Beasts and Creature

<p>Margot has quit noise music painting and friends so she can smoke crack and space out with her cat Clarence in a rented room while working by day as a nursing home housekeeper. Margot just wants to be left alone but she gets sucked into the drama of her eccentric dealers and after witnessing a murder is pulled into a dysfunctional relationship with a charismatic and violent woman. Margot tries to break free and make a life for herself but as other players close in and dark secrets come to light she must choose between the killer she's grown to love and a life of authentic relationships and artistic fulfillment.<br><br>Set in the grimy pre-smartphone days of Bush era Cleveland Beasts and Creature could be called a mystic crime novel or a noise romance. Underground Rust Belt artists and enigmatic criminals run with Margot into darkness often clutching at ghosts sometimes slipping into radiance. <br><br>"Beset by whiny abusive exes and dueling crack dealers a disenfranchised but self-aware artist struggles to stay alive and achieve her dreams in this lyrical exciting tale. Bright gentle crack-addicted Margot is an utterly unique and compelling heroine to root for. Howland is an original and this book is a crooked beauty."<br><br>— Clemintine Guirado<br><br>Cover art and design by David Russell Stempowski</p>