My Fascinating Interview with the Author of "Blood Related" - William Cook

William Cook, author of the great "Blood Related" was kind enough to answer a few questions I had about his book, horror, and the writing experience. He had some fascinating answers. Enjoy!

1. Well I guess I have to ask the question at the top of my mind first. I loved "Blood Related", I thought it was a fascinating read. It is very graphic and very violent so I must ask about where all that came from. I'm assuming you aren't a serial killer so you must have done a great deal of research. Wondering about where you went for that research.

I don’t know why but I’ve had a fascination with the darker side of humanity ever since I was a teenager. I am a huge Horror fan; movies, books, art, theory. I’d say that this obsession comes from the same source. In fact if I hadn’t channeled my predilection for darkness into the writing of Horror I would hate to think where it would’ve taken me otherwise! ‘Blood Related’ is a story about a family of serial killers, each with varying degrees of psychopathology. The two central characters are twin brothers, one who is of the psychotic variety and the other a more organized and cunning psychopath, and yes there is a difference. I researched as much about abnormal psychology as I did about serial killers and their methods and characteristics. Most serial killers are basically psychopathic, of reasonable intelligence, appear normal when occasion calls, and so on. And of course this is one of many aspects to a complex and evolving criminal psychology. I read both fiction and non-fictional accounts of these fiendish characters in order to get inside the mind of these killers. I’m not sure if I’d write another first-person narrative from a serial killer’s perspective; at times it was quite harrowing and disturbing to envisage the kind of thought processes these people operate with. 

"Blood Related" by William Cook - Review and Giveaway

BLOOD RELATED

BY WILLIAM COOK

 

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS EXCERPTS FROM "BLOOD RELATED" THAT INCLUDE PROFANITY AS WELL AS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL REFERENCES THAT SOME MAY FIND OFFENSIVE OR DISTURBING

"I remember looking at Charlie and noticing he was visibly erect as he stood there staring, trembling with excitement and fear.

The sick fuck.

I would never stoop to be so obvious.

How tactless!
 

My curiosity got the better of me and I made the mistake of asking Pa why they had to die and, just before he knocked me unconscious, he said that they were a ‘present for a pig.’ Later on, I would find out for myself exactly who Ray Truman was and what he was capable of."

My Review


“Blood Related” is a fascinating journey through the mind and life of a third-generation serial killer. He is both a victim and a victimizer. He is deeply damaged and mentally ill. He embraces and is turned on by his murderous lifestyle.  He finds fulfillment in it and sees it as an expression of who he is. But he also knows it’s wrong and dreams of “one day becoming a better person”.

Horror and Love Stories?

How is it that I enjoy:

"Shirtless and stretched over his guitar, Gavin scribbled some notes on a page lying on the coffee table before him. His tattoos cast a vague blue hue under the weak light penetrating the windows. The sexy as hell bed head got her heart chugging. To think she had a hand in taming that wild hair into something a tad softer. She beamed.

His tanned toes spread and dug into the carpet, gripping its short nap. With his navy cargo shorts bunched just above his knees, which were bent at a perfect right angle, he looked pensive. Vulnerable. Here was the Gavin Cassidy no one else knew. Not the rock star or Sentinel. Her Gavin.

He dropped the pencil on the table and snapped the guitar pick from his lips as the digits on his left hand found their places along the frets. Strumming with his right, he closed his eyes. His fingers worked their magic. His face remained placid through the poignant melody" 

as well as

"The man with black hair leaned down towards him again, holding the axe blade before him as if measuring the center of his breath. The moonlight played upon the blade of the axe, reflecting light up upon his grim countenance. Charlie saw the face of death and it was horrible to behold. His heart stopped in his dream, his eyes locked with his maker who was Caleb, who raised the axe high above his head in the cruel moonlight.

For an instant, time ceased its merciless infinite countdown, and then the blood came in torrents. A deluge and the dream drowned and everything became nothing, but slow dark peace, much like sleep".