People often get inspiration, as well as abilities, from ancestors. Cody Regan loves to tell a story just like his grandfather, Ted Regan, before him. Cody has taken that love and put it into action in the form of two novellas, "The Gray Dead" and "Rebel's Blood."
"Writing is my passion," Cody said. "I love storytelling and music and movies and books because they all tell stories. I grew up with detective shows and westerns, and I like to use those elements in my stories. It's unexplainable getting to create everything."
Cody had wanted to get into writing but never had the time to do so. One day, when things were slow at work, he started jotting down ideas and could not stop as it began to take shape. Once he developed the characters, he could not put it down.
Cody begins writing on his cell phone on his Word Document app with no outline, and if he gets to a spot where he is stuck or he is stretching for words, he stops and returns to it later with a fresh mind. He later transfers the written work on his computer.
His first book, "The Grey Dead," was self-published and released on Jan. 21. The story came to Cody in a dream. Set in San Francisco in the 1950s, the story introduces Detective Joe Dillon, a World War II veteran battling PTSD, who must save his family during a major outbreak. At 112 pages, the book is an easy read.
"It's a novella of black and white movies blended with some science fiction," Cody said. "I like to be different, not a repeater. I see the stories played out in my mind in movie form."
"Rebel's Blood," the second book, was published Jan. 30 by Lightswitch Press Publishing. It tells the story of an ex-Civil War soldier who must deal with his mortality as he falls in love with a mysterious woman who holds a very dark secret.
"This novella contains historical and fantasy elements," Cody said. "I like my characters to be complicated, and the reader to be involved in the story. I don't consider myself an author. I say I'm a storyteller."
The books are available in paperback and on Kindle and at Barnes & Noble.
He is working on sequels for both books and will go with a publisher because it is much easier than self-publishing because they handle everything for the writer.
Cody, a respiratory therapist for Forrest General Hospital, likes to help people and says that is his dream job outside of writing. He has lived in Foxworth all of his life. He was homeschooled until he attended Pearl River Community College.
He is married to Ashley Regan, and they have two daughters. Cody is grateful to his wife for reading what he writes and being a great supporter. He is also grateful to his sister, Carisa Breakfield, and everyone who helped develop his imagination as a child.
