McAulay, Alex 1975–

(Charles Douglas)

PERSONAL:

Born January 20, 1975, in Seattle, WA; married October 8, 2005; wife's name Elizabeth. Education: Brown University, B.A., 1996; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, doctoral study.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Santa Monica, CA. Agent—Dave Dunton, Harvey Klinger, Inc., 300 W. 55th St., Ste. 11V, New York, NY 10019. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer. Also works as musician and recording artist, under the name Charles Douglas, including work with such groups as the Velvet Underground and the Pixies.

WRITINGS:

SUSPENSE NOVELS

Bad Girls, MTV Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Lost Summer, MTV Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Oblivion Road, MTV Books (New York, NY), 2007.

The novel Bad Girls has been published in several foreign countries, including the Czech Republic, Poland, and Spain.

SIDELIGHTS:

Alex McAulay told CA: "I started writing because I had what I thought was a good idea for a book: an all-female version of Lord of the Flies. It came out of a conversation I had with my wife, Lisa. We wondered what the interactions between the characters would be like if they were all teenage girls, instead of young boys. That became the underlying concept behind my first novel, Bad Girls.

"My literary influences are pretty eclectic: J.G. Ballard, Paul Bowles, Jeanette Winterson, Stephen King, Angela Carter, John Fowles, and Alex Garland. My novels are also influenced by film directors, including David Lynch, Werner Herzog, Brian de Palma, Darren Aronofsky, and Jane Campion. My four favorite novels are Lord of the Flies by William Golding, The Sheltering Sky by Bowles, High Rise by Ballard, and The Magus by Fowles.

"I generally listen to music when I'm writing. Some of my favorite artists are David Bowie, Tegan & Sara, Nick Drake, Cat Power, Kate Bush, the Pixies, Liz Phair, Prince, the Velvet Underground, the Cure, the Long Winters, and New Order. I only write late at night. I usually begin writing around 11:00 p.m. and work until 3:00 or 4:00 a.m."