Friday's Guest - Stuart West - Who He Was Before #MFRWauthor

1. What were you in your life before you became a writer? Did this influence your writing?

Thanks for having me back, Janet. I was a graphic artist for the last 28 years or so. I believe the only influence that had on my writing was I never wanted to step foot in the corporate world again! I find a lot of writers are “corporate drop-outs.” Wait, maybe it did inspire my thriller/darkly satirical series Killers, Incorporated.

2 Are you genre specific or general? Why? I don't mean genres like romance, mystery, fantasy etc. There are many subgenres of the above.

 I’ve written a historical ghost story, four young adult books, several horror tales, a couple of thrillers, a children’s picture book and two comedy mystery pseudo-cozies. I believe I even have a romance in my future. So, probably not genre-specific. I like to mix genres up. It helps to keep things interesting for me. Eventually, I’ll probably try to take a stab at most genres except for science fiction and erotica. Science fiction would entail a vast knowledge of science. Which I don’t have. And erotica simply doesn’t interest me as a reader or writer. One thing you’ll find in most of my books, regardless of genre, is humor, usually of the dark variety. Whether or not the books are actually funny is a different matter completely. But I try and write stuff that makes me laugh.

3. Did your reading choices have anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres?

Again, I like to read many authors and many different genres. Lately I’ve been enjoying a lot of Elmore Leonard, some older Stephen King books and a bit of Donald Westlake.

4. What's your latest release?

Why, thanks for asking! It’s Murder by Massage, the second Zach and Zora comic mystery tale.

Blurb town: Zach is back! And he hasn't learned one darn thing since the last time he ended up as the number one suspect in a murder case. But just like last time, big sister comes to the rescue. And what a big sister! Zora LeFevre's a private investigator. The only down side is she's usually got her four kids with her.  Join the laughs, chaos and mystery as Zach and Zora race against the clock. No clue is too big, no clue is too small. Even if it involves dancing cops, ex-radical hippy militants, pompous pastors, or a creepy set of "Furries" (don't ask!) 

5. What are you working on now?

The third and final book in the Killers Incorporated series. Killer King. This wraps up the tale of those lovable serial killers, Leon and Cody, once and for all.

6. Where can we find you?

Usually blabbing away on my blog about whatever’s got me uptight that week: http://stuartrwest.blogspot.com/

Or check out my Amazon author’s page: Stuart R. West