Get to know Glenn (that's me!)

Birthdate?

January 22nd, 1994.

When did you start writing?

Since I learned how to read! I wrote my first story in 1st grade. It was a horrible story, but it did have a beginning, middle, end.

When and what and where did you first get published?

A play that I wrote in high school got performed on stage, although I'm not sure if that counts. My first short story ever featured in a publication was during my undergrad, in the school's literary magazine "The Normal Review". However, my first independent publication as a working professional was a horror story "Smoke & Coffee", published by Scribblelit in 2018.

Why do you write?

Such a complicated question because it's so easy yet so hard to answer. Easy: I write because I love it. Writing is in every fiber of my being. I've always prided myself on having a big imagination, and writing is the best, most fulfilling conduit for it. Hard: I write because I often used books as an escape. Like most folks, my childhood wasn't that easy, and I kept myself company with novels and comic books when between houses and schools. I write for that little kid and kids like him.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Both. I don't confine myself to either end of the spectrum. If anyone asks what genre I write in, I'll say it's whatever the piece is. One month I'll be a fantasy writer, another I'll be a horror writer. There is strength in appreciating all genres. However, I do have an affinity for certain subgenres. In sci-fi, I love navigating speculative, anything -punk, and most recently New Weird. For fantasy, my pieces tend towards urban fantasy and magical realism.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Alan Moore. You might recognize him from Watchmen, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. His comics are great (particularly Swamp Thing), but my favorite story is his door stopper of a novel Jerusalem. I don't really know how to describe it, which really doesn't sell the book, but trust me! The novel is a masterclass in creativity. It is a marvel.

For short stories, my favorite is "Kaleidoscope" by Ray Bradbury. I love it so much that I got the title tattooed on my arm.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

There are stories everywhere, and most of the time the weirdness of the world happens undercover of the mundane. Nonfiction is just as powerful as fiction. Fiction is just a reflection of our reality. My writing is meant to challenge this notion of mundanity. There is magic in the air, even in the boring. You have to know how to look for it.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?

"Glenn Dungan sure tried his best."

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