Synopsis

Stanley has got a big bad secret. Nobody likes him at school. They all think he is a little weird. At the Japanese high school he attends, he is derided as a scrawny nerd, and he spends too much time daydreaming about characters in video games. And oh, his parents are janitors, plus, he’s black, so he always stands out like a sore thumb in the school.

But what Stanley likes to do is programming video games. He aspires to join Alexa, the hit video game studio in the city where his father is a lowly janitor, when he graduates. He even has a character ready for them that he’s been developing.

As he’s coming back one sultry winter evening from an open day for high schoolers at Alexa, Stanley is attacked by a pair of wolves. Little does he know that these are no mere wolves, but are Black Fang Werewolves whose line of succession will determine the very future of the uneasy truce and coexistence, past and future, between the species.

Back at home, Stanley must leave at once and go find his Sifu to learn the great arts before it’s too late to save the world. For where he had a big bad secret before, now he holds a secret so dreadful none could shoulder it but he. And it pains him that he can never go back to the way it was before, when he was just a kid in love with video games and eager to make his parents proud someday.

For Stanley holds the link to the royal bloodline of the Black Fang, and only he can stop the big bad usurper Granarog The Great, in whose paws now lies the fate of the entire human world.

As Stanley struggles with a heavy secret, he knows that his mother and father could never understand these things, neither does he himself fully know why it had to be his fate to shoulder this truly terrible burden. But if he does not act, all humanity, including they, will be swept under the rising cloud of darkness that threatens to destroy all.

For Stanley is no more human than Granarog himself, in fact they are distant cousins. And only Stanley can do something to help save the proud humans that persecute him. He must rise and fight every instinct to rally the complacent humans in the existential fight for their lives and their humanity, for the terrible curse that has now unleashed in the North will not rest till it swallows up human civilization and ushers in the Unfettered Era of the Werewolf. And Granarog will have all in his power at last, and will get to have the last laugh. Can Stanley meet a superior foe on the field of battle and survive, or will his death be the herald of the werewolves and Granarog’s invincible rise to limitless suzerainty? 

Outline

Chapter 1:  Stanley Meets Werewolves
Stanley meets a pack of ravenous werewolves. He fights them off, but not before the werewolves foretell his fall. They reveal to him that he was no mere teenager, oh no, but that he happens to be on the wrong side of history in a pitched battle for the future not just of humanity, but for the royal Black Fang succession. He must find out who Granarog is.

Chapter 2: Stanley Leaves Home
A death pack descends on Stanley’s house and have him pinned. His parents come out just in time to watch him emerge after having been saved from the brink by a kindly interposer. Stanley has no time to wonder why the werewolves are so decided on his death for now he learns that he must go in search of the wise one, if he is to learn the special mission assigned for him and the way that only he, the weak one, must walk. In this, like in all else that came before, he has no choice but was his fate as the next of that royal line.

Chapter 3: Stanley Discovers The Sage
Alone, wounded and reeling, Stanley fights off assailants and the brutal cold, to find the path in the mountains that leads to the hole of the wise one. But they tell him such a thing cannot be found, and he will perish in the mountains of snow. That now he must turn back, or else yield himself to Granarog’s emissaries.

But fortunately, Stanley holds out to find the Sage. The Sage castigates him for taking too long to find him, says he would have made more progress if his mind was pure. Now, the fight is raging already and Stanley is not even ready to defend against Granarog’s night force using the basic katas. If he continues like this, he will get himself, and his master, killed, for only he can stop Granarog, but he is not ready.

Chapter 4: Point Of No Return
Stanley learns the secrets of the way, and he fights against Granarog’s light forces. He also learns, to his utter dismay, that he can never be a man again!

Chapter 5: Sifu
A pack of six of Granarog's spy wolves arrives to assassinate Stanley. The Sifu beats and kills two, but then, Stanley is wounded in the fight. The Sifu kills another of the assailants.

Chapter 6: Solitude
Stanley is affected by being a werewolf, he is afraid of fire; and when he is walking among humans, by day, he feels pained, because he is so different, and sad, and melancholy drowns him.

Chapter 7: The Claw Of Granarog
The werewolves are rampaging, Granarog has unleashed them and they go wild, attacking people.

Chapter 8: Mr. WonderWolf
In a desperate hour for mankind, a surprise rescuer appears. They know him as Mr. WonderWolf. But he is as lonely as he is admired and vilified.

Chapter 9: Jeopardy
A femme fatale seeks the help of Mr. WonderWolf to save her father from the werewolves. Stanley tells her, "I'm sorry. Your father is now one of them."

Chapter 10: Vengeance Of The Werewolves
There's carnage as the werewolves maul people and perpetrate a major plot; and Stanley and his Sifu show up with massive guns and attempt to set things right, but too late!

Chapter 11: "You have no idea who I am."
Stanley’s identity causes problems. He holds secrets that no-one else does. He is torn between his light side and his dark side. Disaster ensues.

Chapter 12: “I want him dead. That Mr. WonderWolf is a pain in the neck!”
Stanley discovers you must not come between a werewolf and his prey. Any halfway reasonable man would turn back now.

Chapter 13: Cunning As A Fox
Werewolves’ major plot scores a major win. The people are baying for the blood of Mr. WonderWolf. Granarog moves in for the kill.

Chapter 14: Humanity In The Balance
With Stanley and the Sage on the run, the military and police are shooting at them and closing the net to take them dead or alive.

Chapter 15: A Werewolf And His Duty
A werewolf fights both men and werewolves so that he may fulfill his pledge to do what the world needs, even when it’s not what the world wants. The twilight of his mortal life approaches.

Chapter 16: The Punisher
"I am Stanley Red Fang, rightful ruler of Wolven folk and your ancestors have sworn undying allegiance to me and mine. I hereby release you from that oath." Stanley is furious, and is taking no prisoners in the ultimate fight.

Chapter 17: The Final Fight
Then Stanley and the military people they can round up and police square off in a brutal battle against Granarog and the invaders, this is the last fight.

Audience

This novel is targeted at fans of urban fantasy fiction. Unlike other works in the genre, it does not target the urban fantasy romance theme, but targets the video gaming section of young teenage and per-teen male readers. The demographic that will love this story are 12-25 gaming fans who love fantasy video games and supernatural characters. Fans of comic book stories involving super-heroes will love the form and style of the story because it uses some of the same story elements behind the biggest blockbuster superheroes, think:

• Batman
• Spider-man
• Ironman
• The Hulk

The novel will also have cross-over appeal to an adult male demographic that grew up with these superhero stories and video-games.  

Promotion

I have a network on LinkedIn of more than 600 contacts, among whom are people working in the media and blogging industries. I will be approaching my personal contacts to pre-order the book and share it in their social channels as well as to help promote by writing blog posts and other promotions.

For building an email list of book fans, I will be using paid advertising to reach potential readers of the book and convince them to signup and preorder the book. I will also be leveraging Facebook and Twitter, where I have a combined 500+ followers. Finally, I will be launching a guest blogging campaign to draw attention to the book.

Competition

This book competes with

• Harry Potter series (Author: J.K. Rowling, Published: 06/26/1997) – they both feature young teenage, male protagonists who are somewhat nerdy but find themselves unsuspectingly in the middle of a global battle between good and evil in which they are fated to play a major part.
• Twilight series (Author: Stephenie Meyer, Published: 10/05/2005) – they both feature tales about mystical antagonistic creatures. Twilight is about vampires, and this series is about werewolves. Another important difference is on focus. Where the Twilight series is more romance-focused, this book is more focused on the sword-and-dagger adventure story and the supernatural powers the hero must develop in his quest to save the world.
• The Lord Of The Rings series (Author: J.R.R Tolkien, Published: 07/29/1954) – they both have fantastical elements. The fantasy is subtler and understated here, to fit the mold of an urban fantasy that feels at times as firmly rooted in modern science as a science fiction work. The storyline and its events are firmly rooted in modern, urban society, not an ancient background.
• The Stand (Author: Stephen King, Published: 06/24/2008) – both books feature a combination of fantasy and horror elements. What stands out most, conceptually, however, are the apocalyptic themes and an event that can bring about the complete end of the world. The fantasy here is explored through werewolf-like creatures, whereas in The Stand, it’s through the medium of strange disease and plague.
• The Rise Of Renegade X (Author: Chelsea M Campbell, Published: 01/10/2014) – the books both have young teenage, male, protagonists, young boys who find themselves unexpectedly thrust in the center of a battle of good versus evil. In both books, the main characters are much closer to the evil side than a typical hero. In this book, however, the main character chooses to fight on the good side.

Like several of the five competitors above, this book is part of a multi-volume series with strong potential to become a fan favorite with its target demographic.