Bath and North East Somerset Libraries


Kids Zone

Interview With Damaris Young


Damaris Young is the author of The Switching Hour and The Creature Keeper, which are both aimed at 9+ readers. Damaris loves writing edge-of-your-seat adventures that have an environmental message, with brave characters, strong friendships and extraordinary animals.
Damaris completed an MA at Bath Spa University in Writing for Young People. She lives in Bristol, UK.

Damaris took part in a Summer Reading Challenge Author Event in 2021.

What are your top 5 writing essentials?

Coffee. It’s the best way to wake up my brain in the morning!

Books. I start the day by reading favourite chapters of treasured stories or reading something new and exciting, to inspire me for a day of writing.

A notebook. I always keep one to hand, to write down any ideas that might decide to pop into my head.

A community of writers. It’s so important to have other writers who you can discuss, critique and celebrate each other’s writing with. Writing a book can be tough, so having people who support you is a writing essential.

Music. When I’m struggling to imagine a particular scene, I will often play sounds that I associate with that location. If I’m writing a story set in a forest, I’ll play woodland birdsong, which helps me immerse myself in the story.

The Switching Hour book cover

Who or what are the biggest influences in your writing?

The Edge Chronicles, a children’s fantasy novel series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, continue to be a big influence on my writing. I love the sense of adventure, intriguing characters and incredible worldbuilding! I also grew up reading the Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine, which made me want to write my own spooky stories.

Has writing been a lifelong ambition, or did you start writing for other reasons?

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to write stories. I would scribble in notebooks in school, building imaginary worlds and sketching out characters. When I studied on the Bath Spa Writing For Young People MA, I began to experiment with different genres, styles and age ranges, and I finished my first full-length book which became my debut, The Switching Hour.

Where do you get the inspiration to create your characters?

Inspiration can come from lots of different places, from childhood memories to newspaper articles. In The Switching Hour, the characters of Amaya and her little brother Kaleb were inspired by my siblings. In The Creature Keeper, the main character who becomes the caretaker of many extraordinary animals was inspired by a younger version of me, when I was a child who longed for adventure.

Creature Keeper Book cover

What do you find are the most difficult aspects of writing?

I find plotting out the story can be one of the most difficult aspects of writing, as I like to race ahead to the action. Despite my impatience, it’s important to figure out the journey that your character will take, so that you can direct them towards the finish line, without wandering too far off course!


This interview was conducted in 2021.