Werewolves Work Among Us

 I have often described Stuart West's writing as my guilty pleasure because whether it's horror-with-humour, crime or the manic antics of Zach and Zora, he never ceases to entertain me and put a smile on my face.

Now he's back with a fabulous take on the werewolf trope. In fact, these are werewolves as you have never seen them before - and that's before we get into goat yoga. I'll leave it to Stuart to explain:

Okay, that guy. See him? The guy three cubicles over? The one who kinda reeks, is pretty hairy, snaps at others like they’ve snatched away a choice soup bone?

Chances are he’s a werewolf.

I’m not kidding.

Werewolves are around us. It’s no lie, I have proof. Three out of four dentists suggest the same thing and they would know, having to dig fingers into lycanthropes’ canine teeth on a regular basis. Is it any wonder dentists have the highest suicide rate amongst professionals? It’s a colossally, huge burden they shoulder.

Dr. Larry Veranicus, PhD standard bearer of Lycanthropy for the European Establishment of Werewolfography (aka, “EEW”), explains it best. “People largely assume werewolves are the thing of dreams, big-eyed monsters with claws out to here,” says Veranicus, eyes bugged and clawing the air. “Little do they realize, werewolves aren’t a myth. Rather the most inconspicuous person you know could possibly suffer from lycanthropy.” Dr. Veranicus sucks on a pipe, emitting a wheezing, lazy bagpipe sound. “Once, when I worked in fruit basket sales, I noted a gentleman, one work station over, had extraordinarily hairy knuckles."

I asked him, I said, "Chuck, do you suffer from hypertrichosis?"

Strangely, Chuck ignored me and proceeded to seal the deal on a particularly voluminous fruit basket sale.

But the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Undoubtedly, Chuck was a werewolf. Call them what you will, no sugar-coating and no prejudice:  wolf-man (or woman, if you will, lycanthropy is not a sexist disease), loup-garou, lycanthrope, shape shifter, or a talcum-toed Talbot. Soon, I discovered just how prevalent werewolves are in our so-called civilized society. Lately, it’s become much more disturbing as werewolves have now fully indoctrinated into society, building their own power clique, steadily becoming the rulers of the world.

I questioned Dr. Veranicus on the proof to his theory. Pointing to a pie chart, he explained, “This largest slice?” He tapped a blood-red quarter of the pie diagram. “This represents werewolves living amongst us.”

“What does the green smudge in the corner represent?” I asked.

“Yesterday’s lunch. As you can see, I’ve fully documented the rise of…”

While, Dr. Veranicus opened my eyes to the world around me, the thorough journalist that I am, I sought further corroboration.

My research assistant, Ms. Google, uncovered some interesting facts.

Fact! Gaius Petronius Arbiter, a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero, is one of the earliest perpetuators of the truth regarding lycanthropy. Hey, the (widely accepted) author of The Satyricon wouldn’t lie, now would he?

Fact! The belief in werewolves perpetuated alongside the notorious witch hunts throughout Europe in the 18^th Century. And since when have religious zealots been wrong?

Fact! The term lycanthropy, referring both to the ability to transform oneself into a wolf and to the act of so doing, comes from ancient Greece, widely renowned for being a hotbed of smarty-pants fellows.

Fact! Today’s corporate cut-throat cult of personality thrives on werewolves and vice-versa. It’s not a well-known fact (at least until now!) that werewolves constitute the largest percentage of the hard-charging, social-stabbing corporate climbers we’re all painfully familiar with. It’s a jungle of concrete and glass tailor-made for the beasts in humanity.

Werewolves work among us! And I’m here to tell you the truth in my shocking true undercover expose, Corporate Wolf.

Here, let my publisher take care of the blurbiness:

 If you can't run with the big dogs…

It was supposed to be a corporate retreat and a series of morale-boosting exercises. It was a weekend Shawn Biltmore nearly didn't survive.

There was something else playing in the woods that night, something other than a bunch of corporate drones with paintball guns.

And it had chosen Shawn as its new chew toy.

…rip 'em to shreds.

The local authorities chalked it up to a bear attack.

So did the doctors.

Shawn knew the truth, however, as much as he wanted to deny it.

But when one of his coworkers is viciously killed, Shawn must face the truth…

He's a killer who needs to be put down.

Or is he?

Okay, the book’s all gussied up as horror fiction, but it’s not. Not really. This is a work of non-fiction. So, lock your doors. Don’t ask for a raise. Go get a manual labor job. I understand there aren’t a whole lot of werewolves in the service industry.

You’ve been warned.

Thanks!

Stuart R. West is a lifelong resident of Kansas, which he considers both a curse and a blessing. It's a curse because...well, it's Kansas. But it's great because...well, it's Kansas. Lots of cool, strange and creepy things happen in the Midwest, and Stuart takes advantage of them in his books. Call it "Kansas Noir." Stuart writes thrillers, horror and mysteries usually tinged with humor, both for adult and young adult audiences.

Stuart spent 25 years in the corporate sector where he first encountered werewolves until he dropped out to pursue writing. Alas, the industry being what it is, Stuart’s now forced to reenter the lycanthropic corporate sector.

If you're still reading this, you may as well head on over to Stuart's blog at: 

 Twisted Tales from Tornado Alley

You can track down Stuart's Corporate Wolf here:

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Kobo 

 

The Ghosts of Gannaway Return!

I love Stuart West's writing, and now Grinning Skull Press have released a new edition of The Ghosts of Gannaway, I had to invite him over to talk about it. The stage is all yours Stuart:

Ghosts of Gannaway, my attempt at sweeping historical horror fiction (is that a thing?) has been given a second life by the fine folks at Grinning Skull Press. Just like some of the characters in my book, it refuses to remain dead.

Part of my novel’s resurrection is due to the poorly matched cover it was initially saddled with. Take a gander:

Despite the appearance of this old cover, my book’s definitely not a Chippendale dancer romance saga. It’s a historical ghost tale full of curses, scares, Native-American rights, one of the first feminists, greed, suspense, hissable villains, noble heroes, hippies, union strikes, violence, animated statues, haunted museums, pollution, and love that transcends death. It’s based on true events that transpired in the town of Picher, Oklahoma during the Depression and the aftermath of those results that took place in the swingin’ sixties. Sure, I moved the events over the state line to Kansas, but the book’s true!

Except it’s a horror tale. You decide what’s real.

This edition contains a new foreword and photos taken on my flip-phone camera (a ghost in itself) of what remains of the ghost town of Picher. Come with me now on a little virtual tour and visit what inspired the spectral hauntings of my book. 

First stop is the actual Picher mining museum (which was torn down shortly after I nabbed this photo…no doubt due to poltergeist activity).

Next on our ghost town tour is one of the last remaining standing structures in Picher, the gorilla mascot of the high school football team. I changed it to a lion in the book, but just like the gorilla, it comes alive late at night.

 Check out some of the dilapidated buildings torn asunder by tornadoes, pollution, and…dare I say it?…haints*.

One of my favorite photos is the shuttered store with the bathrobe hung up over the door. There’s a story in there somewhere and I hope to have given it justice.

 And, of course, there’re the chat piles**, a remnant of what killed the town and long outlived the populace all in the name of good old-fashioned American greed.

So, travel with me to the lovely town of Gannaway, Kansas. It’s just a day-trip away and a night full of bad dreams to come.

 Amazon

About the author:

 

 Stuart R. West is a lifelong resident of Kansas, which he considers both a curse and a blessing. It's a curse because...well, it's Kansas. But it's great because…well, it’s Kansas. Lots of cool, strange and creepy things happen in the Midwest, and Stuart takes advantage of them in his work. Call it “Kansas Noir.” Stuart writes thrillers and mysteries usually tinged with humor, both for adult and young adult audiences. 

Stuart spent 25 years in the corporate sector and now writes full time. He’s married to a professor of pharmacy (who greatly appreciates the fact he cooks dinner for her every night) and has a daughter who’s dabbling in the nefarious world of banking. (Stuart also finds it uncomfortable writing about himself in the third person, but whatever).

Stuart R. West Blog: Twisted Tales from Tornado Alley

Stuart R. West Amazon author page

Stuart R. West Facebook

Stuart R. West Twitter: @StuartRWest

* ghosts
** contaminated mining waste