I’m Gregory Alexander Sharp, and I’m author of Il Lupo, which is a supernatural thriller with the tagline, Some werewolves have real problems, and is set against a backdrop of the stresses of modern living and the human condition. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to share a little about myself and my work in the Author’s Lounge, and I’m grateful to Readers’ Magnate for the opportunity.
The two main protagonists are faced with the very real challenges of grief and chronic anxiety, the latter of which spills over into debilitating panic attacks. Matters take a supernatural turn when they find themselves confronting a man who is accused of being a werewolf, and things go from deeply stressful to utterly life-threatening in the blink of an eye. It’s an adventurous romp, with a good deal of light alongside the shade and some incredible locations as a canvas, including the Amalfi Coast and the ancient ruins of Pompeii in Italy, and the rugged Scottish Highlands.
I’ve always felt I had stories to tell, and something of an ambition to put those stories into written words. As a small boy I would pen essays that I never showed to anyone else about how The Hulk was misunderstood, or why Spider-Man was the coolest superhero. When I was around twelve years of age I was introduced to the classic black and white horror movies of Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jnr, and that started a lifelong affinity with the genre.
My wife, Dee, and I took a trip to Rome a short time after my father passed away, just so I could find some head-space. We walked the streets gawping at the ruins as tourists often do, and then we drove a hire car down to Amalfi and across to the bay of Naples. Along the way, I couldn’t resist stopping for a day at the ruins of Pompeii, it was utterly spellbinding. While we were there, something just sort of clicked and I knew what I had to write about, what the genre needed to be, and where to set it, too.
The story is definitely more suspenseful, supernatural thriller than it is out and out horror (although there is a reasonable smattering of horror in there). I’ve been told by many of my readers that it feels as though it spans a number of genres and appeals to a broad spectrum of readers as a result. If you’re after an out and out blood-bath, this isn’t it. If you’re interested in an examination of the impacts of certain facets of the human condition, set against a very unusual situation and an utterly inhuman threat, that’s here. I’m also told that the characters are very relatable even if some of them are rather larger than life, but that’s where the fun comes in, enjoying the nuances of their individuality.
Ultimately, this is a book that people should feel is educational about certain aspects of mental health, while managing to be a page-turning race against time, with a few cheeky laughs along the way. Quite an ambition for a single book, but there are a number of threads woven through the pages, and there’s space for them all. I hope my readers feel inspired by the scenery, thrilled by the adventure and the jeopardy, and either educated or comforted by the mental health aspects. If you suffer with any of the challenges covered in these pages, you should come away with the knowledge that you are not alone, even if you feel that way.
As Il Lupo is my debut as an author, I’m trying to be very realistic about what’s possible to achieve. I have an incredibly demanding role as an executive in a global business services and technology firm, which keeps me really busy. I do have the advantage of working mostly from home, so the time I used to spend communing back in the day (often more than three hours each day) is much more my own now. I’m therefore able to devote a little time to my social media presence, Twitter being a tremendous advertising marketplace for indie authors (find me at @sempaigreg), and also to writing. Beyond work and writing, Dee and I live in the south of England with our cocker spaniel Branston, ginger cat Marmalade, and the two little rabbits who live in my office, Meadow and Nutmeg. With dog walking throughout the week, and Sunday morning golf too, I keep pretty busy!
Twice each year I will receive a report from my distribution network with sales performance across the various platforms and formats, and also by both distributor and geography. I’m yet to receive the first of those, but I do know that I have confirmed sales in the UK, France, Italy, the USA, Australia, Brazil and Canada, which is utterly amazing. I’d love to have a readership across even more countries, and maybe I already do, I’ll find out when my first report becomes available. Maybe the most rewarding moments for me have come from feedback I’ve received from other authors who have read and enjoyed Il Lupo, that’s been quite a thrill.
Since completing Il Lupo, I have now completed a first full draft of Il Lupo 2.0, which picks up just a week or so after the first book finishes. A number of the threads from the original are carried forwards or explained in greater detail, including the back story to Ernest Wainwright, who hints several times that there is a story to tell about his deceased wife Annabel (we learn all about that). It’s another adventure with thrills, spills and plenty of chills. I can hardly wait to share it!
Il Lupo is available globally in paperback, Kindle and KindleUnlimited via most online retailers.
Connect with Greg on Social Media:
https://twitter.com/SempaiGreg
https://www.facebook.com/groups/il.lupo.book
https://www.instagram.com/sempai_greg/
https://www.tiktok.com/@gregoryalexandersharp
Greg and Il Lupo at Amazon:
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lupo-Gregory-Alexander-Sharp/dp/1800745915/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PXY4BUCUVPY0&keywords=il+lupo+gregory+sharp&qid=1681922071&sprefix=Il+Lupo%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1
US: https://www.amazon.com/Lupo-Gregory-Alexander-Sharp-ebook/dp/B0BS1MXFRK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2QHMBMF1GVHVW&keywords=il+lupo+gregory+sharp&qid=1681922115&sprefix=Il+Lupo%2Caps%2C287&sr=8-1
