Debbie Young has a reputation for wry, witty fiction full of gentle English humour, based on meticulous observation of everyday domestic life. She has three published collections of short stories, and her work also appears in various anthologies. She is currently writing a series of cosy mystery novels, the Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries, set in a small English village with an author as its heroine and a bookseller as the love interest, which will be published in 2017. The first book will be "Best Murder in Show", followed by a series of six titles completing a year in the life of the fictitious village of Wendlebury Barrow: "Trick or Murder", "Murder in the Manger", "Murder by the Book", "Springtime for Murder", "Murder Your Darlings" and "School's Out for Murder". She has performed her short stories at various litfests and events including the Cheltenham Literature Festival 2016, and is a frequent guest on BBC Radio Gloucestershire and various community radio and television stations. She is a regular member of the panel on BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Book Club slot during the lunchtime programme. She is the founder of the Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival (founded April 2015) which provides an annual celebration of books and reading on the closest Saturday to World Book Night, in which all events are free of charge to make it accessible to all. Her regional reputation is also enhanced by her long-running humorous column in the Tetbury Advertiser, described by its editor as "the jewel in our crown". She is also an avid reader, reviewing books for various publications including Vine Leaves Literary Journal and on her own blog. She has been blogging as since 2010 and is very active on social media, with a 10K Twitter following over 1,000 Facebook friends and over 500 "likes" on her Facebook author page. Her YouTube channel includes videos of her performing her stories and speaking at public events and on podcasts. She also has a high profile in the author community in her role as Commissioning Editor of the Authors Advice Blog for the Alliance of Independent Authors, for which she is UK Ambassador. She also runs three author meet-up groups in Bristol, Cheltenham and Oxfordshire. She lives and works in the small Cotswold village of Hawkesbury Upton with her Scottish husband and teenage daughter where she is very much involved in the life of its busy rural community. She enjoys travelling in the family camper van in search of adventure, armed only with blank notebooks and reading matter. More information about all of these activities is available on her author website at www.authordebbieyoung.com.
"This collection's combination of calculated economy and seeming leisure falls somewhere between the deceptively simple glare of Roald Dahl's adult short stories and the pared-down sharpness of Ivy Compton-Burnett. Young isn't as wicked as either of those; but like them, "Quick Change" paints miniatures whose small surface area is revealed, upon inspection, to contain entrances to potholes that go down deeper than expected into the bedrock, where the air is cooler, the potholers' life-challenges darker, and their motivations sometimes meaner, than those miniatures' twinkly surfaces led one to expect. Behind the surfaces of civilised society, there are intimate metings-out of justice, gleeful exactions of injustice, quiet individual sufferings and breakthroughs, fresh sparkles of mirth, and the occasional incurrence of something subtly surreal." - Rohan Quine "Flash fiction is every bit as satisfying as a longer story, but ideal for our busy modern lives .... The joy of flash fiction is reflected in the title of this collection: Quick Change. These are fast stories where a clever writer has packed a lot into a small space. Author Debbie Young examines a range of human relationships: marriage, friendship, parenthood, neighbourliness. There are suprising twists and little surprises (Perfect Harmony, for example) where you wonder where the author is taking you, but you trust her and she rewards you with charm and a wry grin at the pay-off. I enjoyed the fascinating insights into the lives of different women. There's a nice juxtaposition between the obsessive cleaner and one who'd rather not, in two stories positioned together (Clean Linen and Domestic Blisters). The author also has a nice ability to quickly engage the sympathy of the reader - Peep Behind the Curtain has you rooting for Imogen to be brave and follow her own path. This flash fiction collection is incredible value. There are so many stories... it's easy to dip into... there's something for everyone." - The Bookworm " Quick Change--- Diminutive Daily Dramas. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a fly on the wall? Yes! Debbie Young, whose fruitful imagination always amazes, has collected ephemeral and fleeting domestic scenes in this slim volume. She is a miniaturist. She depicts intimate scenarios that suggest reality, but which ultimately surprise the reader. In "Perfect Harmony", we are led to believe that Flora's guest is an enthusiastic Lothario, servicing two or three eager ladies in one afternoon. In fact the visitor is a blind piano tuner. No tuner's opportunity there then! Harriet in "Domestic Blisters" is so blinkered--- and it must be faced--- so boring, that her husband's defection only moves her in terms of how her deadly household chores are reduced. How will she use her new found freedom from the kitchen sink? But inspiration strikes when she reads a leaflet offering local Adult Education, and decides to embark on Belly Dancing! In "Married Bliss" Henry and Lucinda play out a drama that could have been the extension of he film "Brief Encounter", except their relationship is not so brief. The married bliss is not with their legal partners, but with each other, as they meet clandestinely every Sunday afternoon. But they are utterly respectable. There is no hanky panky, as they wander the London streets and parks, blissfully hand in hand, in their perception conducting themselves as a married couple should behave.Debbie Young has the great gift of weaving everyday details into a pattern of significance. The characters and the settings of her stories give the impression that they have a past and a future. The action happened today, but it could just as easily have happened yesterday---it did---or tomorrow---it will. Her characterisation is so keenly felt, that one experiences disappointment as each story ends. For this reviewer each of these tiny tales could have been transformed into a fascinating full length novel." - Celia Boyd
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