girls, who I admired for their ability to achieve something when so many things were stacked against them.

DPL:  How long does it take you to write a book?

DMG:  Forever! Not true, but it seems that way sometimes.  It takes 12-18 months between initial plotting to the final copyedits. The first draft, which I write as quickly as possible after the plot outline is ready, takes about a month.

DPL:  Have you experienced any censorship with your Soul Enchilada or Black Hole Sun?

DMG:  No, unfortunately, because I would really like to become embroiled in a censorship battle. I’m serious. As a professional, I’ve been involved in several censorship cases, but none of my books have been banned. The closest they come is reports of librarians avoiding Soul Enchilada because of the Faustian elements.

DPL:  What books have you read lately that you’d recommend?

DMG:  I’ve just finished Shine by Lauren Myracle, Sugar & Ice by Kate Messner and Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon. It’s the sequel to her Silver Phoenix, another kick-butt fantasy novel. I’ve heard great things about Pearl by Jo Knowles and The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner, but I haven’t gotten my hands on those yet.

DPL:  What is the funniest question that you’ve received from a reader?

DMG:  “How long have you been a man?” That was asked by a teen reader who assumed that because Soul Enchilada was written from a female POV, I would be a female. My answer was, “All my life?”

DPL:  Which writer(s) influenced you the most in your teens and 20’s?

DMG:  I drew a lot of inspiration from Stephen King, John Barth, Phillip Roth, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Angsty absurdist humor with horror overtones and ray guns, that’s me in a nutshell.

DPL:  Do you find yourself dreaming about your characters?

DMG:  Of course!  They not only haunt my dreams, they start narrating the humdrum events of my life. That’s when I know I’ve captured the character’s voice.

DPL:  What is the most annoying interview question that you’ve been asked?

DMG:  Somebody once asked me, “What is the most annoying interview question that you’ve been asked?” J  Seriously, it’s an honor to be interviewed, so I’ve never been annoyed at anything I’ve been asked.

DPL:  Favorite movie?

This is probably the most difficult question ever for me. It would have to be Star Wars because of the lasting effect that it’s had, but there are so many other movies I love, such as Alien, Terminator, Diner, The Big Chill, The Shining, The Road Warrior…

DPL:  Words to live by?

DMG:  “Could be better.”