DYLAN YOUNG
The crime writer tells Margaret James how he’s drawn to try to understand the darkest and most disturbing aspects of human nature
Doctor and crime novelist Dylan Young has been published in several genres under a variety of names. As a crime and mystery writer of very dark and disturbing stories, he’s currently enjoying huge success in this very popular and therefore competitive field with his chilling stories featuring DI Gwynne.
The seeds of his novel-writing were sown early. ‘At school, I enjoyed writing English essays,’ he says. ‘Story as an art form stayed with me throughout my education and subsequent training in medicine. But it was only after I qualified as a surgeon that I allowed myself the luxury of writing fiction, even though the seed must have been planted in childhood. My mother introduced me to the local library and this was the doorway to other worlds.’
Who or what was the initial inspiration for DI Anna Gwynne, the complex and troubled heroine of his latest novels?
‘I’m drawn to the darker side of human nature,’ says Dylan. ‘I also consider myself to be something of an introvert. As John Green famously said: “Writing is something you do alone. It’s a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story, but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.” I wanted to explore crime from the viewpoint of a character who is very good at her job, but whose gifts could easily be misconstrued as flaws. Anna’s childhood has not been easy. She’s an introverted thinker trying to make sense of the normal world around her and somehow finding it easier to disentangle the abstract chaos of serious crime.’