Cameron D Dryden Member Member since 2019

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Climate Fiction (CliFi) & HistFic Novelist

Fiction

Cameron Dryden is a novelist, engineer, and inventor with 31 patents. A graduate of Grubstreet's Novel Incubator, he's writing a Commercial YA Climate Fiction novel about a cybernetically enhanced 16-year-old paramedic with bipolar disorder who battles a vengeful weather-control corporation and her extreme moods to save her impoverished city and family.

Location:: Boston, MA
Social:: Blog/web
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Cameron D Dryden's Publication History

Jul 2026

Dead Darlings published Julie Carrick Dalton Discusses The Forest Becomes Her (With a Teaser)

Jul 2025

Dead Darlings published Aube Rey Lescure Discusses her Début Novel, River East River West

Jan 2024

Dead Darlings published Aube Rey Lescure Discusses her Début Novel, River East River West

Aug 2023

Dead Darlings published Christy Cashman Discusses her Début Novel, The Truth About Horses

Interview with Cameron D Dryden

Who are your literary (or artistic) heroes?

I admire Claire Keegan and Paulo Coelho for showing the power of writing simplicity, Maggie O’Farrell and Crystal King for historical fiction that made me cry, and Allen Levi and Janet Rich Edwards for their works showcasing the power of redemptive love. Julie Carrick Dalton is my TEDx-talking Cli-Fi hero, and my cousin, Robin Miles, has taught me the meaning of true perseverance by narrating over 500 novels and being inducted into two narrator Halls of Fame.

If you could only take one book on a ten-year voyage, what book would you choose?

Wow—only one? I suppose I’d pick the audiobook of North Woods, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason and narrated by ten different narrators! The story brims with action, suspense, magical realism…and poetry; the narration is strikingly superb. I discover unplumbed depths with each listen.

Where do you find inspiration?

Authors I’ve met who’ve treated me kindly—in spite of their rapidly accruing fame—inspire me. Though Randy Susan Meyers has never taken a writing class, she’s published six award-winning novels by carefully studying every book she reads. Annie Hartnett, author of three novels, taught me 'How to be a Writing Badass'. Last but not least, Michelle Hoover, my former instructor and dear friend, shows the boundless energy it takes to succeed in a well-lived writing life.

What advice would you give to a young, budding writer (or artist) with less experience than yourself?

Expect your journey towards gaining appreciation to take longer than you expect, but don’t be disheartened—let every rejection feed your determination to make your prose tighter, more emotive, and succinct.

For your first draft (or sketch), do you prefer analog or digital tools, or a mix?

After creating a bare-bones story outline on paper, I create picture-based character sketches on my computer, finding images online that show how they look, where they live, and the interesting things they’ll see. Then I add descriptions of each character’s background, motivations, and approach to life. Keeping everything on my laptop makes updates easy as I deepen my understanding of each character.

Last Updated: 29 Oct 2026