Recently, I began to dig into editing revisions for the sequel to The Broken Vow. And, of course, in doing so, this led to a lot of reflections on my werewolf protagonist, Ethan Garraint, and the why of how he came to be.

Right after the resurgence of the vampire genre, or should I say reinventing of it, after the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer, many paranormal writers were dipping their toes in the Twilight pool with either vampire or werewolf endeavors. I had already written several short stories involving the same werewolf character, so I decided to try my hand at a full novel.

Now, there were several problems I had jumping into the werewolf arena. One was that I wrestled with the issue of an immortal character. Immortality itself, I think, is a problematic trope. Ostensibly, the idea of living so long is sort of depressing with all your loved ones dying lifetime after lifetime. And there is also the problem of stagnancy. As a keen believer in esoteric philosophy, I have always believed that living is not without purpose. That everyone’s life is filled with lessons, obstacles, and experiences specifically tailored to them for the purpose of their spiritual evolution. So, the idea that someone could live thousands of years and not change did not seem viable.

And evolution, or rather what I’d term spiritual evolution, doesn’t take place on a time schedule. It takes place through experiences. In the novel, The Broken Vow, Etienne (renamed Ethan in subsequent years) encounters spiritual mentors in the Cathar people during his time with them at Montsegur in Southern France. Historically, Montségur fell to a siege and the Cathars a genocide led by Pope Innocent III during the Albigensian Crusade. But Etienne’s time with the Cathars, soaking in their esoteric philosophy, becomes pivotal in his evolution and key in the plot of that first book.

Another issue I had was that I wasn’t really interested as a writer in too deeply exploring the “werewolf” problem — the mechanics of the werewolf transformation. I was determined that the character in my books would have to be the key. Ethan Garraint had to be an interesting person who just happened to be a werewolf, not interesting because he was a werewolf. As far as I am concerned, being a werewolf is sort of like having a chronic illness or perhaps a peculiar talent; it’s just something you carry around with you.

So, the issues I was determined to sort out were how to make immortality engaging, showing growth with the character, and how not to have the werewolf aspect smother Ethan Garraint’s personality.

The seeds of the sequel to The Broken Vow were sowed long ago. It was actually a story for him that I’ve always had in mind. While The Broken Vow leans more in the direction of a paranormal thriller, the new book, The Story of Enid, is in many respects a paranormal romance. It involves themes of reincarnation and brings the idea of evolution and character growth up to close inspection. After all, how would you feel if you had to actually confront your younger self? Would that be a person you would even care to know? Something to ponder.

Well, back to work. My target date for publication of The Story of Enid is hopefully this summer. I’ll keep you posted.

The Broken Vow: Vol. I The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf

In the heart of every man there is a history. In the heart of every monster there is a story. In this first installment of “The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf,” Ethan Garraint is on a vendetta that begins in the heart of the Pyrenees with the fall of Montségur and leads him to the streets of New Orleans nearly five hundred years later. But the person he chases isn’t really a man anymore and Ethan has been a werewolf for almost a millennium. With the aid of a gifted seer, he is on a blood hunt that will culminate in a journey that crosses the line between heaven and earth and ends somewhere in between.