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
"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
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
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:
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)
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)
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
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)
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!”
