Here is the article that appeared in the Gadsden Times.

Published Wednesday, November 7, 2007       

 

By Mo Jackson, Times2               
 

Dreams do come true. Gadsden native Lamar Cook said he wanted to be a published author, and now it's a reality.
Cook, 43, recently signed with independent Canadian publisher Saga Books to release his debut novel "The Journey of Life."
Cook, who was raised in Gadsden and graduated in 1982 from Southside High School, now resides in Florence.
He also has written books and screenplays for "The Search," his first book, and "The Depiction," a novel he describes on his Web site as "Indiana Jones meets the DaVinci Code."
Cook, who worked at Food World for 11 years and the steel plant for six years, said his wife, Sheila, encouraged him to pursue writing full-time.
"I wanted to write, and she said, `Why don't you go and do it?'," he said.
He also said his late father Donald Cook inspired him by saying, "Don't ever give up on your dreams," shortly before his death. Cook said he caught the writing "bug" early on.
"I think it was in the fifth grade. I wrote about a cup of sugar that discovers a burglar or something like that," he said, laughing.
J.K. Rowling and Stephen King are two of his favorite authors.
He describes his writing style as one that uses a lot of emotion.
"My writing style is just trying to write a good story. I try to let the story tell itself. A lot of times when I start writing, it just goes where it wants to go," Cook said.
"I knew from a child I wanted to be a writer. If you've got the writing bug inside you, you have to find a way to put it on paper some way or another."
Cook, who said he does his best writing at his computer by candlelight, said "The Journey of Life" started with a dream, literally.
"I actually dreamed it one night. ... At three o'clock in the morning, I got the idea. The main character (Chance) was actually screaming, `Go write this down,'" he said.
According to Cook's Web site, "The Journey of Life" is the story of Chance Williams and Brad Haskins and their journey as best friends in a small Southern town, despite one being black and upper class and the other being poor and white.
"Very few people have a friend all their lives," Cook said about the book.
"It's a rare thing (if) someone has a friend all their lives. I've had friends all through the years, but it seems like you seem to lose touch."
"My intention for the entire novel is maybe you'll remember a friend that you used to know. If someone would read it and call up a friend. ... that's really the intent behind the novel."
"The Journey of Life" can be purchased at www.sagabooks.net or at amazon.com.