Scottish author David Keenan on his ecstatic novels and love of Kiwi music

David Keenan turned from music journalism to writing relatively late in his career - but did something unusual with his first book. After completing it, David Keenan fulfilled a vow he'd made to himself - and destroyed it. Not just by pushing delete - he took a hammer to his laptop. That was, he says, when the writing truly began. His award-winning debut novel, This is Memorial Device is set in the post-punk scene in his hometown of Airdrie in Scotland, based on a fictional band that has its own legion of fans in real life - and even a beer named after it. His second novel For the Good Times, set during the Troubles and influenced by his father and uncles' experiences in Belfast, made the Booker long-list. He quickly followed that with Xstabeth, Monument Maker and Industry of Magic and Light. Music trips through all his work - as it turns out, he has a real passion for New Zealand music - citing The Dead C as one of his favourite bands. He's in New Zealand for three events at Christchurch's WORD festival, which began on Wednesday and runs through the weekend.