LONDON — A former paramedic received a three-book publishing and television deal for his debut crime series.
The Guardian reported that Daniel Cole, 33, received a six-figure contract for his story of a detective and a serial killer.
“It’s a bit overwhelming,” Cole said. “I’ve got a nice pile of rejection letters at home. Very disheartening. But I really wanted to do it, so just kept going.”
The lead character of Cole’s series is detective Nathan Wolfe, reinstated to a police department after months of psychological assessment following accusations of assault. At the beginning of the story, Wolfe is called to a gruesome crime scene and his ex-wife is sent photographs with a list of six names and dates in which a killer intends to murder them. The final name on the list is Wolfe’s.
Cole, who previously worked for three years as a paramedic, said his direct experience of life’s horrors fed into his writing. He said he wanted to ensure the story was also entertaining with a gallows humor.
“That comes from the emergency services job — the coping mechanism,” he said.
Cole’s series will be offered to overseas publishers and will be published in the United Kingdom in January 2017.