I’m Zack
Cook.

You may know me as Zack D. Cook, Zachary Cook, Zacky C, or even, one time, as accidentally written on a birthday cake, Zacak. But never Zach (I hate even writing it here)!

By day, I’m an industrial engineer for Publix Manufacturing, classically trained as a chemical engineer at the University of Florida. During the times of dawn and dusk, I’m an aspiring author, self-taught. And at play, I’m a collector of hobbies.

I grew up in Fort Myers, Florida to a wonderful family full of smarty-pants creatives. Most of my childhood revolved around LEGO, Pokemon, Star Wars—actually, no, I should say most of my life, because those interests persist to this day. Also classic 90's cartoons, of course! And you can't leave out Jurassic Park—my childhood dream was to dig up dinosaur bones. Now, I'm an avid dinosaur-watcher (in the form of birds).

When I was in high school, me and my friends somehow had fun loitering around CVS and creating our own Jackass! challenges that we called "The Manliest Man" competitions like milk-chugging, bike-jousting, and full-contact downhill piggy-back races (sorry for the name but it was the mid-aughts—it was still a competition for all genders). I'm not sure how I ever survived to adulthood...

I graduated top 10 from Estero High School in 2008, and then began my studies at UF. My original plan was to be a 3D animator, doing CGI stuff, but that wasn't an option at the time. So I went with what I was best at: math, science, chemistry... chemical engineering! It was also "the toughest major" so I, naturally, took on the challenge. I graduated cum laude in 2012. (Fun fact: this is where I met my wife, Jennifer)

After UF, I went on to work for a bit on Siesta Key, then went mad and moved to Niagara Falls, NY because a couple of dudes wearing barrels at a recruiting event convinced me that their plant best knew how to party (they, in fact, did know how to party). I had a great time there but missed Florida, and my family, so I moved back after a few years. I've been in Polk County ever since (pronounced "Poke", if you're of the more-civilized class), and now work for Publix, which is such a great place to work!

I get a lot of fulfillment out of my career, but I figured I needed a good creative outlet, so I took on the masochistic challenge of aspiring to be an author! Yay! And that leads us here. I'm working to finish writing the rough draft of my first novel before the end of 2026, and then move on to revision early 2027. Stay tuned!