126 ratings | 34 reviews | avg rating:4.36

Bill’s Year In Books

Bill’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Bill’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Bill Cokas’s Followers (26)

Bill’s Bookshelves

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currently-reading (30)
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Michelle Lowe

202 books | 182 friends

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518 books | 3,983 friends

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Alan Orloff

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Bill Cokas

Goodreads Author

Born

in Washington, D.C., The United States

Website

http://www.margawriterville.com

Twitter

WPCokas

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Humor, Suspense

Influences

Carl Hiaasen, Sinclair Lewis, Stephen King, James Lee Burke, John Kenn ...more

Member Since

March 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/bcokas

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I write suspenseful tales about "real" people (that means slightly weird and definitely flawed) with an offbeat, humorous slant in a travel-inspired setting.

Some of my earliest and fondest memories involve travel--more specifically, escaping into books, whether devouring the latest Beverly Cleary or biking to the library to spend a few hours with Stephen King. A childhood subscription to the Weekly Reader's Book Club yielded stacks and stacks of timeless, memorable titles that he has since shared with my own children.

Inspired by author/artists such as Jack Kent, Wende and Harry Devlin and Margaret and H.A. Rey, my own storywriting efforts took the form of cartoons and comic strips throughout most of my youth--there was writing involved, bu I write suspenseful tales about "real" people (that means slightly weird and definitely flawed) with an offbeat, humorous slant in a travel-inspired setting.

Some of my earliest and fondest memories involve travel--more specifically, escaping into books, whether devouring the latest Beverly Cleary or biking to the library to spend a few hours with Stephen King. A childhood subscription to the Weekly Reader's Book Club yielded stacks and stacks of timeless, memorable titles that he has since shared with my own children.

Inspired by author/artists such as Jack Kent, Wende and Harry Devlin and Margaret and H.A. Rey, my own storywriting efforts took the form of cartoons and comic strips throughout most of my youth--there was writing involved, but usually in the form of dialogue balloons. As a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I was dismayed to find no courses in comic art. There were, however, a series of courses in creative writing--taught by some of the South's most esteemed names, from Bland Simpson to Daphne Athas. For a few semesters, I thought my future was secure.

But with graduation inevitable, I knew neither short stories nor my regularly published comic strip were likely to provide a comfortable living. Enter advertising, journalism's delinquent stepchild. Here I found a way to spin words and pictures (and frequently humor) into persuasive messages tailor-made for short attention spans. The big city beckoned, and I accepted, spending a decade in Chicago typing out (yes, on a typewriter) copy for McDonald's, Heinz, Nintendo, Samsonite and Kellogg's.

After North Carolina lured me back, I continued my advertising writing for smaller clients, started a family and began teaching copywriting for his alma mater. While "back on campus," I developed an idea that didn't fit into a comic strip, a TV commercial or even the confines of a short story. Since it wouldn't go away, I turned it into a novel. Another one followed. And pretty soon, the ideas were piling up faster than they could be turned into books.

I hope this pattern will continue. ...more

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Combine Editions
Bill Cokas’s books

Average rating: 3.48 · 137 ratings · 67 reviews · 4 distinct works

	Battle Axe 3.55 avg rating — 58 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ring of Fire 3.49 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	True Wit: Stories by Humor Writers from Around the Globe by John Martin (Goodreads Author), Mark Cain (Goodreads Author), Lance Carney (Goodreads Author) 3.34 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 2019	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Whose Brand Is It Anyway by Reid Overcash, Bill Cokas (Goodreads Author), Chris Griffin 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

30 posts
Bill Cokas's Blog

Blarney Rubble: Cover reveal!

Cover reveal! I had hoped to release it today, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, but the cover will have to do (courtesy of Mike Sottong). With a little "luck," the book will be available very soon. If you'd like an Advance Reader Copy to review, let me know and I'll add you to the list!

Blarney Rubble: Humorous Suspense from Bill Cokas

Can he keep quiet enough to hear destiny calling?

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Published on March 17, 2016 13:29

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Bill is Currently Reading

Bill Cokas is currently reading

Secrets to Writing a Mystery: Write Novels That Sell, #6

by K. Stanley (Goodreads Author)

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Dec 30, 2025 09:20PM

Bill Cokas is currently reading

Bridge of Sighs: A Short Story of the Black Death

by Laura Morelli (Goodreads Author)

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Nov 08, 2021 07:19AM

Bill Cokas is currently reading

Double Black Diamond: A Nicole Rossi Thriller

by A.G. Henley (Goodreads Author)

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May 01, 2021 06:12AM

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Bill Cokas wants to read Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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