Waterford, MI — April 10, 2023
Book authors generally confine their works to a specific genre. If you are a mystery writer, you write books with twists, a puzzle that needs to be solved, or an event begging for an explanation. You might veer into thrillers, crime solvers, or stories with spies and suspense. If that is your basis of experience, you probably won’t venture deeply into romance or fantasy.
Some authors with incredible skills can wrap a story around all types of themes and pull off a good read. Even more rare are writers that can move from an autobiographical memoir to a gripping suspense novel and then produce a collection of poetry. Let us introduce you to one.
William Teets
William (Bill) Teets is just such an author. Born in Peekskill, New York, a little over an hour north of New York City, Bill now resides in Southeastern Michigan. You can easily imagine scenes from his work playing out on the streets of Gotham.
Teets’ first published work is a gritty story of self-reflection titled “Upside Down (One on the House).” “It is not a standard story of alcoholism and recovery, but the harrowing tale of one man’s quest to regain his sanity and soul–and eventually his life.”
“In his personal memoir, author William Teets recounts his uncontrollable and unyielding sojourns into surreal worlds of Mad Hatters, rye-swilling, untruth-telling gnomes, demons, hellhounds, and literary and religious notables.” Learn more.
In his second published work, Bill draws on many of his personal experiences to craft a novel that grips the reader in a scary, suspenseful narrative. “Reverend Went Walking” was released to rave reviews citing the “inequalities of the American Dream” and what life is like in a marginalized sub-culture.
“With only his dreams and his Uncle Luke to guide him down the dangerous streets of Inner City, America, Reverend is forced to battle real and wanna-be-down-gangsters, slingers and stick-up kids, gun-running gamblers, and corrupt cops and courts.” Learn more.
If there is a common thread intertwined in Bill’s writings, it is his love of prose and poetry.
Teets’ Latest Work
“After the Fall,” a poetry collection that resonates with Americana and religiosity, was published in February of 2023. Teets’ poetry and prose have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Chronogram, The Rye Whiskey Review, The Deadly Writers Patrol, Drunk Monkeys, Impspired, Down in the Dirt, Cajun Mutt Press, Abandoned Mine, Literary Yard, Ariel Chart, confetti magazine, Art and Life, as well as in numerous anthologies.
In his compilation, After the Fall, Teets offers resurrection for a damaged Americana-spirituality: Blues music and barrooms, whiskey and smoke, rivers and haunted highways, leather jackets, hoodies, and Sunday’s best. . . and worst. William Teets’s poetry navigates corrupted streets, turns dangerous corners, and worships in darkened alleys. All in an unending quest for absolution, salvation, and answers.
It is raw, thought-provoking, and sometimes visceral. Here is an example.
HANG THE RICH
she turns cold fall rain into ferocious fire
saves my lost soul
makes my heart pound again
hotter than melted sunshine
her words burn truth
layered between the Fisher King and the search for the Holy Grail
before she leaves in early morning
she whispers in my ear
calls me baby love then shouts out loud
Hang the rich!
Ride baby, ride.
Ride until you fall.
I gladly pay dearly for all her charms
smile as I die and mount the pale horse
Teets’ writings are available on Amazon. Purchase one of his books, and Bill will be happy to autograph it personally. Bill is passionate about the art of writing and regularly moderates the Waterford Writers Workshop held at the Waterford Township Library.
Contact Bill at bwteets@hotmail.com, find out when the next regularly scheduled meeting is set for, bring his book to be signed, and stay for the open discussion about writing. You might learn there is a hidden voice inside you just waiting to leap out onto paper.
