A fan of all things dark and horrific, D.W. Gillespie has been writing horror, science fiction, and fantasy for longer than he would like to admit. He began writing seriously in 2002, and after winning the MacDougal Award for his short story ‘The Home’, he’s since been published many times in print and online.

His body of work includes dozens of short stories, such as ‘Man of the People’, ‘Drawn’ and ‘Heavy’. He’s been featured in many publications, both online and in print, and he’s the author of nine novels and counting, including Still Dark, Daylight Dims, The Tree Man and Circle of Mist.

He lives with his wife and two children in Tennessee.

What sort of monster features in this new tale? 
Well, do you ever wonder how things just seem to vanish from your house even though you knew where they were? Maybe a pack of batteries goes missing, even though you knew exactly where you put them? It might have been The Toy Thief. He’s a creature that comes and goes as he pleases, gliding in and out of houses without ever being seen. The reason? To feed a hunger for innocence and goodness that can never truly be sated, like a junkie looking for his next fix. His drug of choice? Children’s favorite toys. 

Any particular influences in this book? 
Beyond my family, I’d say The Toy Thief in general definitely has a Guillermo del Toro sort of feel to him. I’m not a visual designer myself, but I like to try to give just enough detail in all my books to let the reader fill in the blanks for themselves. I would love to see someone with a style and imagination like Del Toro bring The Toy Thief to life.