Author Dan Wells at Sam Weller's Bookstore

We are really pleased to be hosting Dan Wells for the release of his novel I Am Not a Serial Killer. He will be here Tuesday, March 30th, at 6:00 PM to read an excerpt and sign.

Here's a little about the book and Dan.

Fifteen-year-old John Wayne Cleaver does not fit in. His psychiatrist has diagnosed him as “antisocial,” but sometimes he has an inkling that his urges may take a darker turn—into violence and murder. It isn’t just because he grew up in a mortuary or even the fact that he helps his mother clean up dead bodies. Serial killers have long captivated John—while the rest of his classmates write essays on George Washington and John Adams, John writes them on Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Radar. Dan Wells’ debut novel, I Am Not a Serial Killer, introduces this curious protagonist who worries that fate is leading him down a dark and deadly path.

How founded are John’s fears? Oddly enough, the similarities between John Cleaver and society’s most disturbed killers are surprisingly uncanny. Not only does he share the same three traits that most serial killers have in common: bed-wetting, pyromania and animal cruelty, but his father’s name is Sam, making him literally the Son of Sam. In addition, his parents saddled him with the same name as John Wayne Gacy, the famous Chicago killer clown, along with the unfortunate last name of a murder weapon (Cleaver). He also works part time for the family business: a mortuary, and the dead bodies both fascinate and comfort him.

Despite his efforts to contain the dangerous monster within, an unnatural death at the local laundromat sparks John’s curious obsession and he feels compelled to investigate. For the first time, John comes across a danger apart from himself, and possibly one that is even more deadly than him . . .

Dan Wells lives in Orem, Utah, with his wife, Dawn, and four young children. This is his first novel. The two sequels are already written and Wells is now researching a new book about paranoia. To learn more about Dan Wells and his work, visit his website at www.fearfulsymmetry.net.