Horror Author and Artist, William Cook Guest Posts!

I live in Wellington – the small wind-blown capital city of New Zealand. I have been writing weird stories ever since I was a kid. My first published works were poems in various literary journals in NZ and a few in the States. Back in 1996 I published a collection of verse titled ‘Journey: The Search for Something’ and had the occasional poem and short story published online, but nothing really of note until 2010 when Lee Pletzers from Triskaideka Books accepted my story ‘The Devil Inside’ for the 2010 Masters of Horror Anthology.

I have always loved the Horror genre and dark literature, so this really inspired me to write what I loved rather than what I thought other people wanted to read and it has finally started to pay off. The thing I love about the Horror and Thriller genre is that a good story will get your pulse racing and your heart thumping. I feel it is the best medium to create a world where the reader feels alive because they are experiencing fear of some sort. Sounds sadistic I know, but I find personally that no other genre gives me the thrills I seek when I immerse myself in a fictional world.

Angelic Knight Press published my first novel ‘Blood Related,’ in December 2011. Writing it was a labor of love and took me roughly six years to write and it wasn’t until I changed day-jobs that I had the time to bring it all together as my debut novel.

The novel is about a disturbed young man called Caleb Cunningham, whose violent father is a suspected serial killer and mother, an insane alcoholic. After his father’s suicide, Cunningham’s disturbing fantasy-life becomes reality, as he begins his killing spree in earnest. His identical twin brother Charlie is released from an asylum and all hell is about to break loose, when the brothers combine their deviant talents. Blood Related is a serial-killer/crime novel told in a first-person narrative style from the killer’s (Caleb’s) point-of-view. 

I am currently co-authoring a true-crime book, and finishing a collection of short Horror/dark fiction that I hope to self-publish May/June of this year. My next project is a sequel to ‘Blood Related,’ tentatively titled ‘Blood Trail.’ This work will deal more with the character of Detective Ray Truman, as he struggles with his own demons and his obsessive pursuit of Caleb Cunningham, the main character in ‘Blood Related’.

As a debut novelist, I don’t really feel in a position to offer advice to others, but if I had to I would say that having a ‘thick skin’ and a certain degree of tenacity is crucial if you want to be a published writer. My perseverance has paid off and I have been privileged to have authors I look up to, give me feedback on my book. People like Jonathan Nasaw, Guy N Smith, Laird Barron, Mark Edward Hall, John Paul Allen, and Nicholas Grabowsky, have all been kind enough to read and review my work – something I would never have believed possible until now.

If the readers out there would like more information on ‘Blood Related’, including bibliographical and background information on the extensive research and reading I did while creating the novel, please visit: http://bloodrelated.wordpress.com/ .

If you would like to buy a copy of ‘Blood Related’, either paperback or E-book please visit my Amazon author’s page: http://www.amazon.com/William-Cook/e/B003PA513I/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

You can check out William Cook’s writing here: http://williamcookwriter.blogspot.com/, and his Macabre Art and book cover design here: http://nzartist.blogspot.com/. Other projects include a Jim Morrison site, which gives an in-depth look at the rock god’s poetry: http://jimmorrisonspoetry.blogspot.com/ and William’s Poetry Site here: http://williamcookpoet.blogspot.co.nz/.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamCookWriterIllustrator

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/williamcook666

                       

Thank you, William for guest posting here.
It's been great to have you.