The quotas have been going up every year. Time was when most of us made a decent living by putting in a reasonable number of hours, you know? Guys like Lobo and Jack, they were table setters. And I was one of them. A little on the low side in terms of the numbers, but nothing to be ashamed of. And the work environment was supportive; it was comradely. It wasn't this cutthroat competition. But then they started bringing in these big beefy guys, guys like Harry, guys like Major. Sluggers who drove the quotas through the roof. Guys that made the rest of us have to run ourselves ragged trying to keep up. Some of these wolves are Type-A, driven, ambitious businessmen who want to get rich. And they do. They'll do their wolfing at, say, a rock concert, where they get twenty or thirty bodies a night. Those guys make a killing.

Day Shift Werewolf is the winner of the 28th edition of the annual International 3-Day Novel Contest, held every Labour Day weekend around the world. In this satire on the monotonous working lives of monsters, Warren is an unproductive, non-careerist werewolf who has been demoted to a highly undesirable work schedule: the day shift. Is it the end of his career, or a chance to scare up a new identity? This funny novel is about the ragtag underdogs of horror: a claustrophobic mummy, a distractable zombie, and other incompetent monsters who find new truths to life on the dark side.

The International 3-Day Novel Contest is an annual marathon that forces would-be authors to produce a masterwork of fiction in a mere 72 hours. Hundreds of writers attempt the challenge every Labour Day Weekend, fuelled by nothing but coffee, adrenaline and the desire for spontaneous literary nirvana. The contest has spawned twenty-three published novels since its birth in 1977?plus thousands of first drafts and great ideas. To learn more about the contest, visit 3daynovel.com.

Jan Underwood was born in Pennsylvania, has lived in Canada, Mexico and France and now lives with her daughter in Portland, Oregon. Day Shift Werewolf is her first novel.

Jan Underwood's profile page

• Winner, 3-Day Novel Contest

The humour is very subtle and giggle-to-yourself funny.
?Trashionista.com

Trashionista.com

First-time novelist Jan Underwood has written on eminently readable, often hilarious, book, and what's more, she did it in three days. Day Shift Werewolf was the winner of the 2005 International 3-Day Novel Contest and while it's a little short for a novel, you'd never know it was written in seventy-two hours.
?Broken Pencil

Broken Pencil

A thorough delight that will make you laugh out loud. Both adults and teens will find much to admire in this amazing work.
?Bay Area Reporter

Bay Area Reporter