William Cook

Hi Folks Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts lately - some of you may know that I recently began my Masters in English Lit. program and it is proving to be the inevitable time-guzzler that I thought it would be! So, less fiction, more academic writing . . . Grrrrrr. Despite the time consuming factor, I am learning a lot as I go and it's valuable information which will hopefully benefit my writing. The topic of my thesis is: American Postmodern Serial Killer Fiction , and I'm analyzing the following select works - Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me , James Ellroy’s Killer on the Road , Brett Easton Ellis’s American Psycho , Poppy Z. Brite’s Exquisite Corpse and Joyce Carol Oates’s Zombie . Here's a slice of the intro - as you will notice, the style is not my usual pared-down prose . B ear in mind that this is the first draft, but you get the idea: "The vast body of published texts, which constitute the genre of serial killer fiction, reveal common narrative...

Hi All - it's been a while I know, so as a way of thanking you for sticking around I've got some free books for you! Things have been really busy lately with research for my Masters thesis well underway. The title of my dissertation is 'The Evolution of a Genre: the Rise and Rise of Serial killer Fiction. As you can imagine, the research and writing on this topic fits well within the scope of my fictional work as well, so it should be an interesting and engaging ride. Let's just hope that my supervisor likes the subject as much as readers of my books do! Other current projects include continued work on the sequel to ' Blood Related ' (a novel titled 'Blood Loss'), the second volume of ' Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors ' as well as an omnibus edition that collates both volumes (1 and 2) plus additional material.  In other news, I have recently been interviewed. If you're interested in reading these you can view them respectiv...

 Hi there - well it's been a while since my last post as things have been very busy on the home front. I have nearly finished the final edits on my latest book - 'Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors,' and have been working on a couple of other projects (novel, collection etc). SOBSSPA is a non-fiction collection of interviews that appeared first here on my site/blog - (you can find all the interviews via this link ) along with an analysis of the main interview points and a couple of essays on Growth Hacking for authors and Self-Publishing by yours truly. All things going well, this interesting little book should be ready pre-Christmas along with a collection of essays and a new collection of short fiction. Meanwhile, here is a freebie for you guys - hope you enjoy it. #FREE Now! (3 Days only - 12-15/11) Dead and Buried - A Ghost Story (Please share/ #RT) - (U.S. & U.K. links below) Ever been bullied? Ever been dead and buried? Ever been a ghost?   Donn...

Some days, you wake up thinking the day will be much the same as the previous one  . . . and then you see that someone has liked one of your books enough to leave a positive review on Amazon or Goodreads et al. These days I live for. Not so much for the kudos and a back-pat (although, undeniably, an ego massage never goes amiss, when you're wondering if anyone is actually reading the stuff you've slaved over) but for the fact that someone has read something you wrote and enjoyed it. Bringing pleasure to my readers, even if it is a macabre fear-filled type of pleasure, is why I continue to write and I thank you for it. Yes, you - the reader. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patronage and time and I hope that I can continue to surprise and satisfy you with my words. Here is the review in question that I woke up to today:     "5.0 out of 5 stars A Book You'll Read More Than Once!   January 18, 2015 by Mary Genevieve Fortier ...

Hi everyone. Well it's been a while but many things have been underway - hence the MIA status. Recently, I was featured on the talented Jerry McKinney's website as one of his ' Featured Friends ' and rated a mention on a recent radio talk-back show with host Jeff Mudgett. I have a new ebook due out by the end of September titled 'Macabre: A Collection of Short Fiction'. As the name suggests, it is a short-story collection of twelve macabre stories that readers will hopefully enjoy. I will make sure to post a link as soon as it goes live. And, finally, Black Bed Sheet Books are re-releasing 'Blood Related' on Halloween and I have also signed a deal with them for the sequel - tentatively titled 'Blood Trail' and halfway to completion. I would expect this to be finished just before or after Christmas and ready for release sometime before midyear 2013. So, a busy second-half for 2012 - if the calendar ticks over into 2013 I suspect next year w...

One of the 'Little Bastards' The Newtown Council Apartments Building, Block B Wellington, Newtown. Possums that climb drainpipes at the council flats in Newtown have long been a problem for the residents and more importantly the landlords. Now a possible solution has been found by one of the tenants who live on the thirteenth floor of Apartment block B. Noticing that the drainpipe was made from a conductive material, Arnold B Wingthrop, a retired electrical contractor, unscrewed a lamp from its electrical cord and attached the flex with duct-tape to the drainpipe fixture outside his window. Within days a pile of scorched possums lay stacked at the base of the drainpipe. Local stray dogs have been disposing of the barbequed rodents but there have been a few incidents where some animals have touched the downpipe and fried as a result. Mr Wingthrop stated, “the little bastards got what they des...