The Return of the Menopausal Werewolves.
The Wolf’s Point werewolf pack, born from the magic that calls small groups of middle-aged women to embrace their inner and outer wolves, has been protecting the town for generations.
Now Becca Thornton and the Pack have their hands (and paws) full of all the trouble they can handle. Plus a bit extra. Pack member Erin Adams just found a dead body in the trunk of her car and confessed to murder. But no one’s sure who the victim is and Erin can’t remember what happened. Did Erin fall off the wagon and murder a former foe? She doesn’t trust herself and Becca’s beginning to have her doubts.
If that wasn’t enough, Becca’s ex-husband sold their old house and their new neighbors are clearly up to something. Can the Pack solve the mystery and clear Erin’s name before the next full moon? Or do the town’s new residents have other plans?
About the Series:
Welcome to the town of Wolf’s Point where menopause can kick off with a few additional changes, like bonus lycanthropy. Join Pack members Becca Thornton, Erin Adams and their friends as they fend off werewolf hunters and sundry folks of ill intent while preserving the town for the coming generations. And contend with coming out at midlife, recovery, transitioning, falling in love, making friends and building community.
Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that affect your writing?
Sadly, part-time. Because I’m juggling writing around my day jobs, teaching, publishing and a tiny semblance of a social life, I write longer things more slowly than I probably would if I was juggling less. I write more short fiction when I’m really crunched on time and energy. At the same time, I’m also getting more practice writing novels (Blood Moon is my third) so I think I’ll get better on time and energy budgeting going forward. Maybe.
Are you a plotter or a pantster?
Oh, I’m definitely a pantser! That said, I do a fair amount of thinking and planning in between scenes, but it is all in my head. I’ve tried doing various kinds of outlines and I generally end up organizing myself out of a project. However, my current work in progress is being written chapter by chapter for my Patreon and there are multiple characters and multiple POVs and it’s got a pretty elaborate plot, so this may be the thing that breaks me and obliges me to pull together a high level outline. That will no doubt be character-building for the author, if not the work. But seriously, I do need to get better at this so I’m hoping to learn. I’ll never be the “every detail mapped out ahead of time” kind of writer though.
What secondary character would you like to explore more? Tell me about him or her.
I introduced a transwoman to my werewolf pack in this book and I’m looking forward to getting to know her better! She was in the first book in her previous incarnation, she’s part of a bi poly family and she’s already a hero, which is pretty cool for a secondary character. I’m also intrigued by the local sheriff’s deputy, Lizzie Blackhawk, who isn’t part of the Pack but is really hoping to be. Lizzie is Native American of mixed tribal ancestry, a single mom and very engaged in her roles in law enforcement as well as supporting her family members who are werewolves. I think Lizzie is due for her own adventures in an upcoming book.
We know what you like to write, but what do you like to read in your free time, and why?
I read fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as mysteries and nonfiction. I don’t read a ton of romance, but do read some. And I read historical fiction as well. I read for relaxation as well as to learn from other writers and how they tell their stories. I think that reading is an essential part of being a writer and I think that we learn from the things other writers do well, as well as their mistakes. I also write in all of these genres so the multiple genre reading schedule keeps me on my proverbial toes.
What fantasy realm would you choose to live in and why?
Probably one of the library-based fantasy novels, like the Thursday Next books. I love the idea of fiction being completely interactive and being able to roam from book to book and meet the characters. Less chance of growing bored or finding a story going stale, particularly if I was going to live in it. Visiting is another matter, of course.
What’s your drink of choice?
Tea! All of the tea! I’m a big Jane Austen fan and got to be a fan of afternoon tea when we went to the U.K. I love the ritual of it and can always be persuaded to take a break and enjoy some. One of my good friends runs her own tea company (Bingley’s Teas) and I drink a lot of her blends, as well as those from several tea companies. I have some glorious Goth teacups for those times when I can savor an entire pot of loose-leaf tea at a time. My personal favorites are black, green and herbal teas with a fruity or flowery scent and flavor, but I also like spicy and chocolate teas. At the moment, we’re exploring the possibility of getting a Queen of Swords Press tea blend, so do stay tuned if you’re a tea person.
Thank you so much for hosting me!
Catherine is giving away a $20 Queen of Swords Press gift card with this tour:
But now the werewolf hunters were gone, expelled from the valley by forces magical and mundane, so everyone’s life could go back to normal. Whatever that was.
Erin Adams looked out at the mountains and tried not to think about what was in the trunk of her car. At least the mountains around Wolf’s Point were still as beautiful as ever. She wondered if she’d ever get the chance to run through them again, feel the wind in her fur, the ground flying by under her paws. The Pack at her side.
That thought was enough to make her look back at her car. Erin rubbed her aching forehead with one hand and closed her eyes. This was, without question, the worst thing she’d ever done. Even if she couldn’t remember doing it.
But maybe there was still time to call Shelly and get her help to figure a way out of this mess that she’d blundered into. That was what Pack Alphas did, or so Shelly kept reminding her. But that might make Shelly an accessory if they got caught. Or rather, when she got caught. Erin closed her eyes for an instant; lying was never a thing she’d been good at or wanted to get good at. Anyone she called would almost certainly go down with her.
That thought weighed her down like a rock. The Pack couldn’t afford to be without its Alpha so soon after they got her back, not to mention what it would do to Pete and the kids. There was no way that she could drag Shelly into this.
Her thoughts turned to Becca, waded through a jumbled mess of emotions and came back with a single realization: they’d suspect her first. Becca was her friend, her housemate. Her…something they still hadn’t defined, but which felt more like girlfriend every day. Her stomach did a slow, leisurely flip when she thought about that and she almost smiled. But this wasn’t the time to think about Becca. She couldn’t afford to be distracted, to be vulnerable. Not now.
Maybe there was another solution, a way to hide what had happened. But then what? She’d still know and she’d have to carry the burden of what she’d done, alone. And she knew where that road led. Falling off the wagon to cope with her guilt wasn’t an option, either.
Besides, if she ditched the body out here and it was found, the regular wolves would certainly get blamed for it. The new governor was already pushing for a wolf hunting season and that would put things right over the edge. She didn’t want that on her conscience either; the wild wolves were kin as much as they were cover for the Pack and important for the local ecology.
Erin ran her fingers through her short-cropped brown hair, wondering if there was anyone else she could turn to. But she couldn’t think of any other Pack member who’d be able to do anything about this situation, not more than she could do herself, anyway. It certainly wasn’t the sort of thing that her AA sponsor had signed up for, or any of her friends, for that matter. So she was on her own. There was nothing for it but to lie in the bed she’d made for herself.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and selected a contact. “Hi. It’s Erin. I’ve done something…I need…can you come up to Spruce Point? Yes, it’s important. I want you to see it before Sheriff Henderson does.”
She clicked the phone off and glanced toward the road. Nothing to do now but wait.
In addition, she writes erotica and erotic romance as Emily L. Byrne, including the novel Medusa’s Touch and the short story collections Desire and Knife’s Edge. She is also the publisher at Queen of Swords Press, a genre fiction publisher specializing in fiction from out of this world and she teaches writing and editing workshops at the Rambo Academy, Broad Universe and other venues.
Author Website: https://www.catherinelundoff.net
Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/Clundoff/
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Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/670244.Catherine_Lundoff
Author Liminal Fiction (LimFic.com): https://www.limfic.com/mbm-book-author/catherine-lundoff/
