ELLIE HORN
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Welcome to the wild child

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It has been said that to write a great story, you must first create a great villain. An evil, twisted, yet compelling villain will reveal both the strengths and the weaknesses of your central characters. Without a good villain, you cannot have a hero.

What if the potential for evil exists not only within another person but within oneself? What if we had to fight every moment of every day just to stay human?

We each have a hidden wild child. The scientists among us will say it is our primitive animal brain, waiting to leap to our defense if we are threatened. But in many respects, it is much more complex. Those animal instincts become wound up with our higher human brain and spit out something both marvelous and dangerous at the same time.

I interpret this as a link to our past, when we connected with our world instinctively, to blend effortlessly with the natural order. Before we took a step away and became something other. If we learn to listen to our wild child and guide it with our higher brain, we will be in tune with our world.

​This is much easier to say than to do.

Because the wild child is, indeed, wild and surges at unexpected times—when we are upset, or angry. Whenever life throws us a curveball. Suddenly we find ourselves reacting in unexpected ways, on pure instinct. Ruled by the animal within, instead of by cool, rational, human intellect.

Werewolves are the ultimate expression of the wild child. They surface from within, complete with teeth and claws and attitude. Imagine if every time you lost your temper, your inner wolf threatened to emerge. It would make for some interesting arguments.

​As an author, I am fascinated with the concept of the wild child. I push my characters to the fullest expression of it, be it the Berserker that emerges from Michael in my Gryphon Saga series, or the wulves that lurk throughout the pages of Nightshifter.  They all struggle to retain their humanity, and in the process, discover what it truly is to be human.
​So, join me. Embrace your inner wild child.
And get ready to howl.
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Do Werewolves Have Knees?

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The answer is—Yes! Don’t be thrown by appearances. Werewolves have all the same joints we do, and in the same order, just not quite in the same place. Take a look . . .

The werewolves in the Wulfleng series are not wolves. They are their own unique creature, much larger than wolves, and more like a cross between a wolf, a lion, and a bear. I envisioned what a creature that started out life as a man would likely look like—broad, powerful shoulders and arms, narrow pelvis with muscular thighs, heavy jaw, and wide skull. My wulves can do what wolves cannot—they can swing through trees like the great apes, courtesy of their human heritage.

Transforming to a werewolf would not be an easy process. Bones would not have to break, but they would have to shorten, lengthen, and change position. Humans are uniquely adapted to walking upright. The pelvis and shoulder blades would have to shift in order to accommodate a four-legged stance.

Doesn’t sound comfortable, but nothing comes without a price. Especially turning into a wulf.

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  • There are references to men changing into wolves in Ancient Greek literature and mythology.
  • The werewolf myth began in Europe in the 14th century.
  • Many indigenous cultures also have shapeshifter mythology.
  • Early serial killers (circa 1500’s) were considered by some to be werewolves.
  • Werewolvery (there’s a mouthful) was a common accusation in witch trials.
  •  Ancient European werewolves could apparently be spotted in their human skins by certain characteristics: eyebrows that met over the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low-set ears, and a swinging stride.
  • Some werewolves were said to become weak, debilitated, and depressed when in their human form.
  • Still others appeared as old women with poisonous claws whose gaze could paralyze cattle and children.
  • There are many ways to become a werewolf: from the more familiar bite, to donning a wolfskin belt, rubbing your body with a magic salve, or drinking rainwater out of a werewolf footprint or from an enchanted stream. My personal favorite was becoming a werewolf by drinking a specially brewed beer while chanting. 

Meet the Wulves of NIGHT SHIFTER

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