C.M. West is the pseudonym for co-authors Carol Elkovich and Mark Butler.

From addicts to influencers, the art world takes all kinds— and everyone has something they’d kill for.

Tending toward neo-noir, our dark-hearted stories are set in the eccentric subcultures of the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to our writing habit, we are both visual artists. We’re racking up published short stories featuring the intrepid Tru James, an artist who turns his eye for detail to crime solving and discovers his talent for trouble. We’re searching for the right fit in an agent toward publishing our debut novel.