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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...
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?
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 ^_^
(Artwork very kindly provided by