Humans, werewolves, or, apparently, vampire, it doesn’t matter; get more than three of them together and the jockeying for power begins.
The devout belief that the world is explainable is both a terrible vulnerability and a stout shield.
The best way for me to protect you is to encourage you to be able to protect yourself.
When I put magic into a book – whether it’s a wizard or a crusty old werewolf – I’m asking a reader to swallow a huge leap that is counter to everything he or she knows. An extra big helping of reality makes that leap go down a lot easier.
The cool thing about writing is that there is really never a typical day. Sometimes I get a rhythm going and head off to work every morning and come home at night. Sometimes I’ll write for two days straight and then be utterly blank for the next two.
Read good books. Read bad books – and figure out why you don’t like them. Then don’t do it when you write. If you are a science fiction or fantasy writer, going to conventions and attending panels is very useful.
I’ve been a storyteller all my life. When I was in high school, I used to amuse myself by driving through the woods at night and see how long it would be before I scared the pants off my friends – and if I could do it before I scared myself.
For the traditional fantasies, a lot more of my research comes from reading rather than doing. I like my worlds to feel real, so I do a lot of world building research.
When I write, I get glimpses into future novels.
My mother was a children’s librarian. I remember when traditional stories were revised for modern audiences until they bore only a nodding acquaintance with the originals, but were released as ‘authentic Indian stories’ when they were, in fact, nothing of the kind.
Sometimes broken people stay broken.
New rules. If you are smart enough to live, you won’t hit Charles’s mate in front of his father.
The conflict between the creatures of Native Lore and the immigration of the European preternatural hosts is hinted at in ‘Blood Bound’ and reflects the conflicts between the human immigrants and the Indian people who were already here.
Charles was most comfortable by himself or, if that wasn’t possible, with his pack in the wild. Talking for hours in a crowded auditorium was not on any list of things he enjoyed – or things he was good at. At least no one had died. Yet.
You don’t have the courage of a half-bred mongrel.
Most of the pack would rather have Darryl mad at them than Auriele.
Don’t try threatening an Alpha. They don’t like it.
If it looks like a hallway, feels like a hallway, and acts like a hallway – is it important to figure out that it isn’t a hallway?
Pack is for comfort when you hurt, I thought, putting my head back down. And for the first time in a long time, maybe the first time ever, I appreciated being a part of one.
I’m a coyote shapeshifter playing in a world of werewolves and vampires – outmatched is n understatement.