Diss music man pens his first thriller

You might think a podcast, a radio show and writing a column for the Diss Express would be enough to keep most people busy, but not record shop owner Will Porteous.

The father-of-two, who owns Wildflower Records in Church Street, has written his first book, Made of the Night, a fictional psychological thriller about one man’s unravelling while dealing with childhood trauma.

The 40-year-old said the book came from his love of his all-time favourite author and wanting to prove himself after an emotional experience at school.

Will said: “When I was writing it – most of which was during lockdown as a stay-at-home dad – I was reading a lot of Patricia Highsmith, who wrote The Talented Mr Ripley, and she inspired me.

“Also, when I was about 13, I was asked to write an essay. I was obsessed with reading and writing but I am dyslexic.

“My teacher humiliated me with my work in front of the whole class and I did not write anything again until I was about 27.”

He said the novel, which he mostly wrote on his phone in between breaks from his previous job as a gardener and his youngest daughter’s nap times, was completed in March.

Asked about how he would describe the book’s protagonist, Sean, Will said: “He is a gardener, who is very much on the outside of society, trying to find love.

“Wanting that, he falls for the wrong person. It turns into something crazy along the way and blood does flow.”

With his dyslexia, Will said the process of writing the book was difficult, although the story itself just seemed to flow out of him.

“I have written a lot of music journalism,” he added. “I never thought I could muster a book but something inside me kept saying ‘you have got it in you’ so I have just gone for it.”

Made of the Night comes out on December 16. To buy it, go online to www.williamporteouswriter.com.