AT just 22-years-old, Ararat resident George Wilson is about to launch his debut novel, The Amaranth.
Mr Wilson, who decided to move to Ararat and call it home about two years ago, will launch his novel Thursday October 31 at the Ararat Regional Library from 7pm-9pm.
Although he is launching it on Halloween, Mr Wilson said the novel is "not a horror" but rather a PG-rated psychological thriller. His book was picked up by Dark Horse publishers after Mr Wilson spent two and a half years working on it.
"There is a spooky vibe to it but it's not horror," Mr Wilson said.
The novel follows the journey of Toby Labell, an anxious teenager, who is forced to leave his comfortable urban lifestyle for a fresh start at The Bay; an idyllic seaside town in which the flower-worshipping residents value their strange customs above all else.
A series of sinister encounters leads Toby down a dark and uncertain path where he questions his relationship with his family, the mysterious circumstances surrounding his estranged Grandma and even his own sanity.
Mr Wilson said the novel began as a series of short stories. When he showed them to friends they pointed out that it had the makings of a unified novel.
"There are two elements to the story that I feel really strongly about in the real world that I feel are really underrated - though I'm only talking specifically about my age group," Mr Wilson said.
"One of them is nature and flowers; I feel like people don't really appreciate them enough."
The other one was facing one's fears and anxieties and learning to be self-reliant in strange and scary circumstances.
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