Man alive, am I excited for today’s 3Q’s! Today’s guest is the award-winning author, David Demchuk. David’s writing pushes the reader hard and to the extremes, so I was excited to see what answers I’d get back!

Please welcome, David!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

David: UGH. I am very slow compared to many other writers, so my first caveat would be: Do not compare yourself and your output to that of other writers. I generally write late in the evening, when I can barely keep my eyes open, usually after 10, sometimes after 11, and I rarely go past 1 a.m. I usually write three or four evenings a week. If I pass 250 words, I’m thrilled. Occasionally I make my way up to 500 words, but if I do it can wipe me out for several days. However I can edit pretty much anytime.

Steve: If you started a series and for some reason had to have another author finish it, who would you choose?

David: This is an interesting question. I wouldn’t normally write a series, but I can easily imagine starting a book and being unable to finish it for one reason or another. In that situation I would probably nominate my husband Chris first (he is an unpublished writer of queer urban fantasy and is very familiar with my work), and if he felt uncomfortable with the task, I would probably suggest Gemma Files, Kelly Robson or PJ Vernon.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

David: My newest release is RED X, published by Strange Light / Penguin Random House. It is a hybrid horror novel / memoir about gay men disappearing from Toronto’s gay village over a period of 200+ years (so back to when the area was a plot of woodland belonging to queer pioneer Alexander Wood), and the friends and family members who begin to suspect that something supernatural is at work. The memoir part involves me, my queerness, my love of horror as a genre, and my conflicted feelings about how queerness has been represented in the genre I love. It is undeniably an experimental novel but I think a very accessible one. And scary!

Steve: Bonus Question! If they made a movie about your life, what actor or actress would you suggest they get to play you?

David: UGH. Actually, RED X has been optioned for film and television. so this question is eerily relevant. Daniel Radcliffe? Tilda Swinton? Maybe Daniel Radcliffe in my youth, and Tilda Swinton in my old age? The reality is it would have to be someone Canadian, so Ryan Gosling in my youth and Mary Walsh in my old age.

Hey! Big congrats and thank you so much for doing this!

To find out more about David’s awesome work – check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/David-Demchuk/e/B074BWWMKQ/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/spo0ky_dad

Website: https://www.daviddemchuk.com/