He's Sasquatch! He's a shark!

Bubblegum Bizarro is the name of the game and we at The Scoop love to see it from the amazing, Damien Casey. The best way I can personally describe Damien's writing is horror comedy with heart and soul plus a touch of chaos for good measure. He writes vibrant and fun stories with unforgettable characters. When he asked me to read Sharksquatch before its release, there was zero hesitation.

Set in a futuristic hellscape of all the worst parts of our current society, Sharksquatch follows Tilly, a waitress who has had enough. In a world where men dominate and genetic engineering forces women into specific roles, Tilly's rejection of conformity quickly makes her a target.

How can she buck the system and get the ball rolling on the resistance? Who will help her muscle her way to the corrupt leaders? Cue...Sharksquatch.

With Sasquatch's body and a shark's head, Sharksquatch is the fearsome but terribly wholesome muscle behind the revolution.

Damien's writing vibe is hard to pin down into just one style. He does a fantastic job at mixing humor, thought provoking commentary, and horror into one super fun story. That is absolutely what you will get reading Shark-Squatch. Fans of wacky, campy horror movies will rejoice in this satirical tromp of a novella. One review on Amazon even states: "If you want something totally gory and wacky but with real life concerns at its core, this one’s for you!"

This Scooper asked Damien what his inspiration was for Shark-squatch and he had some amazing words to share about it plus why he thinks its an important story to read.

Scoop: "What inspired you to write Shark-Squatch?"

Damien: "It's a long story but I was joking with a friend about how a Sasquatch with a shark head would be the most bad ass masculine thing since the movie Predator. That guy turned out to be a total shithead. I thought of that convo and decided to make a book about the toxic masculinity powered, misogynistic, and stupid society. I made it futuristic and used Shark-Squatch as my hyper masculine appearing mascot sidekick like Jack Burton, who fought alongside the real hero, a clone to look like Sydney Sweeney (the subject of recent shitty behavior and ideals from men) to destroy that shit society. I think of the appearance and approach of the book and those characters as a Trojan horse. A feminist message disguised as a dude bro hetero awesome fest."

(The photo image to the right features some of the people who inspired Shark-Squatch!)

Because this book really puts a magnifying glass over the current toxicity in our society, I wanted to know what Damien's thoughts were on why he thinks it's an important read.

Scoop: "Why do you think Shark-Squatch is an important read?"

Damien: "I think Shark-Squatch is important because it's about something that's sadly a bit timely. We're seeing people losing their rights left and right just for existing as anything other than a straight, white Christian male. I always say that if you're not pissed off, you're not paying attention. I think Shark-Squatch is important because it's providing a laugh about how absolutely fucking ridiculous these people who back a fascist regime are. Do they truly think a world without Meghan Trainor, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Kacey Musgraves, or Jane Fonda would be a better place? I find myself inspired daily by women who refuse to play along to get along and the men who stand by them despite knowing full well they can skate by in life because of male privilege. I don't want to be an ally, I want to be like Shark-Squatch, helping all the Tillys of the world challenge society to be better."

Stories have power.

Shark-Squatch holds its power in a funny, engaging, and wacky way that head butts the flaws in society.

I highly recommend giving it a read.

The world is crazy right now and we should fully embrace the writers of the world as they create little breaks for our brains and our hearts.

Happy Reading,

Kirsten

@TheSpineofMotherhood