Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A big shout-out to my readers and viewers of this website (hopefully you are one and the same *wink*), wishing you all the best for 2015 and beyond. This year is going to be a big one for me - for the first time in my short writing career, I have put together a publishing schedule. I know - Shock! Horror! 

2015 publishing schedule is as follows:

March - 3 x eBooks, 1 x print + eBook
June - 3 x eBooks, 1 x print + eBook
September - 3 x eBooks, 1 x print + eBook
December - 3 x eBooks, 1 x print + eBook

I've looked at my progress as an author and feel that this schedule is completely achievable (knock on wood) unless I happen to lose a limb et cetera. At least two of the print titles will be full novel-length works, one of which will be the sequel to my first horror/thriller novel 'Blood Related.' There will be a fresh collection of short fiction (horror-based, similar to 'Dreams of Thanatos'), a collection of non-fiction essays (related to art & literature), a collection of short 'literary fiction' and a new series of short horror fiction, plus some short thriller fiction also. So, lots to do, lots to write - very excited, I think this year will hopefully see my back-catalog grow and (hopefully) my readership, as a direct result.

As you may have noticed, the website has a new more minimalist look and feel. I hope you like it and that it makes your visits easier on the eye. As always, any suggestions you may have regarding the look of this website and the content are always welcome (use comments link beneath posts). 

I have a relatively new title that is available #FREE for all new subscribers - so, if this is your first time visiting, please take a second to subscribe now so you can grab a free copy of 'One Way Ticket' and stay tuned for exclusive news and info regarding new releases and posts and subscriber give-aways in the near future.


http://www.amazon.com/Ticket-Short-Horror-Fiction-Book-ebook/dp/B00RAMNUBM/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420422659&sr=1-12


Fast Train To Hell . . .
From the belly of the swamp issues forth a visit in the middle of the night from a force as dark and unimaginable as hell itself. Poor pig-farmer Abel Laroux, must battle the demons of his past as well as the nightmarish reality of the present, as he confronts a devilish visitor who has come to collect on an outstanding debt, inherited by Abel from his forefathers.

Bonus Features: Includes an excerpt from the author's novel, 'Blood Related' + the long poem 'The Temper of The Tide', in its entirety.

Warning: contains adult content + themes of supernatural & psychological horror.


'One Way Ticket' is a gothic supernatural horror story set in the bayous of Louisiana/New Orleans. It was originally published in the anthology 'Terror Train' by James Ward Kirk Fiction (see link at foot of this page for link) and is also available as an audio podcast. (If you want to skip the preamble and go straight to the story it begins at 5:40.)




One of my New Year resolutions is to post a lot more content here so please make sure you're subscribed to stay in touch. I'd love to hear from any readers out there too - especially in regards to any future works you might like to see from me or just to say 'hi.' Anyway, all the best for 2015 to you - may it be a year filled with prosperity, laughter and good health. Thanks for reading.

Will.


http://www.williamcookwriter.com/p/subscribe-now.html

Recent Interview

Recently I was interviewed by author and fellow countryman Tim Jones for his wonderful blog 'Books in the Trees'. I first met Tim whilst completing a creative writing course at Victoria University run by Science Fiction author Robert Onopa. Tim is a fantastic writer and I had the good fortune of being able to include his wonderful story 'Protein' in my horror anthology, Fresh Fear: Contemporary Horror. Please note that Tim is running a give-away for 5 e-copies of Fresh Fear so please visit his blog and follow the prompts to win a copy. Anyway, without further ado, here is the interview:

 

An Interview With William Cook


William Cook was born and raised in New Zealand and is the author of the novel Blood Related. He has written many short stories that have appeared in anthologies and has authored two short-story collections (Dreams of Thanatos and Death Quartet) and two collections of poetry (Journey: the search for something and Corpus Delicti).

His work has been praised by Joe McKinney, Billie Sue Mosiman, Anna Taborska, Rocky Wood and many other notable writers and editors. William is also the editor of the anthology Fresh Fear: Contemporary Horror, published by James Ward Kirk Fiction.

*** William has kindly made five copies of the Kindle edition of Fresh Fear available to give away! Leave a comment at the end of this article, or respond on Twitter or Facebook, to be in with a chance to win one ***

1) As you mention, you're the editor of the recently published anthology Fresh Fear: Contemporary Horror, in which I'm very pleased to have a story. I'm less familiar with the horror field than I used to be back in the 1980s and 1990s, but even I can see that you've got some major names in there, notably Ramsey Campbell and Jack Dann. How did you manage to secure their work for the anthology?

It took a lot of networking and detective work to track down contact details for some of the bigger names I wanted to include in the anthology. I have been a fan of Ramsey Campbell’s for a long time and consider him the premier U.K. writer of horror, so it was important for me to try and secure one of his stories for the publication. Thankfully he agreed to sell me the rights to one of his stories (Wonderland’) and it was one that I had read before and felt was a good fit for the anthology.

Most of the bigger names were approachable; some more generous than others but most willing to part with stories (mainly reprints) for pro-rates if they didn’t feel the contributor rates were applicable. Jack Dann allowed me the use of his wonderfully frightening story ‘Camps’ and is one of the nicest and most generous authors I’ve met. I feel very honoured to have communicated with some of my favourite authors (albeit via electronic/virtual means) with this anthology and for that reason alone I feel it was worth the cost overall; it also proved a real boost to some of the up-and-coming authors to appear in an anthology alongside the likes of Campbell, Dann, Mosiman, Dunbar et al.




2) Are there common themes that emerge from within a number of these stories, or does the anthology cover the full scope of horror fiction?


The only real criterion I had in mind when selecting the stories for Fresh Fear was that they had to contain the element of fear somehow. I leant slightly towards ‘quiet’ horror when and if it was of a high enough standard but the end result was a really diverse range of stories, ranging from quite hard-core horror to more subtle narratives.

One commonality that emerged from the huge pile of submissions was the amount of stories set in post-apocalyptic or dystopian worlds; so I did become aware that the influx of these kind of stories had to be whittled down to give the reader a more diverse reading experience, as was my original intention. But, in answer to your question, I would say that the only real commonality is that the stories are well-written and that they all contain an element of fear that should entertain the readers’ adrenal glands.

3) Is this the first anthology you've edited, and how did you get interested in editing anthologies?

Yes, it is the first one that I’ve edited. I have always wanted to create my own horror anthology as I’m a big fan of them having falling in love early on with the Pan (Herbert Van Thal ed.) and Fontana collections of the late 70s and early 80s. It is how I, and I suspect, most other readers of horror have discovered new talents and writers of the genre and continue to do so. My interest stems from my love and fascination with the genre and I hope that I get the chance to edit more over the following years. I have always wanted to put together a very eclectic classical horror anthology with the best illustrations to accompany the selection of my favourite stories. One day.

4) Of course, you're also known as a horror novelist, with your novel Blood Related [receiving good reviews. Without giving too much away, what can readers expect from Blood Related?

By way of an answer to your question, I sent a copy to a favourite psychological thriller author – Jonathan Nasaw (author of ‘Fear Itself,’ ‘The Girls He Adored,’ ‘When She Was Bad’ etc). Now this guy is the standard by which I measured BR – his novels are usually about depraved serial killers and are very dark, so his reply shocked me in such a way that I had to ask his permission to use it as a blurb. “Dark and deeply disturbing,” was his reply. Apparently, he had to put it down after reading the first section because it disturbed him too much! Another reviewer has summed up BR nicely – here’s how they described the novel:

“William Cook's presentation of a family of murderers, most notably the twin brothers Caleb and Charlie, is a chronicle that charts the evolution (or de-evolution) of a killer's psyche. There is a plot in this novel, or rather, a series of events that result in the book's conclusion (no spoilers here). A revolutionary plot on the manic scale of Charles Manson, a damaged family unit that has been depicted in classic horror films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and House of 1000 Corpses, and the downward spiral of the novel's "good guy" all illustrate the environmental conditions which create such monstrosities. Cook did very thorough research; no stone was left unturned, no cause behind the madness unexplored.”




5) You're also a poet, and of course, there's a long tradition of horror poetry, stretching back at least to Edgar Allen Poe. What makes for good horror poetry?

There are so many variables and subjective considerations when one makes a value judgement about what constitutes ‘good’ poetry that it is hard to nail down. ‘Horror poetry’ is a fairly loose term and is not as widely accepted as say ‘Gothic’ poems, but recent years have seen the rise of a number of poets who do write poetry that engages tropes most commonly found in horror novels/fiction. An element of dread must always be present – a sense of foreboding; this can be achieved with the cadence and meter of the poem and is also emphasized by the use of onomatopoeia and description.

 

I’m personally not a great fan of rhyming poetry and prefer subtle use of alliteration and simile – the poems that really speak to me as works of horror are usually succinct and pack a punch. The poem should make the reader draw breath as they read and to twist their thoughts and emotion in a way that will leave a marked impression. Too much horror poetry relies on mediocre rhyme schemes and fails to deliver impact because of it. You can have a fantastic idea and a scary premise that can be delivered effectively with free verse, but as soon as a rhyme scheme is used it comes across as a cheesy Pam Ayers-type limerick. The poetry that does it right is usually well edited and tightly wrought with selective use of words and phrasing.
 

Some contemporary poets who I feel do ‘horror poetry’ well are Charlee Jacob, Vincenzo Bilof, Lori Lopez, and Jaye Thomas, and Bruce Boston, to name a few of my favourites.

6) Now that you've finished work on Fresh Fear, what projects do you currently have on the go?

I am currently editing a collection of my 101-year-old Grandfather’s poetry, which is proving to be a challenge. He is a very prolific writer but has seldom been published due to the fact that he has not really shared his work. So there are many hours of reading and editing to get his work to a publishable stage. I am hoping to have his collection published by the end of August, so that he can actually hold a copy in his hands of his own work before he shuffles off this mortal coil. I am also working on a new collection of verse and essays titled ‘Beyond the Black Gate’ – essentially an exploration of depression and its effects and origins. Half of the book will deal with the darker side of depression and the latter half will deal with coping mechanisms and hope. I have a few collaborations I’m working on also including a collection of YA horror stories. For more on all my upcoming and ongoing projects, please come and visit me at my website: http://williamcookwriter.com


7) I know that you've put a lot of effort into building up your social media presence to create a sales platform for your work. What advice do you have for writers who think social media is not for them, or who are just starting to make use of it?

Unfortunately it is a necessary evil but if you can, don’t view it as such. Without the various social medias I would not have achieved the publishing goals I have set for myself so far. I would not have met the publishers, editors, fellow writers, and most importantly – readers. Network, network, network, is the rule of thumb with social media. Use the various platforms for the promotion of your books but use common sense. Don’t over-post things or you will lose the contacts that you have quite quickly – no-one likes a ‘spammer.’


Despite Facebook being the largest social network available it is pretty useless for sharing posts that you make – i.e. you do not have share options that link your FB posts with the likes of Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, MySpace, LinkedIn etc. I believe it is best to have a platform such as a website if you are serious about promoting your work online. Wordpress, Blogger, Wix, Tumblr etc are all viable options and best of all they are free.


Once you have your website/blog set up, then you can use it to share your posts via the social media sites. Most blogs/websites have options for automated sharing of your posts which can save lots of (writing) time and is the most effective way of cross-market promotion. There are countless tutorials via each of these platforms in the help sections or on YouTube.com etc.


Essentially, you need an online presence if you are to succeed as an author in this day and age – especially if you are going down the independent or self-publishing route. The one piece of advice I think is important is to not let it (social media) consume you – I have wasted far too much time over the years on it when I should’ve been writing but in saying that, I have learnt many valuable lessons too. One other point is to remember who it is you are trying to market your work to - the reader.


8) You've recently been involved in setting up the NZ Horror Writers' Facebook Group. Who should get involved, and why?

Well it was more of an experiment than anything else really. I was curious as to how many New Zealand authors write horror and whether there was a need for such a group. So far the response has been positive but I think a more apt title for the group would be: New Zealand Dark Fiction Authors. If you write dark fiction/horror and want a forum for your ideas and to network with other like minds them it would probably be a good place to start.


Many of the members are also active members in groups like the AHWA (Australian Horror Writers Association), SpecFicNZ and the HWA and use the group to share open submission calls and industry news. The criteria for membership is pretty simple – if you are a New Zealander and you write within the genres mentioned, come join up.


9) In addition to those with stories included in Fresh Fear, who are up and coming horror writers that readers should be looking out for?
 

There are so many good writers out there with little or no recognition. Some of the more promising authors that I have had the pleasure of dealing with are as follows: Vincenzo Bilof, Carole Gill, Scathe meic Beorh, Lindsey Beth Goddard, William Malmborg, Anna Taborska, Dane Hatchell, Thomas A. Erb.
There are so many and I’m sure to have missed out others. For a full list of recommended authors, please come and visit my website where I have a full page devoted to writers who are good at what they do.


*** William has kindly made five copies of the Kindle edition of Fresh Fear available to give away! Leave a comment at the end of this article, or respond on Twitter or Facebook, to be in with a chance to win one ***



Tim Jones, Books in The Trees, Robert Onopa, Charlee Jacob, Vincenzo Bilof, Lori Lopez, Jaye Thomas, Bruce Boston, William Cook, Poetry, Horror, Publishing, Books, Fresh Fear, Dreams of Thanatos, Corpus Delicti, Jonathan Nasaw, Joe McKinney, Billie Sue Mosiman, Anna Taborska, Rocky Wood, Carole Gill, Scathe meic Beorh, Lindsey Beth Goddard, William Malmborg, Dane Hatchell, Thomas A. Erb.

New 'My Books' page and update

Hi everyone - time to update my publications page/s. I have recently added a My Books page where you can easily find a display of all my current titles. I will update this page as more come to hand. I am also preparing a new page especially regarding all the anthologies and magazines where my work has appeared (will do a new post when it is ready to go live). Both pages will have live links and excerpts to make it easy for anyone who wants to check out my work. A heart-felt thanks to all of those who have taken the time to read this website/blog and especially to those of you who have taken a chance on a newbie author and actually purchased my work. If you have read something you like please spare a moment and drop a review on the appropriate Amazon page - it really helps a lot to raise my profile and encourages me greatly to continue this crazy occupation and produce more work for you to read. Thanks again.

William Cook

BLOOD RELATED

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Related-William-Cook-ebook/dp/B009WU5PNQ/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405901050&sr=1-5

"Dark and deeply disturbing."
- Jonathan Nasaw, author of Fear Itself and The Girls He Adored.

"Blood Related is a nasty but nuanced take on the serial killer genre. Cook's bruising tale of twin psychopaths who are as cold as mortuary slabs is not for the weak-kneed."
- Laird Barron, author of Occultation and The Imago Sequence.

"A thought-provoking thriller."
- Guy N Smith, author of Night of The Crabs and Deadbeat.

"Great - Riveting - Amazing - take your pick. I just read William Cook's Blood Related for the second time. Both readings were followed with one thought, Wow. A horrific crime-filled tale of terror that makes us understand why we lock our doors at night, Blood Related is by far the best read I've experienced in years."
- John Paul Allen, author of Monkey Love and Gifted Trust

"Blood Related is a terrifying psychological thriller. William Cook is an author to watch." 
- Mark Edward Hall, author of The Lost Village and The Holocaust Opera.

"William Cook makes serial killer fiction exciting again! Expert narrative, bursting with flare, originality, and enough passion and brutality that even a real-life serial killer will love this book . . . and it's twisted and complex enough to make you question your own sanity after the first intense read."
- Nicholas Grabowsky, best-selling author of Halloween IV and Everborn.

About Blood Related

A novel of 383 pages.
Meet the Cunninghams . . . A family bound by evil and the blood they have spilled.

Meet Caleb Samael Cunningham, a diabolical serial-killer with an inherited psychopathology, passed down via a blood-soaked genealogy. Caleb is a disturbed young man 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 to be released from an asylum and all hell is about to break loose, when the brothers combine their deviant talents.

Semi-finalist in The Kindle Book Reviews - Indie Book of the Year 2012 - Mystery/Thriller category.

 

DREAMS OF THANATOS 

http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Thanatos-Collected-Macabre-Tales/dp/1495994333/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405901050&sr=1-3


About Dreams of Thanatos

DREAMS OF THANATOS: Collected Macabre Tales

Dreams of Thanatos is a collection of macabre short fiction from William Cook, the author of the novel Blood Related. Demons, murderers and ghosts roam these pages although the most horrifying aspect Cook describes, is the dark soul of humanity. Whether writing about the horrors of modern life, or things that go ‘bump in the night,’ Cook’s writing is always “intense” and often “visceral” in his portrayal of the macabre. Included in this collection of fifteen stories is a novelette (Dead and Buried) and the origin story (Legacy: The Eternal Now and Thereafter) behind the novel, Blood Related. 

WARNING: STRONG SCENES OF VIOLENCE AND HORROR (Not suitable for minors). READER DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED.  

“This man is simply scary. There is both a clinical thoroughness and a heartfelt emotional thoroughness to his writing. He manages to shock as well as empathize, to scare as well as acclimatize, yet beneath it all is a well read intelligence that demands to be engaged. I loved Blood Related. Ordinarily I hate serial killer stories, but William Cook won me over. He is a unique and innovative talent.” – Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Flesh Eaters and Dog Days



CORPUS DELICTI

http://www.amazon.com/Corpus-Delicti-William-Cook/dp/0692210849/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405901050&sr=1-4


About Corpus Delicti

Corpus Delicti: Selected Poetry, is an eclectic collection of verse selected from over twenty years of writing. Nearly 200 pages of poetry that deals with darker aspects of life in a philosophical and experiential manner. While many of the poems are of a darker nature, readers will also find uplifting poems that counter the more taboo subjects in Corpus Delicti.

A reader's review:

May 25, 2014 by Anthony Servante
Format:Kindle Edition

"Corpus Delicti by William Cook is an extravagant challenge. It is at once an abundant selection of poems on a wide range of topics while it is also individual little gems that captivate the reader. One might say that each poem has its own job, its own vision that leads one to the next poem, and so on. If anything, its greatest feature, its size, is also my one criticism. I see three books here, a trilogy, in one volume. But that's good news for poetry fans: you get three books in one, close to two hundred pages of gems to appreciate one by one. This is not a book to devour in one sitting. It is to be savored slowly, over multiple readings, perhaps three to four poems at a time. I tried random readings and sequential readings, and both work equally fine, with only a subtle difference in reading experience. It is not often that a book of such magnitude of thought and word reaches the modern reader. Purchase Corpus Delicti with confidence that you will have a year's worth of reading joy and introspection. And if you come to read William Cook from his fictional work, then you are in for a treat. Fans of Blood Related can enjoy these little intellectual challenges to the mind in the same way we enjoyed Cook's toying with the line between fiction and nonfiction with his serial killers in Blood Related. The pulse of poetry is as strong as the poet's heart in this very large compilation of poems."

 Blurbs


"William Cook is an uncompromising horror writer. Be prepared to slink down the underbelly of the world as visions are revealed that can't be unseen. Strong stomachs required here folks!"
- Rocky Wood, President of The Horror Writers Association and Stephen King biographer.

"William Cook - writer, poet, artist, editor. This talented man has no illusions about the horror that is human nature. His exploration of torture, murder and mayhem combines the scientific precision of a scientist dissecting a specimen with the creative flair of a sculptor working with words. Something tells me that he is just getting started and we'll be seeing a lot more of his dark crafts in the future."
- Anna Taborska, author of For Those Who Dream Monsters, director of The Rain Has Stopped, Ela, The Sin, My Uprising, A Fragment of Being




DEATH QUARTET (E-BOOK)

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Quartet-Short-Horror-Fiction-ebook/dp/B00FPT3MZQ/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405901050&sr=1-6


About Death Quartet


DEATH QUARTET (A Selection of Short Horror Fiction & Verse) is an eclectic miscellany of stories, poems, and ephemera, wherein the subject matter relates to the study of homicide and the aesthetic portrayal of such an act. In other words, themes of death and murder abound in this horrific collection brought to you by William Cook, an up-and-coming indie author of macabre fiction and the novel 'Blood Related.'

Amongst the selection of four short stories you will find the never-before-seen 'origin story' that generated the novel 'Blood Related'. A stand alone story in its own right, 'Legacy: The Eternal Now and Thereafter' rounds off DEATH QUARTET and gives fans of Cook's novel Blood Related a chance to see where it all began. Make sure you read it with the doors locked.


From Blinded by the Light:

"The tip of the sharp blade pressed hard on Patrick's lower eyelid. A tear bubbled and fell from his twelve-year-old eyelashes, gathering in the indent caused by the presence of the knife, before running the full length of his young face and falling onto his white t-shirt. His dad's breath smelt bad, real bad - like something had died inside him and was stinking him up big-time. Patrick stood on his toes, his father's muscled forearm pressing hard against his chest, pinning his scrawny back against the kitchen wall. Patrick stood as still as possible, cross-eyed with fear, his gaze never left the glint of the knife's blade in his face. His father gave the tip a slight twist and Patrick felt a stab of pain as warm blood traced the path of his tears to drop on his t-shirt. Patrick's breath hitched and all he could think to himself was - "this is it! Dad is gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me. He's gonna . . ."


DEAD AND BURIED (E-BOOK)

http://www.amazon.com/Buried-Supernatural-Young-Adult-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00IJMI8T6/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405901050&sr=1-10


About Dead and Buried

DEAD AND BURIED: A Supernatural Young Adult Thriller
 

A Novelette.

Ever been bullied? Ever been murdered? Ever been dead and buried? Ever been a ghost?


Donny is sick of everything, at home and at school. Most of all, he hates the bullies who have made his life a living hell. Strange things have been happening in the Cox household – Donny’s mother has mysteriously disappeared and his drunken father has been acting more strangely than usual. Donny’s little brother Max is relying on him to find their mother and to protect him from all the things little kids need protecting from. The local gang of thugs is intent on making Donny and Max’s lives as miserable as possible. They will resort to almost anything to make the Cox brothers’ suffer. What the bullies don’t consider, is the possibility that their cruel actions will have consequences far beyond their realms of imagination. 

A supernatural coming-of-age story that deals with the consequences of bullying.


Recommended for mature Young Adult readers 16yrs +
Contains scenes of violence and low-level supernatural horror.

“This man is simply scary. There is both a clinical thoroughness and a heartfelt emotional thoroughness to his writing. He manages to shock as well as empathize, to scare as well as acclimatize, yet beneath it all is a well read intelligence that demands to be engaged. I loved Blood Related. Ordinarily I hate serial killer stories, but William Cook won me over. He is a unique and innovative talent.”
– Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Flesh Eaters and Dog Days


CREEP (E-BOOK SHORT)


About Creep


(Short Story - approx 8,500 words + Novel Excerpt from Blood Related)

Be careful who you get into a car with, even if that car is a taxi! A dark story of a young girl's date with death. CREEP is a story that will leave you on the edge of your seat until the gripping climax which is unexpected and will leave the reader cheering for more. Serial Killers don't always get away with murder, no matter how hard they try.

CREEP, is the first story in an exciting and gritty new psychological thriller series. Cassandra: Hunter of Darkness, is a hero to the victim and a merciless angel of death to the evil ones. A killer of killers, she strikes fear into the hearts of those who get their kicks off hurting others. Join Cassandra on her quest for justice and revenge as she begins her journey into the dark underbelly of serial murder and takes care of business as only she knows how.
A reader's review  

"5.0 out of 5 stars A New Horror Mythos Begins  
May 18, 2013 by Vincenzo Bilof
Format:Kindle Edition
An origin story drenched in blood, "Creep" is an excellent precursor to an intriguing premise. By reading the title and the story synopsis, readers will know what to expect from this tale, but Cook's method of introducing his new brand of madness is where the intrigue lies.

Cassandra's development is the result of the detailed writing that Cook uses to capture the sensory deprivation and overload; emotions broil over in stomach-churning revelation. The story is a moment of self-discovery for Cassandra; with so many torture movies and stories on the market, the audience is quite familiar with this scenario. However, this story is the chrysalis; Cassandra's physical and emotional transformation is revealed through the amount of detail Cook pours into the environment around her. On the literal level, "Creep" offers visceral scares and bestial symbolism to explain Cassandra's moment.

Read by itself without any further context, "Creep" stands by itself well enough. It's a quick read if you allow yourself a quiet, dark place to read with low light. Cook continues to improve as a writer; there are still some moments / actions that are characterized through "telling" rather than showing, but this remains a personal preference of mine. Personally, I don't think Cook necessarily has to include this origin story in the upcoming novel; it can be referred to in scattered flashback moments, because this is rather a complete episode in Cassandra's life.

Considering what the story is designed to achieve/explain, Cook delivers upon his promise: the terror is personal and life-changing for Cassandra, and he explains why with well-crafted imagery and moments of revulsion.

Side note: Cook included one of my favorite scenes from his highly recommended novel, "Blood Related." There's enough entertainment value in this package to turn lovers of serial killer horror into William Cook fans"

DEVIL INSIDE (E-BOOK SHORT)

http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Inside-William-Cook-ebook/dp/B00B3OCVMC/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405902970&sr=1-8

About Devil Inside


Devil Inside is a short horror story that will leave you wanting more. Graphic and descriptive, the tale winds itself around a young boy who discovers that when you make a wish, you better make sure you really want it.

Horror, Violence, Supernatural, M15+

Short Story + 4 x Poems + Excerpt from Blood Related (novel).

A reader's review 


“5.0 out of 5 stars Edge of My Chair Horror
December 21, 2013 by Diane J
This review is from: Devil Inside (Kindle Edition)

I am very picky about my horror. I have been hooked since I read Poe in High School. William Cook is one of the best writers in this genre that I have read. From the minute I began reading Devil Inside, I was drawn into the world and mind of the young main character, Jacob. The story builds in suspense and mutilations flawlessly, ending in an exceptionally gratifying outcome, at least for me. William is a master of the genre. I am going to get every book, story and poetry piece he has written and indulge in a blood bath of intense, unrelenting fiction. Bravo!”

Women in Horror Month #2 - Billie Sue Mosiman

Billie Sue Mosiman



Recently I edited/compiled a horror anthology called Fresh Fear: Contemporary Horror. Billie Sue Mosiman was one of the first authors I approached as I have been a fan of her work for years. I was very pleased when Billie Sue submitted a story called ‘Verboten’ for my anthology, and what a great story it is too. The first time I ever encountered her work was in Robert Bloch’s anthology ‘Psycho Paths,’ and then again in his next anthology ‘Psychos. ‘A Determined Woman,’ is the first story I read of hers and is still one of my favorites alongside ‘Interview With A Psycho,’ which blew me away. It’s one of the best dark psychological thriller stories I have read to date. The impact of the story stayed with me for a while and not just because of the subject matter, but because of how good the story actually is. Billie Sue can write and it’s no surprise considering that she has so many novels and collections published over the years. As Robert Bloch, author of Psycho and American Gothic, says about her novel Night Cruise[ing]: "A journey into the darkest recesses of the human mind...uncanny, unsettling, unforgettable."



Billie Sue Mosiman is a thriller, suspense, and horror novelist, a short fiction writer, and a lover of words. Her books have received an Edgar Award Nomination for best novel (Night Cruising) and a Bram Stoker Award Nomination for most superior novel (Widow). She has been a regular contributor to a myriad of anthologies and magazines, with over 160 published short stories. Her work has appeared in such diverse publications as Horror Show Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. She taught writing for Writer's Digest and for AOL online. Billie Sue’s latest work in paperback and Kindle digital is SINISTER-Tales of Dread, a compilation of fourteen new short stories all written in 2013.



“Billie Sue Mosiman’s novels are edge-of-the-seat all the way!” Ed Gorman, award winning author of BAD MOON RISING.



February is ‘Women in Horror’ month and Billie Sue is one of the leading ladies in psychological horror; she has kindly agreed to do an interview and without further ado, here it is.

Interview with Billie Sue Mosiman:




Q: When did you first decide to become a writer, in particular a writer of Dark Fiction? Was there any one thing, or person, that influenced you to write your first story?



A: I was thirteen, apparently, since I wrote in my diary at that time, “I want to grow up to be a writer.” There wasn’t any one thing or person that influenced me to write my first story. I found it once. It was written in pencil on lined paper and involved some young people living around Paul, Alabama where I often lived with my grandparents. I think my work might be dark fiction because my childhood was often dark, there were volatile people around me, and of course I was steeped in superstitions and stories from the dark woods of Southern Alabama.



Q: You have been writing for many years now and have had many novels and collections published, do you think that your writing/work is more popular now than it has been in the past? If so/not why do you think that is?


A: I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that. I think my audience has been kind of steady over the years. It’s helped to have digital copies now so more people can find and afford my work. Where before readers had to wait for a new novel to appear every two years or a new magazine I had a story in, now they can go to Amazon and find so much of my work at their fingertips. Also, instead of paying close to ten dollars for a paperback, they can pick up a novel for four. That opens everyone’s work to the large audience of readers out there. I think that’s marvelous.



Q: In 2011 you self-published a novel (‘Banished’), the first novel you have published yourself; why did you decide to follow the self-publishing route? Did you find it a different process than writing for a mass market press/publishing house, like you have done in the past?



A: In 2011 it was a revolution. Literature and the method of conveying it to the reader had changed. I’d written a novel that was unlike what I’d done before. If it wasn’t suspense or horror I knew publishers would be reluctant to take it. I decided to join the revolution and see what happened. I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I went straight for the readers and it was a lot of fun. I had a professional cover made and the book looked over by a professional and just hit that button! It was a completely different process than working with mass market publishers out of New York. I had more freedom. I didn’t have to worry about the book appearing in bookstores and outlets maybe for a month and disappearing. I’d have that book [appear] before the public in a way [that was] easy for them to purchase day and night, for as long as I wanted it out there. I had more control. It was an interesting and profitable venture.



Q: As it is ‘Women in Horror’ month, who are your favorite female authors of dark fiction? Do any of your favorites have an influence on your own work or inspire you in any way?



A: Mary Shelley was the goddess of all things dark with FRANKENSTEIN. (I wrote a novella continuing her great novel in FRANKENSTEIN: Return From the Wasteland.) She was an influence. Then along came Flannery O’Connor, who isn’t thought of as a horror writer and she really isn’t, but she writes dark fiction and her way of writing it highly influenced me. I wanted to grow up to be Flannery. Next was Patricia Highsmith, who wrote some of the best darkest fiction of suspense-bordering-on-horror that I’d read. She was a “quiet” writer, intellectual, and she spoke to me. When I first started writing horror stories I didn’t see many women writing it in the horror magazines where I was sending my stories. Due to that I’m afraid I didn’t feel an influence from them; rather, we were all jumping into the Horror Sea and paddling our little lifeboats as fast as we could. At that point Stephen King began to influence me. And some of the best writers in suspense like Robert Bloch, Lawrence Sanders, Richard Matheson. Plus the old names like Jim Thompson, Patricia Highsmith, and others. Today I’m watching the blooming careers of new writers in horror and like many of them very much, seeing talent that is much better than I saw back in the 1980s when I started getting published with dark fiction.



Q: What/who influenced you to switch to self-publishing and/or do you still publish with others (publishers)?  Is the self-publishing market more lucrative for a veteran author such as yourself who has been published by all manner of publishing houses, both big and small?



A: I saw Joe Konrath doing it and some other traditionally published authors doing it and I just leaped in. After BANISHED I just self-published my stories, some old and some new. I made sure my legacy novels, most of which you couldn’t buy anymore, were available as e-books. With short stories it’s very lucrative. Many markets today don’t pay enough to waste my time submitting to, but if I self-publish I go directly to readers and make more that way than for a one-payment deal. I’m not all about money, but I’m no fool either. I collected several of my stories into collections to make it easier and a little cheaper than readers having to buy individual stories. Now for my next novel (the only one I’ve done since BANISHED in 2011) titled THE GREY MATTER, I went back to looking for publishers. Mainly because it is not outside my usual type of novel I’ve been known for writing. It’s a suspense novel with a touch of speculative future events in it and I wanted to have someone else, an editor and a publisher, handle the whole thing for me. It was taken by Post Mortem Press, who will bring it out in April or May this year. I’m very excited about it and feel it’s some of my best work. In this way I’m more of a “hybrid” writer these days—self-publishing shorts and collections from those shorts, and going with a publisher for novels.



Q: You write in many genres but predominantly ‘Dark Fiction; do you consider yourself a "horror" writer, a genre (thriller, dark fiction, mystery etc) writer, or a writer in general? How does the type of writer you perceive yourself to be have an effect on the way you approach writing, if at all?



A: It would probably be best to think of me as a dark and speculative fiction writer. I’ve been known as a suspense/mystery writer and in my long work, the novel, that’s predominately what I’ve written. Of fifteen novels I only got off that path a couple of times, once with a Western (because a publisher asked for one and bought it on a short synopsis) and Banished, the horror-fantasy novel. I really think of myself in two ways—as a horror writer of short fiction and a suspense writer of novels. Straddling genres that way may seem odd, but my short work just tends toward horror.



Q: Quite often you write about serial killers and psychopathic personalities; how do you prepare/research for these stories and how much influence do other sources (i.e. True Crime, Non-fiction texts, Newspaper, Media etc) play upon/inform the development of your characters’ behaviors?



A: I spent years studying serial killers, the real ones, and abnormal psychology. I informed myself on the character and typical actions of those killers. From the writing of WIREMAN forward the serial killer intrigued me so I wrote several more novels about them. Male and female serial killers (WIDOW), killers who were so damaged and deluded they thought they had been abused and yet who had only been loved and couldn’t accept being a person who was loved (SLICE, which I retitled KILLING CARLA), killers who wanted revenge (STILETTO), killers who were young and psychotic (DEADLY AFFECTIONS, which I retitled MOON LAKE), and so forth. Damaged and disturbed personalities was the well from which I drank, trying to understand them, seeing them without blinders, and getting into their heads. I read tons of non-fiction books on people who kill, on psychopaths, and on family dynamics when there is a disturbed person affecting the unit. Now, with THE GREY MATTER, I have a serial killer, but he isn’t the focus of the novel. It’s focused on four young people who are castoffs from society who come together as a family and are menaced by the serial killer.  I am on my familiar stomping ground, with some very wicked twists.



Q: Before you published ‘Banished’ in 2011 you have stated elsewhere that you had “finally overcome the dreadful writer's block that left me impotent to write.” Can you please tell us what led to your writer’s block and how you overcame it and also why you switched from traditional to self-publishing at this point? Were the two events (beating writer’s block and switching to SP) a result/consequence of each other?



A: My parents moved in with us. They’d sold their marina, which they couldn’t handle any longer, and were looking for a house near where I lived. My mother, who was a master manipulator, began suggesting they spend their money expanding my home for them to live with me. I had a lifetime of trying to understand my mother, who was mentally ill. She was an untreated victim of bi-polar and narcissistic personality. Once they moved in next door, as we separated our house into two distinct living spaces, my life became hell. I tried to write. I wrote several different novels and an autobiography that died halfway and went unfinished. My emotional state was not strong enough to write and at the same time deal with my parent, who were slowly having worsening health problems. My dad had Alzheimer’s and diabetes. I had to start taking him to doctor visits and help Mom with him. My mother’s furious episodes of anger grew worse. She finally was diagnosed with lung cancer and didn’t get treatment. My father died, and then my mother’s cancer worsened and I was her caretaker. It was seven or eight years of pure unadulterated hellish nightmare. I simply got blocked when trying to write by about page 150. Novels died and were put away. I stalled. I think I was just trying to survive and there was no room there for my writing life.



Jumping into self-publishing with BANISHED had nothing to do with the block. Once my mother died and I slowly came back to myself and my work, the whole digital revolution was happening, people all over Facebook, which I’d just discovered, were excited and publishing works, some good, some not. I wrote my book, published it, and I have been happy about that decision ever since.



Those who tell you there is no such thing as writer’s block just haven’t experienced one yet. I defy any writer anywhere to have lived here in my home with my insane mother and my poor, sweet, sad father, take care of them, and still find motivation to write. I dare them.



Q: Many of your recent titles/collections are self-published; one would think with a prolific career such as yours that traditional publishers would be waiting in line to offer you contracts. Do you still get offers of publication or interest from the more mainstream publishers?



A: I left the mainstream –NEW YORK- publishers behind once I realized they would demand to own, like forever, my digital rights. I understood my digital rights were worth a lot, perhaps more than any of us know today. If I gave them away, for just about any amount of money, I’d kick myself later. I’d have given away rights my family can profit from long after my demise. I went with a publisher for THE GREY MATTER that would not keep my rights forever. I had determined by that time I would never let them go for longer than a certain, spelled-out amount of time. I own those rights. I won’t give them away. I might share them, but I will never give them away.  I would rather go with my mainstream smaller publisher any day than let that happen. Writers today still want deals with the 5 NY publishers who are left. Once they realize they can’t negotiate those digital rights for themselves I would think they’d know it’s a raw deal. I never go for raw deals. I protect my creative rights. I’ve no hope NY publishing will relinquish those rights for years yet. One day they might start making more reasonable deals with writers for them, sharing some of the rights, but until them I’m just not interested.



Q: Recently you bravely and publicly announced that you are battling cancer, has your illness caused any reflection upon your career as a writer of dark fiction or your direction ahead as an author?



A: It has. I look back and haven’t regrets. I wrote from my deepest place, from what interested me and inspired me. I wrote as well as I could. I must leave it at that. As for the future, I’m looking forward and hope to do more noir and suspense writing, even in the short form than in supernatural horror. My direction is changing slightly and I think that’s fine. Writer’s change and if they don’t they stagnate. I write what comes to me and I’m happy with what I’ve done and what I hope to do.



Q: Who or what has influenced your writing the most, and in what way?



A: Oh, I can’t really name names so much because I’ve learned so many different things from so many writers. But good dark fiction in any genre does influence me. I read them and think how wonderful is that? Can I do anything compared to it? I challenge myself to move forward and try new things in both the way I write and in what I write.



Q: I have read a couple of your novels and a few of your collections but feel that I haven’t even scraped the surface of your prolific bibliography/back list; what one work would you recommend to prospective Billie-Sue Mosiman readers and why? What do you consider your best novel and your best short fiction work?



A: Too hard, too hard. How does one pick out an individual baby she’s created from her flesh and from her mind? You might as well ask which of my daughters I love best. I love them both equally.



I can tell you the ones I like a lot. I like BAD TRIP SOUTH, because it is about crime, but has a supernatural element.  I like BANISHED because I stretched and tried something new. I like NIGHT CRUISE (now titled NIGHTCRUISING) because it was nominated for an Edgar and it’s got a killer in it you grow to understand, and a girl who grows up and faces the horrors of the real world. I like WIDOW because I tackled something new in having a female and male serial killer, then the female comes to her senses while the male begins to commit copycat killings pointing toward her. In stories I like FRANKENSTEIN: From out the Wasteland because I dropped into Mary Shelley’s world and tried to see where it went after the end of her novel. I like INTERVIEW WITH A PSYCHO, that was in Robert Bloch’s PSYCHOS, because I wrote it in homage to the great man. And I like my new collection, SINISTER-Tales of Dread, because I was on fire last year in 2013 and the stories just poured out—all sorts of stories, but all of them dark. That’s where my writing Muse has lived from since the beginning, firmly in the dark fiction dungeon.





Thank you Billie Sue for such an insightful and informative interview.






Billie Sue Mosiman links:




Billie Sue Mosiman's Books


Read about and buy ALABAMA GIRL-PART 1 -On This Link-

Read about and Buy CREATURES  -On This Link- 
 
Read about and Buy ZOM ALIVE: 2110     -On This Link-
Read about and Buy DiaboliQ     -On This Link-

Read about and Buy LEGIONS OF THE DARK   - On This Link-


Read about and Buy RISE OF THE LEGEND -On This Link-

Read about and Buy HUNTER OF THE DEAD  -On this Link-


Read about and Buy RABBIT HUNTER   -On This Link-

 

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