A graduate in English Literature and Philosophy from Glasgow University, David’s first teaching post was at Dollar Academy, from whence he was promoted four years later to become, at Inverurie Academy, Aberdeenshire, the Principal Teacher of English, a post he held for some 17 years. In 1982, he was promoted to Assistant Rector at the same school. Contemporaneously, he became an examiner with the then Scottish Examination Board, rising in the early 1980s to the position of Principal Examiner of Higher English until he became, in 1992, an Assistant Director of Education with Grampian Region.
His interest in the examining of English remains undiminished and he is currently an examiner for the International Baccalaureate and for the Advanced GCE A-level English Literature.
David now lives in Fife with his partner and three dogs, all of whom help him enormously in writing his various books for the benefit of English students throughout Scotland.
What is your earliest memory?
Being the only one on deck of the first MV St Claire at 4 in the morning crossing the Pentland Firth in a raging storm.
Which teacher inspired you the most at school?
None. My inspiration came from my tutor at Glasgow University – Edwin Morgan.
What was your worst subject at school?!
Technical subjects. It took me three years of sheer hell to make a wooden tent peg.
What inspired you to get writing?
The desire to teach to a wider audience.
What do you do to relax?
Visiting art galleries, dining with friends, the theatre, and walking our dogs.
What is your favourite book?
‘The Power and the Glory’ by Graham Greene.
What is your favourite film?
Equally: ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, ‘Dead Poets Society’, and ‘Goodbye, Mr Chips’.
What is your favourite album?
‘Captain Swing’ by Michelle Shocked.
What is the most fun you’ve had in a single day?
Dancing with Virginia Wade at the Wimbledon Ball in 1972.
What have you done that no one would guess you'd done?
Climbed the north face of Ben Nevis and lived.
Cycled from Coatbridge to Cassis in the south of France.
Played Banquo, badly, in Jordanhill College production of ‘Macbeth’.