The Code-Slinger Turned Tale-Spinner

Typing tales since late last century. Flames appear courtesy of fictionalized, corrupted small towns.

Back when I could barely tie my shoes, I was scribbling comics—caped weirdos dodging traps, villains eating dirt. That’s me, D. R. Young: a storyteller who’d rather spin a yarn than kick a ball. Teen years swapped pencils for pulpits—preaching faith to sleepy pews—then music hit, lyrics dripping from my skull. Life threw a curve: 24 years as a software engineer, smashing code like a digital whack-a-mole, fixing the unfixable.

All while stories—wild, messy ones—simmered, clawing to get out.

Now, I’m grounded—husband to one, dad to four, sidekick to a Shih Tzu who’d sniff a plot twist through a blizzard.

I ditched the cubicle for The Coldwater Chronicles—a Southern Missouri mystery where a law grad, half-blind on the edges, fights corruption in a town one gust from collapse. It’s murder, thrills, and secrets from childhood trips to a place that stuck—first of a series that's just begging to spill.

Writing’s my jam now—umpteenth drafts and counting. Debut novel will be releasing later this year.

Oh, and grit? Try 30 days of X suspension hell—@drywrites got slapped “inauthentic,” and I’m still swinging (check the next post for that mess). Engineer brain won’t quit—dreamed up an AI fix on the fly. But the writer’s driving now—and novels are my hammer.

This town’s got shadows to crack.

Stick around; I’m just warming up.