Karen Nutt: Creating a Were-wolf Legend~
That's so up my alley. Get ready... She's hosting a contest!!! ~SkhyeCREATING A WEREWOLF LEGEND
Hello, Skhye. Thank you for having me here today to chat about my research I did to create my werewolf tale, Moon Shifter. Short or long, all tales have a background story. Follow me on my journey in how I discovered my werewolf clan.
There are many werewolf tales from all over the world. I did most of my research on the Internet, reading about different legends and how the werewolf behaved. Some werewolf tales stated the person was cursed, while others swore it was a medical condition and still others claimed it was a tribe of wolf men.
I was fascinated with the Irish werewolf tales and decided my werewolf clan would be from Ireland. The werewolves weren’t beasts that had no control when they shifted. They were a human clan that had the ability to shift into a wolf.
Mythical Realm
Paranormal
Werewolves
Irish
Irish Myth
To add to the background story of my Irish wolf clan, I did a little more research about wolves in Ireland. The English are responsible for depleting the forests. The wolves had no home, no place to hunt and turned toward livestock. To survive, the people of Ireland hunted the wolves that roamed on their land. However, Oliver Cromwell was responsible for exterminating thousands of wolves. He gave the order that wolves were not to be exported from the country, but they would be hunted instead for sport. As of today, wolves no longer exist in Ireland.
With my research, I also found an interesting Irish reference to the wolf, giving the animal the name mac tíre (mock tee ra), which translates to means son of the land.
In my story, humans use the term werewolf, but my Irish wolf clan call themselves moon shifters of the Mac Tíre clan.
Now I had a background story. The Mac Tíre escaped from Ireland in 1652 to avoid persecution from Cromwell.
Blather
E-book: A Social History of Ancient Ireland Vol. 2 by Patrick Weston Joyce
Wikipedia
Moon Shifter takes place in Lake Tahoe. I did some research online, but most of what I wrote about was from experience. Tahoe was a vacation spot for family with special childhood memories. What a better way to revisit the magical place. I combined a few of the hiking trails and a resort layout to set the scene.
Another site
Purchase
I love to hear from readers. Come by and visit:
Karen's Website
Blogspot
Facebook
CONTEST: win an e-book copy of Moon Shifter
To be entered in the drawing, all you have to do is:
1. Leave a comment or ask me a question.
2. Post your email so I can contact you
That’s it. You’re entered. The drawing will take place at the end of the day. Good Luck! ~Karen
***Whoa, Karen! Methinks you are as big a nut for research as I! 
After 3 years of writing my Time Guardian series, I had 4 single-spaced pages of references and decided to stop keeping track of them. LOL. Oooo, and that's a really sweet cover. Thanks so much for sharing your research links with everyone.
The process of creating a legend packs quite a surge of power on one's writing odyssey. Or that's how I rationalize my addiction. And I snatched the wolf quiz in my previous blog post from Karen's blog! Thanks for the fun diversion, Karen. ~Skhye
Great post! Love werewolf stories, love Tahoe - perfect.
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Thanks, PL. Tahoe is beautiful!
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Hey Karen - I have to say I'm a sucker for werewolves. Both good and bad. Maybe that's because I've always been a dog person.
I'm partial to the hereditary and bite to pass the infection forms for my wolves. I'll use curses and spell-craft for other forms of shifter but not my wolves. Not sure why.
One of my favorite fantasy books, The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey, uses alchemy and wearing a wolf pelt to affect the change.
Do you like other shifters besides wolves? And are a dog, cat or other animal (horse, etc.) person?
Beth - beth@bethcaudill.net
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Hi, Beth.
I love shifter stories in general. I'm sure it's because I love animals. lol I have four dogs, three cats and a guinea pig. I love animals in general, but I'd think my neighbors would object if I kept a cheetah in the backyard.
I've written a jaguar shape shifter story and I'm in the final editing stages of a shifter story that takes place in Scotland. Funny you should mention curses--my shifter in this story was cursed.
Using alchemy and wearing a wolf pelt to affect the werewolf change has me intrigued. I'll have to check out the book.
Thanks for stopping by, Beth.
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Absolutely LOVED this, Karen! The research alone was fascinating, and Im betting it makes your books all the more intriguing! Please do enter me in for a chance to win Moon Shifter!
hugs, Kari Thomas
Paranormal Romance Author www.authorkari.com
my mailing email authorkari@yahoo.com
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Thanks, Kari for stopping by. I do love research.
Good Luck!
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Werewolves, my favorite!
How did you find all the places for your research?
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Mary,
Re: Finding the information
I love Google. I usually find what I'm looking for there. It seems to pick up my key words and find the links.
I typed in werewolf legends and weeded through the links for the one that interested me the most.
I wasn't sure if wolves were in Ireland and looked to the history of Ireland and what animals one could find in Ireland. I had actually researched about wolves in Ireland for my time travel novel, Lost in the Mist of Time. I was shocked to learn wolves were no longer there. Of course, I had to find out why.
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Wow! Thanks for letting me see how complex setting up a werewolf backstory is.
Congratulations on the release!
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Hi Chris,
Thanks for stopping by.
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What a wonderful explanation of your research leading to a very interesting sounding clan and story! I really would love to read a werewolf story soon! (Hint Hint- Pick me Pick me!- LOL)
Thanks for sharing your process and for a chance to win.
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Thank you, Martha. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.
Hint for a shifter story taken. lol You're entered. My daughter will pick a name tonight. Perhaps she'll pick up the vibe.
Good Luck!
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I've never heard of the Irish werewolf legend.Interesting.
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Bryn,
Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.
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Love shifter stories. Moon shifter sounds interesting. I'll have to check out the werewolf sites. Thanks for the info.
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Please do check out the werewolf sites. There's plenty of werewolf legends to keep you intrigued. Thanks for stopping by.
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Thanks for having me here today. Yep, I love research. To me it's like finding hidden treasure. I'm glad you enjoyed the wolf quiz. I find those quizes a nice way to unwind. lol
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Lots of research. Very intriguing. Beautiful cover. I lvoe werewolf stories. Are you planning on writing about other paranormal beings.
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Debra,
Thanks for stopping by. I love the cover, too. Angela Anderson is the cover book artist.
Re paranormal beings: I've written a werejaguar tale, Destiny's Prerogative with the Cruzados who are nagual(werejuguars) spirit guides and I'm working on the second brother's story now.
I have a shifter story that takes place in Scotland going through editing.
I'm hoping to do another story with one of my Moon Shifter's characters. I have some ideas.
***Ooooooooooo, nagual? My specialization in grad school was Mesoamerica! Sounds interesting!!! ~Skhye
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Irish werewolves?! You're a genius! I definitely want a shot at this one. Sounds like a must read!
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lol You got it. You're entered. My daughter will draw a name out of the bowl tonight.
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Thanks for all the references. I love reading about wolves and werewolves, and then to have an IRISH one! Yeah!!!
I finished Eva Gordon's class, "Wolf Lore" last week on Coffee Time Romance for more research info. Your book looks like a great story.
Julie
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Thank you, Julie.
Eva Gordon is definitely the Wolf Lady. I love her info!
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BTW, Skhye, I just realized that in your last paragraph, you credited that fun wolf quiz to Karen. Yesterday , I was commenting on Terry Spear's post on the Romance Junkies blog (on wolves, of course), and referred to your site with regards to this quiz. Sorry I didn't realize . . Guess we wolf lovers tend to band together.
***No biggie.
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My daughter picked the lucky winner. And the drum roll please....
MarthaE
Congratulations.
Thank you everyone for coming by and saying hi.
Have a howling good weekend!
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MarthaE,
Please contact me at
kmnbooks at yahoo dot com so I can email you the pdf.
***Thanks for hanging out with us, Karen! ~Skhye
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HI Karen and Skhye,
I know I'm too late for the drawing but couldn't resist stopping by. The research for this looks fascinating and time consuming. I doubt anyone except another author/researcher would believe how much time you put into it. Great story and looking for many more about the Moon-Shifters.
***Thanks for commenting, Rebecca. Writing is a tough business. The hardest part about writing is connecting with readers. So, never feel like your comments are tardy! Those gifted words make an author's day! Thanks for sharing your time. ~Skhye
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Rebecca,
I always love hearing from you! Thanks so much for stopping by.
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Fascinating article. I love Ireland and am intrigued by your use of native lore and fantasy. Very creative!
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