Meet Rick

Hello. It's nice to meet you.

Well, since you have clicked on this page, I guess I better tell you a bit more about me...

I am a HUGE horror fan. I love being horrified - whether I'm being spooked, scared, or shocked, I can't get enough of it!

And how did this passion began? Well, it started when I was a child, and my mum would buy me Goosebumps books in a desperate attempt to get me to read (it worked!). This quickly progressed into my teens, when I'd get hold of as many horror movies on VHS that I could find, and watch them late into the night (I miss VHS - The Exorcist doesn't feel quite the same in HD...)

I have also been an avid writer ever since I could write. As young as seven years old, I can remember shutting myself in my bedroom and writing stories for hours.

Of course, they were awful. But you have to start somewhere, don't you?

This passion continued into my teens and into my twenties when I went to Staffordshire University and graduated in 2011 with a 2:1 BA Hons in Scriptwriting. I have since completed my Masters in Creative Writing, and I began my PhD in 2020, through which I explored demonic possession in horror literature - which I am due to finish in 2024.

Good, eh?

But it hasn't all been plain sailing! In my teens and early twenties, I had to overcome multiple mental health issues. But, after much battling against the odds, I came through.

I went on to become a stand up comedian, performing three Edinburgh Fringe shows in the process, in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2013, I thought I should probably get a proper job, and I became a teacher. Whilst doing this, I created a humorous teaching blog that I ended up turning into a one-man play told entirely as a beat poem, that I performed in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016.

Then I focussed all I had on this whole writing lark and have done all right with it. I published a few plays in 2016 before deciding to focus on writing novels, specifically in the horror genre. Throughout 2017 I wrote and published many books, including three series and a few standalones.

In 2018, just after I turned thirty, I realised my childhood dream of becoming a full-time author.

I have since published over forty books and had Amazon bestsellers in six categories. I have written books in many sub-genres of horror and in several series. I have also published commercial thrillers under the pseudonym Ed Grace.

In the future, I plan to carry on writing novels in many different sub-genres of horror, and have lots of ideas for new series I wish to start. I also plan to use my PhD to inform future research, and publish non-fiction books around Horror Studies, folklore, literature, and demonology.

Now I get to write all the time. Well, I say all the time - you have distracted me with having to write this self-indulgent page on my website.

So shush. I'm writing.

And bring me a coffee, would you?