Interview: D. Alan Dunn

D. Alan Dunn, a native south Texan, retired from the building and plumbing trades after a bout with cancer. A longtime fan of crime mystery and horror fiction, Dunn’s hidden talent for writing exploded into reality in 2007 when he wrote his memoirs for his grandchildren. Since then, his repertoire of author published works consist of “The Moods of My Heart” – a collection of poems, sonnets and quatrains and “5 After Midnight” – a collection of short stories in the psychological and horror genres.

Q: When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
A: I’ve always had stories rolling around in my head since childhood, but it wasn’t until I was recovering from cancer surgery and wrote my memoirs for my grandchildren that I realized that writing came natural to me.

Q: How did you pick the genre/setting/era you (usually) write in?
A: I think it picked me. Horror is my first love, but I also enjoy writing westerns and crime mysteries. I usually try to combine the three genres to create a unique and fresh storyline. For example, a novel I am writing now, Dead Bone Posse, entangles a group of 1930s bank robbers with a posse of long since dead lawmen.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for your story in History and Horror, Oh My?
A: I was researching serial killers online and stumbled upon a story about a real life serial killer in the Old West. I was therefore prompted to write my own rendering.

Q: Did you encounter any obstacles in researching the setting?
A: Researching for historical fiction is always a difficulty. To be believable, a setting has to be a real place rather than a fictional one, and sometimes the setting you choose is not easily researchable online.

Q: Do you have a favorite historical period you enjoy reading or writing about?
A: Any historical period is enjoyable for me. When you think about all of the untold stories of those time periods, an author’s imagination is infinite.

Q: Who is your favorite author, and what really strikes you about their work?
A: Edgar Allen Poe. Poe’s physiological and dark romanticism styles define me as a writer.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m currently writing stories for a collection of short stories entitled Tales from the Netherworld. A series of stories that acquaints the reader to the horrors and hopelessness of hell.

Read D. Alan Dunn's story for yourself!
History and Horror, Oh My! is now available in ebook formats on Smashwords and in print and Kindle formats on Amazon.