J. A. Crook

Joshua Aaron Crook (born April, 1984) is an American author of contemporary horror. He has published two short story collections and has been published in various horror-based journals and webzines.''

Early life

Parents

Joshua A. Crook was born of Nancy Ruth and Robert Beverlin.

Joshua A. Crook was born in April 1984 in Highland, California. Crook's biological father was not ACTIVE in his life, leaving the duty of raising him at a young age to Nancy, his mother, and Sylvia, his grandmother in Southern California. When Crook was five years old, his mother married Timothy Mark Hodges, which led to a relocation of his family to Kauai, Hawaii. Crook remained in Kauai, HI, until turning 10 years old. He then lived in Waipahu on the island of Oahu, HI. Two years later, Crook would return to Highland, California, and remain there until he completed high school.

Early inspirations

As a child, Crook was a fan of the popular R.L. Stine series, "Goosebumps." Popular horror titles such as "Friday the 13th," and "The Nightmare on Elm Street" established an interest in the horror genre. At a young age, Crook displayed an exceptional talent for writing and developed an extraordinary imagination. The inspiration of horror film and horror writings, in combination with his natural writing talent, prompted his modern works.

Education and Career

Crook joined the United States Air Force out of high school, where he served as an electrical/environmental specialist on F-16C and D, block 40 aircraft as part of the 524th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. 27 Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 27th Wing, Cannon AFB, New Mexico. Later, he would be transferred to the 1st Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 55th Wing, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. After 10 years of service and a short deployment to Balad, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Crook separated honorably from the United States Air Force to attend Texas Tech University.

Crook is currently an undergraduate student at Texas Tech University, seeking a degree in English with a focus on creative writing.

Current Publications

Amid the Recesses: A Short Story Collection of Fear - June 4, 2012 - PURCHASE HERE

A Penny Down the Well: A Short Story Collection of Horrifying Events - June 19, 2013 - PURCHASE HERE

"Dance of the Droning Goat" - Death Throes Webzine - READ HERE

"Eulogy for Old Lady Withers" - Harbinger Journal - March 2014 - READ HERE

Coming Soon

Spooks: Don't Go Down to Zombie Street - Release Date Pending

Poetry of Demise: A Short Story Collection of the End - Release Date Pending

Bone Sonata - NaNoWriMo 2014 Entry

Persistent Contributions

Author J. A. Crook's Blog - READ HERE

The Gentleperson's Horror Corner - READ HERE

Analysis

Writing style

Influences

Reader's Reviews

RICH ROMERO, 4/21/2013

"Let's face it, with the popularity of network television shows, surges of genre theatrical releases and much more, horror has hit the mainstream in a big way in the last few years. While this is all great for us horror minions, this past week, I found out the real horrific fun is hidden deep in the bloody, dirty, underground, "amid the recesses."

J.A. Crooks's anthology "Amid the Recesses" is a book that is jam packed with a series of stories that range from pure macabre to darkly beautiful. I'm normally not one for reading anthologies because unless there is a single, solid story to a book, I get extremely ADD With It. The outcome of this is my cheating the author out of entertaining me with all of their words because I've picked and chosen the stories that I deemed necessary to skip over. Crook, must also be a reader like me, because the book was written in such a way that skipping over was virtually impossible. Rather than 20 or so stories with stand alone plots, Crook has compiled 20 or so pieces of three or four larger short stories, that are in essence, pieces of something even bigger. So cool! I thought this format of storytelling was very smart because once I caught on to what he was doing after Laying out the initial framework for the stories, I was hooked. There was no way I was going to miss a thing. Now, keep in mind that not all of the stories are intertwined with another, but this is fine. It keeps us on the edge, while at the same time giving us a chilling piece of literature that sticks with you hours after you've put the book down for the night.

That is the power of Crook's writing. It possesses your time, attention, and especially your emotions as the reader is thrust through first hand experiences of so many horrors in the duration of the book. With themes ranging from infanticide, witchcraft, imaginary friends, ocular albinism, and so much more, there is no way that a story in this book couldn't scare someone. Crook covers all of the bases. In the biographic section of the book, it is detailed that Crook is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. I see the inspiration in a couple of the stories, one especially AbOUT a small Alaskan town. However, in my opinion, Crook has a creative voice of his own that is able to command our fears with the ease of the greatest literary masters.

I may sound like I'm glorifying this book like a madman, but really, there is no other way to accept this book. Personal favorites in the book include the poem, "The WIDOW, I," "Binky" and the whole story revolving around "Humansville."

I highly recommend that you purchase the book on amazon and check out an interview with Crook that my personal friend Rebbie Reviews did at her site. She is a literary muse and is a blogger not to be missed as well! Hope you have the chance to enjoy J.A. Crook's "Amid the Recesses" as much as I did."

REBBIE REVIEWS, 4/3/2013

"J.A Crook is a rare gem in today’s horror world. Amid the Recesses is a short story collection, but I implore you, do not do what is always tempting with those types of books. I know how tempting it is to skip through and look for the stories that catch your eye, don’t do it, these stories bend around and link together so well it’s actually really nice to read.

I began the book noting down favorite stories along the way so that I could decide on two and suggest them. As I read further through the book I realized that this is just something you can’t do that with. The book opens on a prologue which should be read in the voice of the late, great, Vincent Price. Next up you drive into Humansville, and things may not be quite as they seem, watch out for that twist!

Are you afraid of the dark? You will be after you read “Black and White”, a story about a man with ocular albinism and a certain..gift..

J.A Crook has wonderful description throughout the book whilst still granting the reader their artistic license, the way it’s written really puts you right in there with the story.

After you finish the stories, there are some poems, this book just keeps on giving! In this I do have a favorite “The Widow, I” It flows so easily and you can note the emotion in certain parts. If ever there was a book to buy, it’s this one.

The stories play on the reader’s fears, going through such a wide range of themes that they are bound to play on something in the back of your mind. A truly enjoyable, beautiful book that does not disappoint.

Do not miss this book! 9/10"

TOM C., 8/15/2013

"J. A. Crook has written some great imaginative stories that make you question the safety of everything around you. The first tale in the book is a story about a man moving into a new apartment, and the unexpected horrors of his new quarters. I happened to be reading this story right after moving into a new apartment myself. Well, my mental picture of the apartment in the story matched exactly the layout of my new apartment. It was a bit creepy to say the least, and lets just say I now sleep with my bedroom door locked. It's safer that way."