'Love of horror made me a bestselling author'

Bill Wood's debut novel, Let's Split Up, was an instant bestseller

Born in the early 2000s, Bill Wood grew up loving the horror genre.

It started out with the not-so-scary Scooby Doo before he discovered in his early teens spookier modern classics, including Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Descent.

Fast forward to 2025 and at 24 years of age he is a bestselling author of his own young adult horror/thriller book - one born out of his love for the films that shaped him in which teens band together to solve mysteries.

"It's kind of my dream book, it's a culmination of everything that I love," he said of Let's Split Up, published in autumn last year under Scholastic.

It tells the story of four teens who decide to investigate the murder of their school's "it couple" in the town's haunted manor.

The book was the fastest selling young adult debut of the year, according to the publisher.

A special edition of Let's Split Up was released with retailer The Works

"I really like mysteries, writing them, watching them," said Mr Wood, from Solihull.

"I think they're really fun to unpack and they're a lot more challenging to write, because you've obviously got so many threads.

"You need to make sure it makes sense, there's no plot holes - it's just a bit of a challenge."

He said of his influences: "It's kind of [about] the power of friendship, which sounds so cheesy but it really is, because it makes you root for these characters.

"If we are harking back to the 90s teen horror days, it's the humour as well, which I've tried to insert as much as I can.

"[And] the really classic trope, where they always come back at the end," he added.

Mr Wood says it feels "surreal" to see his book in shops

Mr Wood also described the book as being a commentary on the horror/thriller genre.

"I reference one of the characters, who's a horror buff, and say 'this is when this happens in a horror movie', which I think everyone enjoys a little bit," he said.

"As soon as people hear it's like a Scream meets Scooby Doo sort of story... that has definitely helped getting it off the shelves."

The book reached number six on the TCM charts - which collects sales data from more than 6,500 retailers in the UK.

"I was really happy... because it's just full of your David Walliams, and your Diary of a Wimpy Kid, so I was really chuffed with that," he said.

'Little bit giddy'

Then there is the experience of walking into a book store and seeing your own work on sale.

"[It's a] really surreal feeling every time I see it in the shop, I just get a little bit giddy and I'm like 'can I please sign this'?" he said.

"It's just a really nice feeling knowing that people are supporting debuts, I think we do need to support more debuts… it really affects [authors'] careers and I know this is going to help me a lot in the future."

The untitled sequel is due to be released in autumn 2025.

"It's, again, going to be a commentary on the genre, like how Scream 2 did it, it's going to be kind of a commentary on sequels.

"As they always say, sequels are always a bit bloodier."