SCOTT BUTLER

Scott Butler was born in Blenheim, New Zealand. His love of books and film inspired him to write. He’s a fan of Psychological Thrillers, the surf and the snow. He lives in Auckland with his wife Lou, daughters Zambezi and Cocolily, and their dog, Taika.

Elias Dunn hates his life. At only 26, he’s the youngest Head of IT for Network 4 and appears to be doing okay. He’s not. He’s living at home with a bipolar mother who uses medication and alcohol to get by. Eli loses himself in fantasy and obsession, stalking targets and colleagues to cope. He blames himself for the death of his sister, cutting the guilt from his body as a boy before covering his mistakes in tattoos. Eli finds solace in The Ellipse, a virtual club accessed through a world he’s created where he becomes someone else. Ink, a black-suited avatar that trades the spoils of the film momentos he steals in the real world for crypto in another. Stalker follows one man’s feeling of loss and his need to reconcile the pain of wanting a future.

I’m deep into a third draft of a novel I started at a Michael King Writers Residency in 2022. It’s a step back from the fast-paced thrillers I normally write. It’ll be more of a dark drama, but don’t worry, while you’ll meet some nice characters, you’ll fall in love with some nasty ones too. This is my first book set in Aotearoa. For the locals, you might recognise a few sights. Aiming to get this out in 2026. (Photo: Sophie Turner – Unsplash).