A warm welcome to  author E.J. Russell joining us today to talk about new release “Howling on Hold”.

Casting

A couple of years ago, I was watching the Olympics when I got an email from Rachel, my editor at Riptide, with the subject line “you kinda need to write this.” The body of the email contained nothing but a link to a Tumblr post comparing “boring old werewolf instincts” with “cool new werewolf instincts.”

Here’s that Tumblr link:

http://riptidepublishing.tumblr.com/post/171018934148/thecaffeinebookwarrior-li-the-aries-goddess

If you’ve read any of my paranormal books, you know I dearly love taking an existing mythology and running with it, usually skewing it or skipping merrily off on some new tangent, so this was Plot Bunny Heaven for me.

While I’d included werewolves in some of my other Mythmatched books, they were always side characters: Alun’s ex-office manager, Vanessa, and his client, Jackson Hoffenberg in Cutie and the Beast; Josh and Spence, two of the members of Hunter’s Moon in Bad Boy’s Bard and Demon on the Down-Low. Consequently, I didn’t have a lot of pre-existing werewolf world-building to get in the way of inventing something new (and as ridiculous as possible).

For my other shifter characters, I’d pulled characteristics from their animal personas—Ted’s increased appetite leading up to “hibernation season”; Rusty’s career as a construction engineer even though he couldn’t shift into his beaver form; Hamish’s tendency to bounce. I decided to give my new-adult werewolves dog traits in addition to overarching wolf societal structure. In fact, I cast each of the guys as a particular dog breed (as well as finding an actor to give me a way to cheat when writing descriptions!).

Here are the guys from Howling Residence Seven (aka, the Doghouse):

Chase Denney, RA, Lane pack

Dog breed: Border collie (because he has to be able to herd the Doghouse guys)

Actor avatar: Wyatt Nash

Tanner Araya, third year resident, Wallowa pack

Dog breed: Greyhound (he’s nervy and inclined to run)

Actor avatar: Tyler Posey

Jordan Tate, first year resident, Jackson pack

Dog breed: Adolescent golden retriever puppy (the world is so exciting but adulting is so hard and—squirrel!)

Actor avatar: Tom Holland (especially as Spiderman in the last Avenger films)

Gage Kozlov, second year resident, Lincoln pack

Dog breed: Water spaniel (more control than Jordan, but still splats occasionally; the only coastal wolf in the house)

Actor avatar: Dylan O’Brien as a surfer dude

Dakota Jefferson, third year resident, Deschutes pack

Dog breed: St. Bernard (settling into his his responsibility; his pack runs a ski resort in Bend)

Actor avatar: Corbin Bleu

Hector Gonzales, second year resident, Umatilla pack

Dog breed: Newfoundland (not interested in speed; really doesn’t get the five-second rule)

Actor avatar: Young Michael Peña

Like the list in the Tumblr post suggests, the Doghouse gang likes to hang out as a pack, have that love/hate thing going with water (despite Gage trying to convince them that the ocean is awesome and seafood rocks), and have, shall we say, complicated relationships with toys and food!

About Howling on Hold

Sometimes it’s harder to teach a young dog new tricks.

That’s why werewolves embark on a Howling: a three-year rite of passage in which they’re sent to a group residence to wrestle with their wolfy instincts and assimilate into the Wider World. But Tanner Araya’s Howling is almost over, and he could be called back to his remote pack at any moment. His twenty-first birthday might be his last chance to act on his strongest instinct and finally kiss Chase Denney.

Chase is RA at the Howling residence affectionately dubbed “the Doghouse,” and he takes his job seriously. So seriously that when he realized he was developing feelings for a resident, he forced himself to keep Tanner at a distance. But now that Tanner’s twenty-one, he’s not Chase’s charge any longer. They could be friends or—if Chase is lucky—something more. At least until they both return to their home packs for good, as tradition demands.

It would take a miracle for them to get together—especially when the other Doghouse werewolves insist on “helping.”

Warning: Many Frisbees are harmed in this story, forgiveness is not always easier than permission, and the five-second rule does not apply.

Now available from Riptide Publishing!

AMAZON

 

About the Mythmatched Universe

Wait . . . Is that . . . No, it couldn’t be. Could it? A fae at the florist? A demon at the deli? A werewolf at the Y?

Humans will never know. They can’t know, or the lives of every supernatural creature on this world—or under it—would be at risk.

So the supes of every nation, culture, and pantheon joined together in uneasy alliance, vowing to keep their society secret in order to survive among humans.

But when you spend every moment hiding your true nature, how can you ever find true love?

Check out the Mythmatched universe today!

About E.J. Russell

E.J. Russell holds a BA and an MFA in theater, so naturally she’s spent the last three decades as a financial manager, database designer, and business-intelligence consultant. After her twin sons left for college and she no longer spent half her waking hours ferrying them to dance class, she returned to her childhood love of writing fiction. Now she wonders why she ever thought an empty nest meant leisure.

E.J. lives in rural Oregon with her curmudgeonly husband, the only man on the planet who cares less about sports than she does. She enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole.

Connect with E.J.:

Website: ejrussell.com

Blog: ejrussell.com/bloggery/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/E.J.Russell.author

Twitter: twitter.com/ej_russell

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ejrussell/

To celebrate this release, one lucky person will win a $25 gift card to Riptide. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 17, 2020. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. For more chances to enter, follow the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!