Former Wick High pupils write bestselling book
Two former Wick High School pupils have launched a book of Scottish fiction that has become a number one bestseller on Amazon across multiple categories.
Aaron Mullins, who hails from Wick, released Ayrshire Stories: Tales from the West Coast this week, which immediately soared to the top of the bestseller charts.
The book also features a story by Nell McLean, the pen name of Helen McCabe (née McClean), who grew up in Reiss. Aaron and Helen attended both Wick High School and Wick North Primary School together, and have been friends for over 35 years.
Aaron remembers their early writing careers fondly: “We sat at the same table in Mrs Hornsby’s class in Primary 7 and would swap our creative writing stories during our early English lessons. So there’s a wonderful sense of satisfaction that we have published our stories together in this anthology after being friends and writing partners since we were about eight years old.”
To reach number one bestseller status, their latest book overtook several literary heavyweights, outselling Stephen King in the horror charts, and Jeffrey Deaver in the crime charts.
The book dedication page also pays tribute in memory of Wilma and Kenneth Tulloch, of Dunnett Avenue in Wick, who raised Aaron and his brother Michael Mullins.
Aaron says “Wilma and Kenneth may have passed, but the childhood they gave me inspired my first bestselling book, which was an anthology of Highland tales. So they live on through those words and stories.
“I have lived in Ayrshire for nearly five years now, so I thought it was about time I wrote a book about down here. However, I still managed to sneak in a story about a boy from Wick who moves down to Cumnock and meets a friend with a chilling secret, as a nod to my own travels.”
As Dr Aaron Mullins, he is an award-winning, internationally published psychologist. As a fiction author, he is known for creating engaging psychological suspense in his stories and has gathered together other talented authors with similar skills to captivate the reader.
This can be seen in the stories of suspense – a boy missing from Monkton Woods in The Dark Side of the Moon, and Muirkirk residents passing away in mysterious circumstances in Foul Play.
In another tale, The Last Seagull, a man experiences a surreal encounter on Burns Night, where the lines between reality and illusion blur as he races from Ayr to Dalrymple to uncover who is stalking his ex-girlfriend.
The foreword for the book was written by Ayrshire poet and writer for Ayrshire Magazine, Robert Neil, who reflects on the current growth and success of the creative talent within Ayrshire, for both writers and musicians, of which Aaron is leading the charge.
Aaron’s latest bestseller caps a successful few years, which has seen him give an author talk at Troon library alongside crime writer Lin Anderson; be a featured flash fiction writer for Tidelines Book Festival; and write his fourth bestselling book in a row.
Aaron added “The tales are a mix of familiar Scottish places we know and love, but seen in a new light, as well as a journey through the thrilling parts of Scotland that few dare to explore.
“Like Ayrshire, there are some incredible writers in Caithness, and I would love to publish with a few more authors from my home town in the future.”
Aaron’s author website is at: www.AaronMullins.com
Ayrshire Stories: Tales from the West Coast is available from Amazon as both a paperback and ebook at: www.amazon.co.uk/Ayrshire-Stories-Tales-West-Coast/dp/B0DFJ48RL1
Aaron’s last book of Scottish monster legends also soared into Amazon’s top 100 bestsellers charts on its day of release. The book was a top 10 bestseller in multiple folklore and mystery categories, sitting alongside books by Neil Gaiman and Stephen King.
Scottish Legends: 55 Mythical Monsters features stories from the Highland’s rich folklore history. From bauchans and bodachs that terrorised Caithness farms and castles, to the boy from Thurso who had his finger bitten off when he tried to ride a kelpie.