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Los Angeles, California, resident and Franklin County native Craig E. Sawyer has just published his first novel, “Clay Boy,” available now on digital presale and in print and for Kindle on Oct. 24.

Sawyer is a 1993 graduate of Franklin County High School and is an established writer known for his horror, western, sci-fi, and crime stories and is the creator of the horror/adventure comic “The Forbidden Museum.”

Sawyer has been published by Quill & Crow Publishing House, Timber Ghost Press, Shotgun Honey, Weirdbook (Wildside Press), Crystal Lake Press, Monkeys Fighting Robots Magazine, and Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions.

Clay Boy 

Sawyer describes “Clay Boy” as a mixture of supernatural thriller and horror that is suitable for all audiences.

“Think Stephen King, Dean Koontz or Joe R. Lansdale in tone,” he says.

“Clay Boy” is set in Tennessee where Sawyer harbors many fond memories of growing up and exploring the countryside.

“Just like Stephen King has his fictional Castle Rock, Maine, I have my Wheeler’s Cove, Tennessee,” he says of the setting for the book.

He goes on to explain that his fictional Wheeler’s Cove is basically Winchester and its surrounding areas.

“It’s just a place that I can describe so vividly that holds a lot of strong memories and emotions. Also, it helps when I get homesick. I’m able to fire up the computer and go back anytime,” he said.

“Clay Boy” incorporates some serious themes like bullying and how people can let tragedy corrupt and twist them up on the inside. Readers will discover the book delves into deep and complex subjects.

“I don’t want to be preachy with my writing. I just want to entertain and scare people, but with any good story, it usually has a deeper meaning. At its heart, it’s a monster story,” he said.

In “Clay Boy,” the key character, Caleb Jenkins, is a bullied middle-schooler whom everyone calls “Clay Boy” due to the way he uses clay therapy to cope with the tragic murder of his mother at the hands of a serial killer.

While at school, Caleb discovers a playful video on how to create an imaginary best friend called a Tulpa, but the more he interacts with his mental creation, the more real and self-thinking it becomes, eventually convincing Caleb to sculpt a body for it to inhabit in order to unleash the hate that both share upon his bullies and the entire community of Wheeler’s Cove, Tennessee.

“Clay Boy” is an intriguing and fast-moving book that will certainly draw its readers in immediately and keep them reading to see what happens next.

“Clay Boy” is published by Brigids Gate and can be purchased on Amazon at a.co/d/gefM8c6. Contact Sawyer on Twitter: @csawyerwriter.

Craig E. Sawyer 

Sawyer loves thrillers, horror and westerns and says the authors who have influenced his writing style the most include Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Joe R. Landsdale, Cormac McCarthy, Louis L’Amour, Larry McMurtry, John Connolly, George Orwell and J.R.R. Tolkien.

A bookworm from an early age, Sawyer credits his mother for instilling a voracious appetite for reading as she always has a book in her hand. He recalls writing short stories as far back as grade school and says his 11th-grade English teacher, Von Joy Holland Lacy, told him he had talent in writing.

“I actually thanked her in the acknowledgments of ‘Clay Boy,’ and I was going to reach out, but learned she had passed,” Sawyer said. “She was one of the good ones. It’s a reminder to tell the people who positivity influenced you ‘thanks,’ but don’t wait. I was a so-so student, but telling a kid they have some talent goes a long way.”

Sawyer also credits Harold “Red” Roberts for giving him a simple definition of responsibility.

“It’s doing something you need to do when you don’t have to do it,” Sawyer said. “Tenacity and responsibility have been very important in my life. I was born with tenacity, but I had to learn responsibility. You have to finish what you start.”

Sawyer admits that writing his first novel was much more challenging than the many short stories he’s had published.

“You just have to set aside four to five hours per day to write,” he said. “Don’t think about all those pages — just clock in and write every day.”

While he has held many job titles including roofer, salesman and bartender, Sawyer is dedicated to writing fulltime now.

“I like getting outside, so I’ll do the odd job here and there, but I’m putting full steam into writing, and hopefully I can do it as a profession for the rest of my life,” he said.

Looking forward

Sawyer has just penned a second novel titled “The Monsters of Michael Queen” and is finishing up a comic-book series for a publisher titled “Legend of Mollie Hatchet” about the ax-wielding urban legend from New Orleans.

He has also written a few short stories for anthologies about an ex-Texas ranger turned bounty hunter named Capt. Sidacious Tomlinson.

While Sawyer resides in Los Angeles, it’s clear that his soul remains in the South. He gives practical reasons for having moved across the country.

“I think a person needs to get away from where they grew up to truly see how beautiful it is,” he explained. “People in the city can’t understand driving on a country back road after a summer rain, how the leaves change on the mountain in the fall, the fresh air that just makes you smile and the smell of a fresh-cut ballfield. I could ramble on and on. (Franklin County) was a great place to grow up and explore. The city offers certain perks, but my heart will always belong to the country.”