Interview with Douglas Gardham, author of The Drive In


Title: The Drive In
Author: Douglas Gardham
Publisher: iUniverse
Pages: 130
Genre: Short Stories
Format: Kindle/Paperback

 Have you ever been intrigued by what mysteries lie behind the doors and windows of the places you pass by on your drive into work everyday? The Drive In takes you on Tom Johnson‘s commute. Unlike Tom, you’ll get to peek behind some of those closed doors. Remember going to the “Drive-In” theatre? Each story reveals what goes on like watching the “dusk ‘til dawn” features through your car’s windshield. Meet the people at the places Tom only passes by each day. Then discover how his drive in ends like no other.  

Can you tell us what your latest book is all about? 

The Drive In is a collection of short stories with a twist. The short stories are about what goes on behind the doors and windows of the places a person passes on their drive into work. But only the reader gets to find out. As the driver, we can really never know, but along the way we discover why this particular drive in is unlike any other.

How did you come up with the idea? 

I’ve written short stories since I started writing. Years ago while driving to work, I was struck by the idea of the places I passed on my way being a unique way to bring a collection of short stories together. I forgot about it. When I suggested to my publisher of wanting to publish a couple of my short stories to help promote my STARBook awarded novel The Actor, iUniverse suggested I put a number of my short stories together in a collection. My “drive in to work” idea came back and hence The Drive In came to fruition.

What kind of research did you do before and during the writing of your book? 

Most of the research for The Drive In was done in the past when the short stories that make up the collection were written. Most of the recent research comes from my personal experience and interests.

Can you give us a short excerpt?

At one moment, he was extoling the purity and virtue of creativity and innovation to create a better future and the next considering actions that were contrary to being a good human being.

In your own experience, is it hard to get a nonfiction book published today? How did you do it? 

I don’t know how hard it is to get a nonfiction book published as I’ve only written fiction. Getting published period is a lot of hard work and no small amount of luck. I don’t think you can really be successful at it unless you love it. The roller-coaster ride is simply too crazy, too up and down, too discouraging and often unrewarding unless you get an incredible feeling of joy, accomplishment and love from the work of writing.

 Douglas Gardham is the author of the STARbook-awarded novel The Actor. He lives near Toronto, Canada with his wife, dog and cat. He loves books, music and movies. This is his second published novel.