Douglas Clegg is a horror and dark fantasy author, and a pioneer in the field of e-publishing. 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 are Neverland, Isis, The Priest of Blood, and The Hour Before Dark.
EARLY LIFE & WORK
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.
WRITING FICTION
His first novel was published in 1989 by Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books — launching Clegg’s career as a novelist.
He began writing a book a year, as well as dozens of 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. He’s currently revising the novellas The Innocents at the Museum of Antiquities and Mr. Darkness for publication in the fall/winter of 2010, as well as a novel called The Language of Wolves.
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 and business partner.
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, German, Russian, Norwegian, Greek, and one or two others.
Take a look at this incredible Book Trailer for Douglas’ novel, “Neverland.”
