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WOLF'S BLUFF -Book 3 in the Nick Lupo Wolf Series; follows WOLF'S GAMBIT, the sequel to WOLF'S TRAP.
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WOLF'S TRAP Nominated for the BRAM STOKER AWARD (Superior Achievement in a First Novel).
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writer, editor : tarkusp@yahoo.com
W. D. Gagliani
Author of Stoker Award nominee WOLF'S TRAP
http://www.williamdgagliani.com
illustration
WOLF'S EDGE (Samhain Publishing) Coming in late 2011. Book 4 in the Nick Lupo Wolf Series.

THE WORD ON WOLF'S BLUFF:

“In Wolf's Bluff Gagliani once more proves that werewolves are scary as hell. The book is fast, vicious and thoroughly satisfying.”

--Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Wolfman and The Dragon Factory

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"Gagliani hits another homerun with Wolf's Bluff, a sexy, fast-paced novel that keeps you reading at break-neck speed. You simply won't want this story to end!"

--Deborah LeBlanc, author of Water Witch

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"Wolf's Bluff is arguably the best novel in Gagliani's werewolf series, carrying through beautifully on themes introduced in the previous novels and ratcheting up the body count, not to mention the reader's blood pressure. I make no excuses for my admiration of Gagliani's work -- I think he's an exquisite storyteller, and his voice has never been more confident that it is here. Wolf's Bluff is creepy, sexy, fast-paced, and brimming with humanity; just what I expected from a writer of Gagliani's caliber."

--5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Gary A. Braunbeck, author of Coffin County and Far Dark Fields

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"Dark as the North Woods and ferociously intense, Wolf’s Bluff will keep you biting your nails right up until its blood-drenched finale. Gagliani sets a relentless pace from the first page, and never lets up, as Detective Nick Lupo threads his way through a maze of explosive violence, dangerous sex and deadly mystery as he tries to put an end to the new rash of werewolf killings in Wausau. He’ll crush your heart and make you clench your teeth along the way."

-–John Everson, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The 13th and Siren

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THE WORD ON WOLF'S GAMBIT, published Sept. 2009:

"Wolf's Gambit is that rare accomplishment in horror of a sequel that not only surpasses the power of the original but turns your expectations against you at every turn. W. D. Gagliani has taken the central conceit of Wolf's Trap and used it as a springboard for his most unpredictable, accomplished, and rewarding novel to date. His writing has never been crisper, his suspense never more nerve-wracking, and his dry humor so consistently refreshing. If you think you know what you'll be getting, trust me, you're wrong. Gagliani is fashioning an epic werewolf cycle here, one filled with terror, passion, violence, surprisingly affecting sensuality, and enough fantastical twists and turns to satisfy even the most jaded horror reader. Put your preconceptions aside and get ready for one hell of a ride."

-- 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Gary A. Braunbeck, author of Coffin County and Far Dark Fields

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"A great big bloody beast of a book that enthralls the reader on multiple levels. Vicious, gory, sexy, fascinating--part-supernatural thriller, part-police procedural, pure dynamite!"

--Edward Lee, author of Brides of the Impaler and The Golem

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"If you're looking for the same-ol'-same-ol' werewolf story, W.D. Gagliani's Wolf's Gambit is definitely not for you. Gagliani takes a rehashed theme and breathes new life into it with a cast of memorable characters and relentless suspense. He masterfully weaves sensuality and horror throughout the story, taking the reader on a journey that redefines 'love at all costs.' Wolf's Gambit is one book you won't put down, and it's a story you'll never forget."

--Deborah LeBlanc, bestselling author of Water Witch

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"Wolf's Gambit is the equivalent of a North Woods rollercoaster -- with each brutal twist the body count rises, but you never want the ride to end! This one goes for the throat over and over again, and as you slip through the slayings with Detective Lupo in a desperate race against time, the pages seem to turn themselves! I couldn't put it down!"

-- John Everson, author of Covenant and Sacrifice



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WOLF'S GAMBIT, sequel to Stoker Award nominee WOLF'S TRAP (Leisure Books) is available now. Browse the book by visiting Leisure Books at www.dorchesterpub.com, or my MySpace page.

WOLF'S BLUFF, which begins where GAMBIT leaves off, will be published by Leisure Books in July 2010.
WOLF'S EDGE, which completes a loose trilogy begun with WOLF'S GAMBIT, will be published by Leisure Books in 2010.

WOLF'S TRAP was a Finalist for the BRAM STOKER AWARD in the category of Superior Achievement in a First Novel (2004).

WOLF'S TRAP (Leisure Books, May 2006), mass market edition, second printing. NOTE: WOLF'S TRAP IS NOW ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FOR THE AMAZON KINDLE.

I've published over a dozen short stories in various anthologies and one e-book collection (SHADOWPLAYS, see below). Five of my short stories have garnered Honorable Mentions in four separate YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR annual collections (St. Martin's Press; Datlow & Windling, editors), and one was the 1999 Darrell Award winner.

I am an active book reviewer and critic for the Bram Stoker Award-winning webzine The Chiaroscuro (http://chizine.com), Cemetery Dance, HorrorWorld.com, Bram Stoker Award-winning publication Hellnotes, Flesh & Blood Magazine, and BookPage, among others. My experience as a book reviewer dates back to 1986, when I began writing freelance reviews for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I have since written hundreds of reviews for various publications in and out of the Horror/Dark Fantasy field, as well as articles and interviews in publications such as Science Fiction Chronicle, BookLovers, The Scream Factory, Bare Bones, Horror Magazine, and others.

I have several long and short-term fiction projects in various stages of completion.

My editing experience includes a stint as editor/publisher of a small literary magazine, and as co-editor of Marquette University Memorial Library's annual newsletter. I am available for freelance editing and proofreading work, though I prefer to work with fiction, especially Horror and Dark Fantasy. If anyone in the small press needs an anthology and/or chapbook editor, I would be happy to look at proposals. I'd also be interested in novel editing, though I do not have any prior experience in that area (except for my own novel work).

years experience: 25+
GENRES & SPECIALTIES
Horror, Dark Fantasy, Suspense/Thriller, Noir/Crime, Alternate History, Occult, Book Reviews and Criticism, Writing and Writing Life
TRADE REFERENCES
On WOLF'S TRAP:
“Wolf's Trap is a hirsute werewolf story that will grab you by the reading jugular and keep you clawing the pages until the story's exciting conclusion. Gagliani has brought bite back to the werewolf novel. The Wisconsin setting is brought vividly to life, as are the regional secondary characters.” -– CNN.com Headline News Book Lizard review by James Argendeli

"W.D. Gagliani's Wolf's Trap offers a unique spin on the werewolf fable and snares the reader right from the first page. Part horror tale, part crime novel, this is first-rate entertainment that will keep you reading deep into the moonlit night." -- Tom Piccirilli, Author of A CHOIR OF ILL CHILDREN and THE NIGHT CLASS

"I have generally been disappointed with the werewolf as subject for horror fiction. There have been a few exceptions but for the most part werewolf novels seem content to follow pretty much the same pattern every time. W.D. Gagliani varies it sufficiently here to have held my interest in his suspenseful story that mixes serial murder with werewolves. The action also alternates between the wilderness and the less reputable parts of a big city, which is another kind of wilderness. He does a good job of making us care about his protagonist, and the twist -- which I won't tell you about -- is clever enough to keep you guessing until the end. Another small press title worth chasing down." -- Don D'Ammassa, writing in CHRONICLE (formerly SF CHRONICLE; DNA Publications)

"W.D. Gagliani’s Wolf’s Trap blends all the elements of a cross genre novel -- plot, character, setting, conflict and opposition so seamlessly and with such a haunting prose it made me feel every character -- from Nick Lupo to the lowest degenerate on earth -- is real and made of flesh. Wolf’s Trap pounces and I was caught in the jaws of the trap and could not escape until I finished page last." -— Robert W. Walker, author of the highly acclaimed Instinct and Edge Series

"In Wolf’s Trap W.D. Gagliani writes of monsters -- the kind that haunted our nightmares as children and the all-too-human predator who looks 'just like us.' Gagliani is a natural storyteller and the story he tells not only makes the reader re-examine their thoughts on MONSTERS, but allows us to look into both the mind and souls of two very different kinds. Shall I say it was a 'howling' good read?" -— P.D. Cacek, World Fantasy Award-winner and author of CANYONS

"A top-notch lunar-challenged hero, a villain bent on painful revenge, a deliciously developed plot. I read the last half in one sitting on, appropriately, a night with a full moon. It is a damn fine werewolf novel! Bravo!" -— Elaine Bergstrom, Author of SHATTERED GLASS, NOCTURNE, and BLOOD TO BLOOD, among others

"The best werewolf novel since THE HOWLING!" -- J.A. Konrath, Author of WHISKEY SOUR

For more Wolf's Trap rave reviews, please see my website!

On SHADOWPLAYS:
"W.D. Gagliani's reviews should be familiar to readers of Cemetery Dance and The Chiaroscuro. It turns out he can do more than provide thoughtful analysis of other people's fiction; he's also capable of writing his own.

"SHADOWPLAYS is his first collection. It's designed to showcase the span of his career. As such, it is more of a retrospective than a 'best of' collection ... the point is to illustrate the growth in his craft. The good news is he started strong and has steadily improved.

"Take the claustrophobic terrors of 'Icewall' and 'Deep Tunnel' as examples of how far he's come. Take the two examples of his 'Ghosts of the IRA' story cycle as a teaser of how much further he'll go. The ten stories in between run the gamut from the gentle fantasy of 'The Weaver in the Web That She Made,' to the future shock of 'A Trip to Game Center,' to the nightmarish horror of 'Lead Me Into Temptation.'" -- Garrett Peck at FeoAmante.com
MOST RECENT PROJECTS
WOLF'S GAMBIT, sequel to WOLF'S TRAP, purchased by Leisure Books for a September 2009 publication.

My first novel, WOLF'S TRAP, was published in October 2003, and later garnered rave reviews and a Bram Stoker Award nomination. The Leisure Books mass market edition (originally published 2006, and then again in a 2nd printing) is still in print and available from various sources including www.shocklines.com, THE one-stop shop for horror! It can also be ordered from my website, from Mystery One Bookstore, Dark Delicacies Bookstore, Amazon.com and other online retailers.

"Take a Scalpel to Those Tropes," a short nonfiction piece, appears in ON WRITING HORROR, edited by Mort Castle (Writer's Digest Books, Oct 2006).

Recent story publications and/or sales:
The story "A Solid Time of Change" (co-written with David Benton) appears in the German-language anthology MASTERS OF UNREALITY (Eloy Edictions, 2008) under its original title, "Do You Want to Be the Song?"

The story "Mood Elevator" (co-written with David Benton) appears in the latest volume of the long-running anthology series HOT BLOOD (Volume 13), titled DARK PASSIONS: HOT BLOOD 13 (Gelb & Garrett, editors; 2007).

The horror/pulp/adventure story "The Great Belzoni and the Gait of Anubis" is available as a download from Amazon.com as part of their 49-cent Amazon Shorts line of short fiction.

The story "Carried on the Wind," was published in the anthology WICKED KARNIVAL HALLOWEEN HORROR.

The story "Lead Me Into Temptation," the article "Horror as Literary Element," and an extensive interview conducted by David Tamarin were all featured in the e-zine WICKED KARNIVAL #3, which can be read on-line at www.wickedkarnival.com and can also be downloaded as a FREE pdf. There's lots of great work by other folks in this huge 90-page issue, and it's FREE!

Three short tales ("Stand By Your Zombie," "Of a Feather," and "The Great Belzoni and the Monster of Goa") were published in SMALL BITES, an anthology to benefit the Charles Grant Medical Fund. Edited by Garrett Peck and Keith Gouveia, it features nearly 200 tiny tales by over 100 writers including F. Paul Wilson, Matthew J. Costello, Edward Lee, Rick Hautala, Robert W. Walker, Tim Lebbon, Christopher Golden, Karen E. Taylor, Lisa Mannetti, Scott Nicholson, Simon Clark, and many more! See my website for details.

My erotic-religious horror story "The Serpent Said" was included in the anthology THE BLACK SPIRAL: TWISTED TALES OF TERROR (edited by Richard Weber; Cyber-Pulp), released in October 2003 as a trade paperback, e-book, and CD-Rom, and with a signed, limited edition to still to come. The book also features stories and essays by the likes of F.Paul Wilson, Ramsey Campbell, Mort Castle, Tim Lebbon, Robert Weinberg, Nancy Kilpatrick, Tina L. Jens, and others.

Another recent story publication:
"A Knight of Swords" is included in the Young Adult anthology MORE STORIES THAT WON'T MAKE YOUR PARENTS HURL (Yard Dog Press), edited by Selina Rosen. It's an Arthurian-Tolkienish fairy tale with some bite and a moral.

Recent Web appearances:
"Motion Purifies" posted at www.horrorfind.com (3 months, starting June 20, 2003) -- noir crime story in which a robbery goes awry... or does it?

Other recent anthology appearances:
"Dark Places, Underground" (an excerpt from WOLF'S TRAP) in THE ASYLUM 2: THE VIOLENT WARD (formerly DarkTales Publications and now Prime Books), edited by Victor Heck. This stand-alone portion focuses on the serial killer central to the book's plot, giving insight to his background. Not, as they say, for the squeamish or prudish! Welcome back to The Asylum!)

"We Were Like Lions" in EXTREMES 4: DARKEST AFRICA (Lone Wolf Publications), edited by Brian A. Hopkins. Past and present intersect for a modern Zulu, but pride and rage must coexist within him.

"Port of Call" in EXTREMES 3: TERROR ON THE HIGH SEAS (Lone Wolf Publications), edited by Brian A. Hopkins. An ill-fated ship pauses at a lonely port to take on a supernatural cargo. (Honorable Mention, Year's Best Fantasy & Horror)

"Kiss a Bubba Good Mornin'" in BUBBAS OF THE APOCALYPSE (Yard Dog Press), edited by Selina Rosen. Yuppies have turned into flesh-eating zombies, and only BBQ-loving bubbas can fight them! Tongue-in-cheek politically incorrect romp in a strange corner of the George Romero-inspired sub-universe!

"Starbird" in THE MIDNIGHTERS CLUB (Infinity), edited by Ron Horsley. Damon Runyon meets Predator. You thought cockfighting was bloody, but you haven't seen what Graken can do. Rather not for the squeamish look at a very strange bird. Second edition out now -- includes an introduction by Gary A. Braunbeck, a cool new cover, and a "lost" story! (Honorable Mention, Year's Best Fantasy & Horror)
BEST-KNOWN PROJECTS
I am also the author of SHADOWPLAYS, a multi-genre e-book collection of short stories published by Ebooksonthe.net (www.ebooksonthe.net). Other short stories have been published in the following anthologies: "Icewall" in ROBERT BLOCH'S PSYCHOS (Pocket Books), "Dark Places, Underground" in THE ASYLUM 2: THE VIOLENT WARD (DarkTales Publications), "Starbird" in THE MIDNIGHTERS CLUB (Infinity), "Port of Call" in EXTREMES 3: TERROR ON THE HIGH SEAS (Lone Wolf Publications), "We Were Like Lions" in EXTREMES 4: DARKEST AFRICA (Lone Wolf Publications), "Until Hell Calls Our Names" in MORE MONSTERS FROM MEMPHIS (Zapizdat), "Kiss a Bubba Good Mornin'" in BUBBAS OF THE APOCALYPSE (Yard Dog Press), and the group project "Lookout Mountain" (with Gary Jonas, Don Kinney, and Bob Zazuly) in THE RED RED ROBIN PROJECT (Lone Wolf Publications). Short stories have also appeared in the webzines 1000 Delights, Horrorfind, The Grimoire, and Dark Muse. I have had nonfiction (book reviews, articles, and interviews) published in various publications, including The Chiaroscuro (http://chizine.com), Cemetery Dance, Hellnotes, BookPage and bookpage.com, Flesh & Blood, BookLovers, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Science Fiction Chronicle, The Scream Factory, Bare Bones, Horror Magazine, The Science Fiction & Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, and Midnight Journeys.
PROJECTS ON OFFER/ PROPOSALS AVAILABLE

SHADOWPLAYS

SHADOWPLAYS is still currently an e-book collection of fiction, and I hope an Italian sale is possible partly because I grew up in Italy, speak (and read and write) Italian fluently, and my story "Icewall" was translated into Italian as part of the Sperling & Kupfer edition of ROBERT BLOCH'S PSYCHOS. An aggressive agent might well score a sale with a publisher interested in the expanded Italian version of SHADOWPLAYS, which would include newer fiction from other anthology publications, such as MORE MONSTERS FROM MEMPHIS and THE MIDNIGHTERS CLUB. (See rights posting.)

WOLF'S TRAP was a 500-copy limited edition from Yard Dog Press -- but mass market rights for the book were purchased by Leisure Books. Foreign and film rights are still available.

Novel-in-progress: COLT'S STRANGE ENGINE, an alternate history set in the US Civil War. Promised to prominent small press publisher for limited edition, but mass market/film/foreign rights are available.

SAVAGE NIGHTS, a noir/horror/thriller featuring Rich Brant, an ex-military intelligence operative whose visions link him to the past and to the victim, in this case his beloved niece. (NOVEL IS COMPLETED - Available from my agent. Synopsis and sample chapters available upon request.)

Novel-in-progress: UNTIL HELL CALLS OUR NAMES, based on the award-winning story from the anthology MORE MONSTERS FROM MEMPHIS. (This one is in the beginning stages.)

Young Adult Mystery/Adventure: THE ANTARCTICA SWITCH CAPER. Proposal (synopsis and sample chapters) available upon request.
SPECIALIZED TRAINING, WORK EXPERIENCE, HONORS
Education & Experience:
MA in English, 1986; University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee

Five semesters of teaching college Composition and Creative Writing

Co-editor and publisher of Square One (university literary magazine)

Guest Judge for 1995 Wisconsin Writers Ink annual fiction contest

Included in WHO'S WHO IN WRITERS, EDITORS, AND POETS (December Press) since 1992

Co-editor of Marquette University Memorial Library's annual newsletter since 1998

Active Member: Horror Writers Association

Awards and Honors:
My novel, WOLF'S TRAP, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in 2004.

My story from the anthology EXTREMES 3: TERROR ON THE HIGH SEAS ("Port of Call") was selected for a print version BEST OF EXTREMES anthology

Five Honorable Mentions in THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR annual anthologies, edited by Datlow & Windling ("Port of Call," "Starbird," "Lead Me Into Temptation," "Until Hell Calls Our Names," and "Icewall")

Winner of the 1999 Darrell Award of the Memphis Science Fiction Association, for the story "Until Hell Calls Our Names" in the anthology MORE MONSTERS FROM MEMPHIS

Two Second Prizes in consecutive Science Fiction Writers of Earth contests ("Only Spectres Still Have Pity" and "Kneel at the Shrine" -- both now included in SHADOWPLAYS, representing the Ghosts of the IRA story cycle)

Various (Third, Fourth, Seventh) finishes in other Science Fiction Writers of Earth contests
AGENT
Louise Fury
The Lori Perkins Agency
lfury@lperkinsagency.com
lperkinsagency.com/
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