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As the title may imply, this week's Writerly Wednesday is all about DARK HUNT. We'll get to the meat of the post shortly, but first, remember the fabulous prizes I've been talking about? The t-shirts, ebooks, postcards, tarot readings, and other exciting things you can win by following the blog tour and commenting on my posts? Well, we've added another one to the mix.

Want to read DARK HUNT but haven't read SILVER KISS yet? Don't worry! Everyone who comments on one of the blog tour posts will receive a Smashwords voucher to download SILVER KISS for free.

For FREE.

So you can read the book that's been called "compelling" and "gritty," and see what lead Ayla and Shannon to Paris for DARK HUNT. Now, speaking of Paris...


"France has a long, dark history with wolves, you know? People do not forget." - Clemence, DARK HUNT.

Once I decided I was going to set book two of the Urban Wolf series in Paris, I knew I wanted to have Ayla and Shannon explore a little of French history. Specifically its werewolf history. In the Middle Ages, when paranoia about witchcraft ran rampant over Europe, France experienced more than its fare share of werewolf hysteria. In 1603 Jean Grenier terrorised St Sever, Gascony, killing many young children. Villagers blamed wolves. Marguerite Poirier, a thirteen-year-old who survived Grenier's savage attack described a wolf-like beast as her assailant. Grenier himself, when caught, boasted of taking a wolf's shape to hunt and eat young children.

How could I not weave that kind of history into my book?

"Stupid thing was, back then wolves were still in hiding," I complained, staring at Grenier's beastly face. "Grenier was probably just a random madman, but because of people like him, we get lumbered with the child-eating reputation." - Ayla, DARK HUNT.

After he was caught and arrested, Grenier confessed to every killing and claimed to be a werewolf. In Ayla's world, that's a very real possibility. In the Urban Wolf universe, werewolves have only been living out in the open since World War I, so every tale of witchcraft, vampirism, and werewolfism...could well be true.

In 1572, Gilles Garnier stole children from the French town of Dole to feed his new wife. Authorities issued an edict encouraging people to find and kill the werewolf. When he was caught, Gilles claimed he used a magic ointment to take on wolf-shape. He was found guilty of witchcraft and lycanthropy and burned at the stake.

Going further back, there are numerous French folk tales and legends revolving around werewolves, from the Werewolf of Auvergne to the Wolves of Paris. In the Urban Wolf world, these might not be legends. They might be true. And if werewolves are real, who knows what else is lurking in the dark? You'll have to read DARK HUNT to find out ^_^

"Some lupine historians thought that once there'd been all kinds of supernatural creatures in the world, not just wolves. Fairies, vampires, other species of shifters...and all wiped out in the Middle Ages." - Ayla, DARK HUNT


(Artwork very kindly provided by [livejournal.com profile] dwg. And if you like this, you'll love the DARK HUNT postcards we have!)

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Dirty Little Whirlwind

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