Werewolf Theme Songs
In the past when I’ve heard other authors talk about playlists and theme songs for their books or characters, it didn’t make much sense to me. My brain works differently from some people’s, and I couldn’t quite wrap my head around having a specific song or playlist for a book. Which was a bit odd given how many of my books and stories were inspired by songs. My brain apparently thought it was fine for a song to have a book, but not the other way around. Did I mention my brain works differently?
This time around, though, I actually have connected songs to my books. It started because one song I’d been listening to sounded like a perfect fit for the book I was plotting at the time, and then I decided all of the couples in my books, both male/male and hetero, needed their own theme songs. So I sat down to figure out which songs fit which characters.
In the Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat series, which was previously published, books one through three—including Veggie Burgers to Go—are narrated by Kyle Slidell, the vegan werewolf. By reader and editor request, I wrote books four and five as narrated by Tobias Rogan, Kyle’s mate and the Alpha of Boston North Pack. (At least at first…but spoilers.) Rather than coming up with one theme song per book or only one song for the entire series, I chose a song for Kyle and one for Tobias.
Kyle can be a very serious person when necessary, but he also has a warped sense of humor and is one of the snarkiest characters I’ve ever written. While he does think things through sometimes, he’s inclined to act on impulse. And there are times when he appears to be acting on impulse because he’s already thought it through so quickly no one noticed. He understands Tobias’s reluctance to accept that they’re mates; both of them are men, and in that universe, a male Alpha simply cannot have a male mate.
For that matter, Alphas often refuse to acknowledge their mates regardless of gender. An Alpha is always under threat; their Beta might want to take control of the pack, and there are protocols in place to remove an Alpha—permanently—if other high-ranked wolves determine him too weak to hold the rank. Love can be seen as weakness, and even the Alphas who aren’t concerned about that don’t want to put their mates at risk.
But Kyle knows what he wants, and that’s Tobias. And he persuades Tobias to give it a shot despite all the reasons not to. Because of Kyle’s personality and his determination to nudge Tobias past his fears, the song “Geronimo,” by Sheppard, seemed like a perfect fit. https://youtu.be/UL_EXAyGCkw
Tobias, on the other hand, has always been the type to consider every possible angle of a situation before making any decisions. He’s serious and contemplative, and he has taken all the steps available to him to overcome trauma and tame his temper. He’s an excellent leader, but he tends to put aside his own wants and needs in favor of his pack. He exists, but until Kyle comes along, he doesn’t really live.
He’s also a reluctant leader. He was changed to werewolf at age fifteen, in violation of werewolf law prohibiting changing anyone underage, and was pushed into challenging the
previous Alpha of Boston North, due to that Alpha’s descent into senility, at only seventeen. Boston North Pack is the smallest pack in the United States, and Tobias is completely content to remain as that pack’s Alpha so that he can live a quiet life among the other wolves who have become his friends. At the same time, though, he knows that at some point in the future, he will be called on to rise further in werewolf hierarchy for the sake of protecting his friends and the werewolf world as a whole, and he both dreads and looks forward to that day.
Because of Tobias’s personality and the way he’s conducted his life until Kyle enters it, his theme song is “Stay Alive,” by Jose Gonzalez. https://youtu.be/NucJk8TxyRg
If you’re an author, do you choose theme songs for your books or characters? As a reader, do you have songs in mind when you read certain books? Please share in the comments!
A member of Boston North Pack is attacked by humans who say they were hired by a shifter. The same night, Melia, the wolf who changed Kyle Slidell, returns to Boston. The pack suspects Melia of arranging the attack, but Kyle believes someone else is behind it. He just doesn’t know who.
The following day, at the regional Alpha gathering in Pennsylvania, Kyle finds his answer. Saul Hughes, another Alpha, has a long-standing grudge against Tobias, Boston North’s Alpha and Kyle’s mate. Believing Tobias and Chal Torres, the other Boston-area Alpha, are both too weak to rule packs, Saul wants to take control of Boston North and City Pack. But no one suspects how far he’ll go to get it.
Warnings: References to sexual assault; on-page gun violence
About the Series
When Kyle Slidell moved to Boston, MA for work, he didn’t expect to develop a Massachusetts-sized crush on his neighbor, Tobias Rogan. After watching Tobias with occasional hellos for a few months, Kyle is thrilled to learn that Tobias is into him, too.
But Tobias isn’t what he seems, and neither are most of the rest of Kyle’s neighbors. Kyle finds this out too late, when one of the neighbors turns out to be a rogue werewolf who attacks Kyle. And it turns out Kyle’s other neighbors are also werewolves, Tobias is their Alpha–and now Kyle is a werewolf too, and Tobias’s mate! But, being as stubborn as he is, even in wolf form vegan Kyle refuses to eat meat.
The werewolf world is not a calm place, as Kyle learns. Some local wolves have a grudge against Tobias. And Tobias has attracted attention beyond the Boston limits from those who want to make sure he never poses a threat to them. Together, Kyle and Tobias build a life together while fighting to protect their pack and each other.
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I showered first, hurrying down the hall and back with one of the extra-large towels I’d found in the closet in our room wrapped around my waist. While Tobias was out of the room, I sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window. I wasn’t sure what to wear on the first official day of Alpha-Con, so I wanted to see what he put on first.
By the time he returned from his shower, clad in a towel similar to mine, the noise in the hallway had died to nothing. “I think everyone else has gone downstairs,” he said. “Why are you still in a towel?”
“I’m waiting for my Alpha to order me into some clothes,” I replied.
He rolled his eyes and dressed in khaki slacks and a green button-down shirt I didn’t remember ever seeing him wear. He usually chose jeans and T-shirts. Or the denim cut-offs he’d worn most of the summer. I’d brought a royal blue shirt and grey slacks I generally
wore to work. Taking Tobias’s lead, I put those on and we went out to the hall.
Only Suzannah hadn’t gone downstairs yet. She stood outside our room, arms folded, looking like she was close to tears. “Did something happen?” Tobias asked her.
“The Alpha of the Erie Pack happened.” She didn’t sound close to tears. She sounded pissed. “Homophobic piece of shit that he is. He stood here lecturing the pack members he brought with him about why they should avoid you two. I’d rather not even say the rest of the crap he spewed. Then he pretended he hadn’t noticed me standing here and asked what it was like being in a pack ruled by the weakest Alpha in North America.”
Tobias rested his hand on her shoulder. “Let it go, Suz,” he said quietly. Suzannah took a deep breath. “We can’t afford to be in conflict with anyone else here. You understand that, don’t you?”
“I understand.” Suzannah spoke in a monotone. “I don’t have to like him, though.”
“No, you don’t,” Tobias agreed. “Just avoid him as much as you can.”
His hand shook slightly when he took it off Suzannah’s shoulder. He was at least as pissed as she had been, which explained the amped-up compulsion. He would hide it better, of course; that was what alphas did. They didn’t display any sign of emotion if they could help it. I would have to persuade him to talk about it later on, when we had some time alone. Otherwise he would hold it in and explode at a time when it might not be warranted.
The three of us went down the front staircase. The closer we went to the first floor, the louder the shifter hubbub became. I wasn’t sure how many packs were in the northeast, but from the sound of it there had to be close to a hundred shifters gathered in the dining room and parlor. And kitchen, we discovered when we reached the first floor.
Basically, people were everywhere. Zane stood in the hallway at the foot of the stairs, acting as a traffic director, though I would have thought he’d have assigned that job to his assistants. “Good morning,” he said with a broad smile. “You three are the last down. We have a buffet set out on the kitchen island. Take what you like, eat where you like, and then we’ll all go downstairs.”
“We’re meeting in the basement?” Suzannah shuddered. Since she’d been kidnapped by Art, she could barely tolerate places without windows.
“The house is built into a hill,” Zane replied. “A slight one, but enough to allow the rear of the basement to open into the back yard. There are plenty of windows in the room where we’ll be meeting. It’s just the best room for meetings, since it’s large and soundproofed. Noise from outside or elsewhere in the house won’t distract or interrupt us. Don’t worry, it isn’t like a typical basement room. You aren’t the only wolf who becomes slightly claustrophobic, Suzannah.”
Her eyes widened. She obviously hadn’t expected the Arkhon to know that much about her. Neither had I, and I suspected even Tobias was surprised.
Then again, the Alpha of a pack often knew what his pack was thinking and feeling. It was part of the magic that made him Alpha. Given that, it made sense that the Arkhon would have that power with all wolves under his rule.
For Zane, that would be an awful lot of wolves. I couldn’t imagine being responsible for so many and having all their thoughts rolling around my brain. I struggled sometimes just with the mate bond Tobias and I shared.
Zane winked. “Arkhons know everything. Go have your breakfast, you three. I’ll see you downstairs. Tobias, your pack’s status is first on the agenda.”
“What about my mate?” Tobias tensed as he asked. I didn’t know whether anyone noticed except me.
“We will address that.” Zane’s attempt to avoid answering was paper-thin. “I’m not certain when yet. Probably toward the end of the day.”
Right. That way, when all the homophobes flip out, it’ll be easier to contain them.
Karenna is a polyamorous, nonbinary human who splits time between the home she shares with her husband and the one she shares with her committed partner. She also has two adult children and a bonus son, three grandchildren, and two and a half cats. (Half in terms of time the cat lives with her, not in terms of the cat itself…)
Find out more about Karenna online at http://www.karennacolcroft.com or https://www.facebook.com/KarennaColcroft. You can also sign up to receive a free short story, and be added to Karenna’s mailing list, at https://karennacolcroft.com/get-your-free-short-story/.
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