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Part One:
Inspiration – Literary
When did you start reading by choice?
I started reading adult books when I was around eleven. I remember being told off at primary school for reading Ellis Peter’s Cadfael novel The Leper of Saint Giles due to its “graphic” adult content; I was even told that Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story was too advanced for my age. None of these comments stopped or dissuaded me from continuing to read them, and as a result I read less and less children’s novels and moved on to more adult ones. I read more Young Adult novels now that I did then. At thirteen I read Dean Koontz’s The Funhouse and was so blown away that for a period after I devoured book after book of his.
How old were you when you decided you wanted to be an author?
Thirteen was the age that I decided that I wanted to be an author. For as long as I can remember I’ve written stories; the majority of these childhood scribbles have been lost to time, but at thirteen I begun to keep most of my attempts and although I rarely finished any of the novel projects I started, I knew that this was what I wanted to do.
What type of books inspired you growing up?
Alongside reading and filling my bookcase with both Virgin Books and BBC Books series of Doctor Who novels, any book that sounded good I read. From Trainspotting to The Phantom of the Opera, I soon found the genre I loved and associated with. I fell under the spell of transgressive fiction and the gritty realness of worlds that then fascinated me, and would in many ways become the world in which I would exist.
At fifteen, my book cases contained books about drug abuse, violence, sexual abuse and desire. Themes that have since become the backbone of my work.
Do you think reading is important?
When I studied various courses at the Academy of Contemporary Music, they advised us to open our minds to different styles of music, and as a result the narrow spectrum of rock and metal I blasted out of my room growing up expanded dramatically. I believe that this open minded approach is necessary for authors too. We should read and immerse ourselves in a wide range of genres, instead of just focusing in on what speaks most directly to us. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and some pulpy Romance novel could result in us finding new ways to approach both the writing and feel of that difficult romance scene in our work.
I feel so lucky that growing up my mum instilled the love and importance of reading into me, and I continue to find my life enriched by each book I read, and constantly find myself inspired to pick up my pen and create a series of words that one day may inspire others.
Video
On Writing first appeared as a video-series on Dominic Lyne’s official YouTube channel. The content of the interviews reproduced on this website may be different to that included in the videos. The copyright of the content of both belongs to Degraded Discord/Dominic Lyne.