Happy Howloween! #Werewolf Lore & Romance #PNR

For your Happy Howloween reading pleasure, I’ve delved into my research notes for a little werewolf lore I discovered while writing my paranormal romance, Ilona’s Wolf.

When I was a kid, werewolves were villains of horror movies, not heroes in romance novels, so why the change? I wonder if it has something to do with restoring wolves to wild areas, like Yellowstone Park, and the resulting awareness of these beautiful, magnificent animals.

Grey Wolf by birch tree

Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) By Birch Tree, Copyright: gkuchera

Yes, they are predators, but they have proven immensely useful in controlling the deer population and in some areas the ecosystem has benefited from the re-introduction of the wolves.

But back in the Middle Ages and earlier, people were terrified of wolves and of the idea that some humans could transform themselves into wolves and attack. Hence, the popularity of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, inspiration for Ilona’s Wolf. Wolves were hunted relentlessly in Europe and the British Isles. Some of the ancient beliefs are werewolves are…

Lycanthropy is the term for transforming from man to wolf and it dates back to Roman times, probably no surprise since the brothers who supposedly founded Rome, Romulus and Remus, were said to have been suckled by a she-wolf, a lupa, as babes.

During the Middle Ages, people believed that witches practiced lycanthropy. Alternately, witches were charges with riding werwolves during their rituals, and thus were werewolves associated with magic, a fact I took advantage of in Ilona’s Wolf.

We’ve all heard of the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries, but did you know there were also werewolf hunts in the same time period? In France, there were over 30,000 cases of supposed werewolves. Some were executed; others confined due to insanity. For more information and possible real causes of werewolf-like symptoms, see http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/werewolf5.htm.

Werewolf means “man-wolf” though there are varying theories of the evolution of the term. In Old English, the word wer(e) meant man and not in the general, human sense. In Norse, the term varg had two meanings: a wolf or a godless man. Each country had a different term. In France, werewolves are loup-garou; in Spanish hombre lobo; and in Italy lupo mannaro. And there are many others.

In the Middle Ages, people believed that the werewolves hair grew inward and the skin reversed during transformation. Talk about itching under the skin! I don’t think I’d like that.

Werewolves are known to have superior strength, nocturnal vision and sense of smell, just like real canines. In addition, thanks to the transformations undergone, they are immune from aging, and thus nearly immortal, except when in their more vulnerable human form. My hero, Sir Rolf, usually shifts into wolf form when danger threatens.

The notion that werewolves transform at the full moon is attributed to medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury, and is now an almost immutable fact of werewolf lore. I chose to ignore it for my book in favor of letting my hero shift at will. (Much more useful, plot-wise.)

Ilona's WolfBlurb for Ilona’s Wolf:

Imagine a world filled with magic, a tormented knight, a damsel in distress, an evil sorcerer…

While picking herbs in the woods, Princess Ilona is rescued from a woodsman by a wolf. When the creature licks her wounds, it is suddenly transformed into a man. A very handsome, very naked man who makes passionate love to her in a glade.

Cursed by an evil wizard, Rolf was trapped in wolf form until he tasted the blood of a royal. Now he must escort the princess on a hazardous journey back to the castle to stop an ill-fated wedding.

Passion flares between them, but both know there is no future for Ilona and her werewolf. Or is there? In a world where magic and passion combine, anything may be possible.

Available for only 99 cents from: Amazon Kindle Store, BN/Nook, iBooks and Smashwords.

Click here and scroll down to read an excerpt.

Happy Howloween!

Lyndi

Fall #RomanticTravel in Romania with Author Carmen Stefanescu

Author Carmen Stefanescu is here to share Fall #RomanticTravel in her home country of Romania, and tell us about her latest release Till Life Do Us Part.

Fall Romantic Travel

Copyright:jurajkovac; Licensed from depositphotos.com

Fall #Romantic Travel

It’s true that Romania, my country,  is the homeland of Count Dracula, the infamous vampire, but when you visit the country in autumn you are not only going to enjoy its imagery of medieval castles but also spectacular views of autumn’s finest foliage.

You can enjoy romantic walks in leafy parks dusted with crunchy auburn, red and gold leaves.gardensOr visit the rural areas for a rustic experience and fill your lungs with the strong, fresh air in the mountains. It’s also hard not to feel starry-eyed among the rolling hills and fragrant vines of wine regions.

And what place can be more suitable for rekindling the sparks of love than a visit at The Gate of the Kiss that features a kiss motif on the gate pillars?
Gate of the KissTill Life Do Us Part Blurb

Till Life Do us part coverBarbara Heyer can hear voices of dead people. They whisper of their deaths, seek comfort for those left behind, and occasionally even warn her about future events. But when Barbara’s brother, Colin, is accused of murder, it will take more than her gift to prove his innocence.

Becoming smitten with the handsome investigator, Detective Patrick Fischer, is a serious complication given his assignment to her brother’s case. Barbara senses there is something far deeper—and perhaps much older—than the surface attraction between them. Could that be why she’s visited by a mysterious woman named Emma in her dreams? Could past life regression tie all the seemingly unconnected events together?

Barbara and Patrick must overcome heartache to find the truth to save Colin, and perhaps themselves.

Excerpt:

Patrick poured the bubbly liquid into the glasses. He offered one to Barbara and raised his.

“To the undercover, paranormal investigator, Barbara.” He smiled and touched his glass to hers, looking straight into her eyes.

“To you, too, Patrick, Detective Fischer. If  it hadn’t been for your determination to find out the truth, many families wouldn’t have had the small consolation to see their relatives’ murderers behind bars.” She took a sip of the champagne.

“There’s something else I’d like to tell you,” Patrick said. He cleared his throat and took one of her hands in his. “It’s something that I wanted to tell you… to ask you for a while, but it never seemed the right moment.”

She heard the tremor in his voice and was sure what was to come. Yet, she didn’t want to make it easier for him. She saw it in his eyes, felt it in the touch of his hands. He was in love with her as she was with him.

“So, as I was saying… I want to ask you if—”

The telephone rang again, cutting like a steel blade through the thick emotional atmosphere surrounding them.

“Oh, not again.” Barbara rolled her eyes upward and headed to the bloody thing. She picked up the receiver and said in a voice that sounded a bit irritated, “Yes. What? Who? Yes, one moment, please.” She turned to Patrick, “It’s for you. An emergency, it seems.”

Patrick grabbed the phone, “Yes, Fisher here. What? When? I’m on my way,” he said and put down the receiver.

“I’m sorry, Barbara. There’s an emergency, indeed. Bruce has been injured. He’s in the hospital right now.”

“Oh, goodness. Is it bad?”

“I’ve no idea. They didn’t say. I’m going there. Sorry I spoiled the evening.”

“No need for apology, Patrick,” Barbara replied hiding her disappointment. “Duty comes first in your job, I know.”

“I’ll call you. Soon. There was something important I wanted to tell… to ask you. Goodnight, Barbara,” he said and kissed her hand affectionately. He hurried outside.

Barbara stood in the middle of the room. It looked empty and cold without him. She took the bottle of champagne, pushed the cork back into it, then went to the kitchen and put it in the fridge.

Moments later, she returned to the living room. With a reflexive gesture she picked up the packet of cigarettes Patrick had forgotten on the table. She weighed them in her hand for a moment and smiling, opened a drawer of the bookshelf and placed the cigarettes inside. She took her book from the bookshelf and sat on the couch, enveloped by the faint smell of aftershave left behind by Patrick.

Jack stretched, then came to Barbara and curled up in her lap.

“Yes, Jack. It is like that. It’s always been like that. Just you and me.” She sighed and opened the book. She failed to notice a faint light hovering outside the window.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://goo.gl/H0dqkb
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/till-life-do-us-part-carmen-stefanescu/1123896837

Author Bio:

Carmen Stefanescu resides in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble – the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.

High school teacher of English and German in her native country, and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world that of the books.

Several of her poems were successfully published in a collection of Contemporary English Poems, Muse Whispers vol.1 and Muse Whispers vol.2 by Midnight Edition Publication, in 2001 and 2002.

Her first novel, Shadows of the Past, was released in 2012 by Wild Child Publishing, USA.

Carmen joined the volunteer staff at Marketing For Romance Writers Author blog and is the coordinator of #Thursday13 posts.

Other books by Carmen Stefanescu:

Shadows of the Past – paranormal/light romance/light historical/light mystery
https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-of-the-Past-ebook/dp/B00AK2D9I8/