Vincenzo's Zombie Horror Blog: REVIEW: Blood Related by William Cook

Vincenzo's Zombie Horror Blog: REVIEW: Blood Related by William Cook:

REVIEW: Blood Related by William Cook 


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, and 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. 


4.5/5 Amazon Stars 

The serial killer genre must be one of the most difficult to write about. Considering that so much research has been devoted to our understanding of these monstrous people who live among us, the killer is not mysterious. We're fascinated by the perpetrators of the most heinous crimes; the killers are granted immortality by the media and our own innate desire to peer into the darkness of the human heart and mind. How can such monsters exist?

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 unexplored.

There are several scenes that may have been more effective if the reader was given a chance to "see" rather than be "told," however, within the greater framework of the novel, which is rather extensive, one can argue that Cook's method only underscore the madness within: there are buckets of gore amid several grotesque mutilations, but all of them are very casually described. Whether from the perspective of a killer who wallows in bloodlust or from files and reports that summarize the grisly murder scenes, the detachment of the prose from the massacre mirrors the mental state of the characters. Descriptions are hardly tense, but rather matter-of-fact.

Grievances with this novel are based on personal preference. As with many serial killer stories, there is a severe lack of an endearing female character. From the perspective of Caleb and Charlie, this is acceptable because it appropriately conveys their worldview; however, I would have liked to see a character contrast with their dark, grimy world. One might argue that a doctor that appears within the pages is this contrast, and the argument is acceptable. In addition, I found some of the information near the end of the novel to be a bit anti-climactic.

Cook knows his material. The contemporary standard for a serial killer novel is, in my opinion, American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. The fact that I can measure Blood Related against this standard suggests that Cook has accomplished what few writers can with the serial killer story. I've seen Blood Related appear on a few "Best of" lists; I expect Cook to receive accolades for this novel, and future endeavors."
Well 2013 has kicked off with a hiss and a roar. Long may it continue, the hissing and the roaring that is. First of all I'd like to thank all of you who take the time to visit. It really means a lot and supports independent artists and craftspeople like myself. Anyway, this is my site so I guess I better tell you about what's happening in my world at the moment (myopic as it may be). I have started a new novel titled 'Blood Trail' and have finished the first quarter and mapped out the balance with an expected finish of July/August approx. I have nearly completed formatting a rather large dark-poetry collection (title to be decided). 'Songs for the Raven' is an anthology I've been working with and is in the process of taking submissions (I did this book cover for them recently). If you're interested, click on the pic and submit your best literary Horror short:


A few interviews will go live shortly and three separate anthology selections - please stay updated if interested in any of these things via my facebook page.

On other fronts, I have had limited success with my first ventures into self-publishing with the following poetry books. They are all $0.99 titles so if you like poetry, take a punt ;)






My first Kindle short has met with an enthusiastic response and I received my first 1-star review from an indignant reviewer. Sometimes I think people confuse the sample with the whole story! (spoiler alert: stereotypical representations of minor characters) It was supposed to be like an episode from a TV Horror series or Tales From the Crypt. I love and collect vintage EC, Eerie, Creepy and Psycho comics, hence the influence.  Anyway, another $0.99 cent title and recently topping a Goodreads poll



Meanwhile, Blood Related is ticking along steadily, not losing or gaining much pace via Amazon but hoping I'm selling a few copies through my publisher, Black Bed Sheet Books (cheaper too)

Anyway, that's about all from me this month but I will be back in a few days with some more posts. One of my many resolutions for 2013 was to be more communicative (and no that doesn't mean spamming!). I'd also like to share a friend's website. He is an excellent writer and all-round good guy, Mr Todd Card. Please take a moment to check out his cool site and his nightmarish creations (esp 'Hell Cometh').


Oh, and one more thing I'm still doing book cover, audio/music/dvd, graphics through my design site  www.bloodsoakedgraphics.tumblr.com if you need anything.

Until next time, see you later. Will.



A busy year ahead


Well, the mandatory salutation - 'Happy New Year', from me to you, is now presented literally. Hope you are kicking into this new year with gusto? Rather than make too many resolutions this year, I have just decided to sacrifice certain aspects of my laziness instead. There is only one way to really attain a peak-production of sorts when it comes to writing (personally speaking) and health must balance with writing/artistic pursuits.

2012:
was a good year for me with the re-release of 'Blood Related' by Black Bed Sheet Books and Nicholas Grabowsky. I received my copy in the mail and I'm very pleased with what Nicholas has done with the book. The editing is tight and the formatting and font-choice are perfect.  Nick has been in the business for years and knows what's what and I'm proud to be party of the BBSB team, alongside the likes of the following great authors, most of who scare the hell out of me in a good way:

 |_ Alan Draven (11)
  |_ Amity Green
  |_ Adam Aresty (5)
  |_ Alexander Beresford (12)
  |_ B.L. Morgan (8)
  |_ Bart Brevik (14)
  |_ Brandon Ford (19)
  |_ Cinsearae Santiago (7)
  |_ Dustin LaValley (5)
  |_ Franchisca Weatherman (9)
  |_ Fred Wiehe (8)
  |_ Gene Tipton
  |_ Joel Eisner
  |_ Horns (9)
  |_ Jake Istre (8)
  |_ Jason Gehlert (26)
  |_ Jason M. Tucker (10)
  |_ Jennifer Caress (10)
  |_ Jessica Lynne Gardner (14)
  |_ Joe L. Blevins (6)
  |_ K.K. (3)
  |_ Lane Morris (9)
  |_ Lincoln Crisler (7)
  |_ Matthew Ewald (19)
  |_ Nicholas Grabowsky (28)
  |_ Nick Kisella (19)
  |_ Nicole Vlachos (15)
  |_ Rey Otis (10)
  |_ Robert Milby (8)
  |_ Roger Sills (1)
  |_ Ruschelle Dillon (5)
  |_ Shannon Lee (7)
  |_ S.C. Hayden (9)
  |_ Sean Davis
  |_ Sharon Day & Julie Ferguson (4)
  |_ Shawnalee McCutcheon-Bell (8)
  |_ Sue Dent (2
  |_ Tom Sawyer
  |_ Vin Doctor
  |_ Wade Garret
  |_ William Cook

Anyway, Blood Related is looking good and ready to enter phase two with the imminent completion and (hopefully) publication of the sequel - 'Blood Trail.' I am a quarter of the way there but can give you a small sample of what's to come as Ray Truman fights his way back from the brink of death and resumes his bloodhunt for Caleb Cunningham. You can read it here. And if you haven't read Blood Related you can get it here on Amazon or (preferably), you can get it at a good price in any format, here direct from the publisher.

Current available titles from William Cook:





There are a couple of Anthologies I will be part of in early 2013, one (?) of which is edited by James Ward Kirk. Who, not only being a bloody nice chap as well as being a Horror stalwart at the helm of some cool anthologies coming out soon, he has chosen a story of mine for inclusion in 'Serial Killers 2,' published by Static Movement Press. Another story has been accepted for publication in a Rainstorm Press anthology due out soon, "I'll Never Go Away II.' I'm also pleased to be part of a covert anthology with another story included (to be announced). I'm sure there's more I haven't mentioned but I'll let you know in another post if anything interesting eventuates in 2013 (that is one of my New Year's resolutions - to be more communicative) :)

Peace, Love, and Horror - 2013, bring it on.

Will

P.s. If you need a book cover I have now done a few other genre-types than Horror, including True Crime, Fantasy, and Poetry. Click on the banner below for more deets.



THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW: NOVEMBER, 2012 Blood Related - Review

Absolutely chuffed to have a great review for Blood Related up alongside the likes of some literary heroes of mine like Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, James A Moore, and Wrath James White.  

THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW: NOVEMBER, 2012 Reviews: NOVEMBER, 2012 REVIEWS


BLOOD RELATED by William Cook (2012 Black Bed Sheet Books / 323 pp / tp and eBook)

Caleb and Charlie Cunningham are twin brothers who each inherited a serial killer pathology.  Their father was a suspected serial killer and their mother was insane, a drunk, and possibly an accomplice.  After Charlie goes to prison and their father commits suicide, the full truth of the Cunningham’s legacy begins to present itself and Caleb’s turns his bloody fantasies into reality.

BLOOD RELATED is told primarily from the point of view of Caleb in the form of journal entries given to a forensic psychiatrist who handled Charlie’s case.  There are also news stories and police reports to support Caleb’s claims about his family.  The story is graphic and the brothers are violent and relentless, although at times I found myself wanting to like Caleb.  The characters are well-developed and tremendously disturbed.  William Cook has written a frightening story that poses the question “is it nature or nurture that determines the birth of a serial killer?”  The only issue I had with the book was that at times I was confused as to the time line of events.  Other than that, I highly recommend BLOOD RELATED, unless you are a bit on the squeamish side.  I would definitely categorize the book as extreme horror.

-Colleen Wanglund

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 will be even busier. Hope everyone is well and healthy out there in NetWorld - take care and keep doing what you love.
Will.





Well, things are happening with Blood Related. My contract is nearly finished with Angelic Knight Press, consequently I have been thinking a lot about where this novel is going and where it has been. For it is not a stand-alone novel in a sense, as I have always planned it to be the central story in a trilogy that would span 3 generations of the characters therein. After accepting the initial publishing offer from AKP a year ago, I also received a couple of other offers a few days after I had signed with them. I stuck with AKP because they gave me my big break as a first-time novelist and for that I am eternally greatful. We haven’t always had the same vision for the book but that hasn’t been a problem as the suggestions offered by AKP were such that they only served to enhance the work. I feel a little bit sad about leaving AKP after a year but I have had another offer from the good folks at Black Bed Sheet Books – one of the inital publishers who wanted to publish BR a year ago.

Sooooo, I have decided to make the leap and relaunch Blood Related with BBSB, who have also offered to publish the sequel when it’s finished. It was a difficult decision to make and I thought long and hard about it. I didn’t expect to make a lot of money from my book in the short term and feel that is a pretty unrealistic expectation for any debut Indie author, but I have big plans for the complete saga and feel that positioning the work with BBSB will best serve this purpose. That is, not to make money but to grow as a series with an increased focus on the Horror of it all (and hopefully make a few dollars on the way).

Nicholas Grabowsky has been an unflinching ally since I approached him over a year ago about Blood Related – the timing wasn’t right then, but the stars have aligned so to speak and i’m very happy to be on board (post August 1) with Captain Grabowsky at the helm. Amongst many other things, Nicholas is the author of Halloween IV and The Everborn, and has a long pedigree of involvement in the Indie and Pro Horror markets. As a result of his tireless work within the Horror industry he has attracted an impressive stable of authors to BBSB. Black Hamster TV is another wing of BBSB’s diverse media presence online and real world: you may have heard of ‘Francy & Friends Radio‘, Hacker’s Source, or Shot in the Dark Comics, all affiliates of BBSB.

This is taken from the BBSB where Mr Grabowsky talks about his publishing/production company and values:

“In October 2008, I set into motion what it takes to establish a bona-fide publishing company out of my garage and two other offices inside my home.  If this venture proves to be an extremely successful one, I’ll still be operating out of my garage and home, but perhaps in larger ones.  Even if it doesn’t go that far, I’ve submerged a great many years of my life into not only the art of writing as a profession, fiction as well as non, but into the entire process of taking something creative from typed manuscripts to computer documents to something scribbled on grocery store paper bags or napkins, packaging them into a bookstore-quality products and presenting them to the world…..my own works, as well as works of others, since 2002 under the name of Diverse Media.  I decided that the time had come to take my publishing pursuits to the next level and to establish Black Bed Sheet Books as a credible, reputable, and successful publishing venture.  Since my reputation and focus is built upon the genre of horror literature, that is what BBS specializes in.  I will not limit myself nor BBS to this genre, and all avenues are open, hence the byline “fine publishers of exemplary literature, fiction and non.”

In the past, I’ve invested my writing career into publishers and agents that fell short of even minimal expectations.  As a result, I’ve become fiercely independent.  I’ve been working for myself and as a result brought myself farther into my career, and I have the will and means to do the same for you.
My objective is to be the ideal publisher I as a writer always wanted to have, and I intend to carry out that mission to the fullest.  I will work with each one of my authors to meet the highest quality publishing standards, and release each title to the broadest marketing and selling potential utilizing all the tools and resources available to me.”


As you can see, the appeal of having someone like Nicholas in your corner, is quite an advantage and a privilege. So it is with a touch of sadness that I bid farewell to AKP and thank them for taking a chance on me and my work and wish them continued growth and success, but it is with a glad heart that I cross the threshold and enter the DownWarden world of Black Bed Sheet Books and all it has to offer.

It is hard for an indie writer to get ahead and unfortunately one must make difficult decisions to do so; life is short but the road is long – the journey twists and turns, climbs and falls, and as long as the way is forward, the horizon looks a bit brighter with every mile forged ahead.  Thankyou to everyone for your past and continued support. More treasures in store for you shortly, I promise.


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