David Austin McKinney has been a member of Writers’ League of Texas for a little under two years. He makes his home in Round Mountain, Texas. He will be attending the Agents & Editors Conference in June.
Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?
David McKinney: I write mysteries and that great American genre, westerns. My next novel I’m going to mix it up a bit and write a western mystery.
Scribe: What authors would you like to have coffee or a beer with and which beverage?
DM: Definitely Cormac McCarthy of All the Pretty Horses and No Country for Old Men fame; Nichols Evans who captured the modern western spirit in Horse Whisperer; Annie Proulx who’s books Bad Dirt and Close Range are iconic westerns. And, of course, Larry McMurtry, who has been influential in redefining Texas and westerns in Lonesome Dove and Streets of Laredo. If I was to ask a question it would be: do you see a place for westerns in the future or will it move to a backdrop for other genres.
Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?
DM: Ummmm… A book long enough to keep me engaged, engrossing so I would be entertained, and not so sacred I couldn’t tear off a few pages every now and then to start a fire. Where does that leave us…the Las Vegas telephone directory?
Scribe: What have you learned from your association with the Writers League?
DM: What have I learned from my association with WLT? Three things: first, how to transition from a technical to creative writer. Second, the best tactics and techniques to promote my work. Third, to have fun when I’m pulling out my hair out over one and two.
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
DM: I stay in the moment. My days are spent working the ranch and tending to horses. Any time left over is dedicated to writing. The future, for me, resides somewhere between dawn and dusk.
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world?
DM: It would be wonderful to end with something deeply profound but unfortunately, I can’t. I’m the last person anyone should listen to. Have you seen all the shelf space bookstores dedicate to westerns? No? Me either.
