About Douglas Clegg

Douglas Clegg’s fiction explores the nature of evil, particularly with regards to the human heart, whether in his horror, fantasy or psychological thrillers.  His  published novels include ar Neverland, Isis, The Priest of Blood, and The Hour Before Dark.

(Yes, I wrote that in the third person. In fact, the entire page here is me, writing in third person, about myself. This makes it easy for bloggers and media folks to just grab some stuff and use it in their write-up. And I’m good with that. So is Doug.)

EARLY LIFE & WORK

Douglas Clegg was born in Virginia and raised in Hawaii, Connecticut and Virginia. By eleven, he walked up most of the steps of the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico; by 16, he’d entered the Alhambra in Spain. From those two experiences, he fell in love with traveling and even managed to live in Paris for awhile during his  misspent youth.

He has been writing fiction since childhood, but only pursued publication of it beginning in his late twenties.

Doug began his working life at 12, delivering both the Northern Virginia Sun newspaper and The Washington Post.

From there, he conquered lawn mowing, brick-laying, and even babysitting.

When he was sixteen, he worked at the Smithsonian in its then-fledgling Insect Zoo.

His other jobs included hamburger flipper at Roy Rogers’ Restaurant in Seven Corners, Virginia, and stints at Wolf Trap Farm-Park as well as a retirement/nursing home.

He wrote his first novella-length work at 17, called Asylum.

He worked other jobs after this, in the worlds of publishing, television and the book world. Still, hamburger flipper and paperboy were two jobs that taught him a lot about human nature.

WRITING FICTION

He wrote his first novel, Goat Dance, in 1986, and sold it in 1987. Its publisher scheduled the book for two years later. It was a long wait. His first novel was  published in 1989 by Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books — launching Clegg’s career as a novelist.

He has seen more than 26 books published within a span of 23 years, as well as more than 40 short stories.

His novels and stories explore the  nature of evil, whether in his horror fiction, psychological thrillers or fantasy fiction. His fiction-writing career currently spans more than 20 years of constant writing and publication.

Clegg’s  most recently released books include Isis and Neverland, as well as more than a dozen older titles newly-released in ebook form.

He’s currently working on a new novel, and 2012 will see the publication of his short story, “The Stain” in Cemetery Dance Magazine #67, the novella, “Mr. Darkness,” in hardcover, his Vampyricon trilogy in one enormous omnibus edition, and his novella, “Dinner with the Cannibal Sisters,” in a special signed limited edition.

In addition to his current novel-in-progress, he has just finished a novella called, “The Marriage of Figaro.”

He has also co-authored the book Buzz Your Book with M.J. Rose. The two have also written a screenplay together. So far, these are Clegg’s only collaborations.

INNOVATIONS

In 1999, Douglas Clegg launched the internet’s (and world’s) first publisher-sponsored e-serial novel. Called Naomi, Clegg later went on to sell both hardcover and paperback rights.

In 2000, Clegg’s short novel Purity became one of the most-downloaded fiction ebooks on the internet — reaching more than 100,000 readers in its first year on the internet.

In 2001, Purity became the world’s-first fiction to appear on a cell phone — and was nicknamed an M-Book at the time (for Mobile).

CURRENT

He currently lives on the coast of New England with Raul Silva, his husband of more than 23 years.

Hobbies include: hiking, biking, canoeing, traveling, sculpting, and now and then playing a guitar. His favorite pastime, outside of reading, is researching for his writing. Or else, wrangling those rabbits.

AWARDS & TRANSLATIONS

Doug’s fiction has won the Bram Stoker Award, the International Horror Guild Award, and the Shocker Award.

Clegg’s novels have been translated into French, Croatian, Hungarian, Spanish, Czech, German, Russian, Norwegian, Greek, and one or two others.