With the recent release of The Story of Enid: Vol. 2 of The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf, I have put the eBook version of Vol. I, The Broken Vow, on sale for $2.99 at most eBook retailers for a limited time. So, if you’re interested in catching up on the adventures of my favorite werewolf, Ethan Garraint/Etienne/Geraint, I hope you check it out.
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.
The Story of Enid: Vol. 2 of the Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf
What happens when your one true love reincarnates, and you just happen to be a werewolf?
Ethan Garraint is an old soul. He has been alive for hundreds of years, battling countless challenges and foes along the way — not the least of which was living through the genocide of the Cathar people at Montsegur, a society that wholly embraced him despite his lycanthropic nature. But in Volume 2 of The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf, he faces a dilemma that brings his past and present full circle, merging them both.
In The Story of Enid, the sequel to The Broken Vow
Long ago, before he was Ethan Garraint, before the Cathars, before he became a werewolf, he was a man living in a land where enchantment ruled. He was a Knight known as Geraint who served a King. And it was then that he met the one woman who would own his heart.
“There was someone for you once.”
“Yes, a long time ago.”
“Someone very special to you that, I think, perhaps you still mourn.”
“She was my wife.”
“And she left you.”
“Not of her free will, but yes, most do.”
When one realizes that a long-lost soulmate has been reincarnated, it poses some complications. When you have been a werewolf for nearly a millennium, the complications explode exponentially. Ethan Garraint understands that he should stay far away from Erin Holt, but she is in his city, New Orleans, and possibly in danger. And the truth is, he doesn’t want to stay away. He only wants to remind her of the lifetime they lived long ago, when they were more than lovers, when they became legend.
I am very excited to announce that The Story of Enid: Vol. 2 of The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf has just been released! It is now available at Cornerstone Book Publishers, Amazon, and Kindle and will soon be available at most other online retail booksellers. And to celebrate its release it is currently 20% Off the retail price at Cornerstone Book Publishers.
It has been a long journey to bring this book to publication. When I first wrote its prequel, The Broken Vow, the seeds for The Story of Enid were already in my mind. I was able to craft its first incarnation on the Kindle Vella platform but am very happy it is now out in a book format.
I do hope you take some time to check out the adventures of my werewolf Ethan Garraint and his lady love.
Peace to All,
Evelyn
The Story of Enid: Vol. 2 of The Clandestine Adventures of a Werewolf
What happens when your one true love reincarnates, and you just happen to be a werewolf?
Ethan Garraint is an old soul. He has been alive for hundreds of years, battling countless challenges and foes along the way — not the least of which was living through the genocide of the Cathar people at Montsegur, a society that wholly embraced him despite his lycanthropic nature. But in Volume 2 of The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf, he faces a dilemma that brings his past and present full circle, merging them both.
In The Story of Enid, the sequel to The Broken Vow
Long ago, before he was Ethan Garraint, before the Cathars, before he became a werewolf, he was a man living in a land where enchantment ruled. He was a Knight known as Geraint who served a King. And it was then that he met the one woman who would own his heart.
“There was someone for you once.”
“Yes, a long time ago.”
“Someone very special to you that, I think, perhaps you still mourn.”
“She was my wife.”
“And she left you.”
“Not of her free will, but yes, most do.”
When one realizes that a long-lost soulmate has been reincarnated, it poses some complications. When you have been a werewolf for nearly a millennium, the complications explode exponentially. Ethan Garraint understands that he should stay far away from Erin Holt, but she is in his city, New Orleans, and possibly in danger. And the truth is, he doesn’t want to stay away. He only wants to remind her of the lifetime they lived long ago, when they were more than lovers, when they became legend.
I am very excited to announce that my new book, The Story of Enid: Vol. 2 of The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf, will be released at the beginning of July. And just as a little teaser, I am posting an excerpt from the book. I hope you enjoy. 🙂
The Story of Enid
What happens when your one true love reincarnates, and you just happen to be a werewolf?
Ethan Garraint is an old soul. He has been alive for hundreds of years, battling countless challenges and foes along the way. Not the least of which was living through the genocide of the Cathar people at Montsegur, a society that wholly embraced him despite his lycanthropic nature. But in Volume 2 of The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf, he faces a dilemma that brings his past and present full circle, merging them both.
In The Story of Enid, the sequel to The Broken Vow
Long ago, before he was Ethan Garraint, before the Cathars, before he became a werewolf, he was a man living in a land where enchantment ruled. He was a Knight known as Geraint who served a King. And it was then that he met the one woman who would own his heart.
“There was someone for you once.”
“Yes, a long time ago.”
“Someone very special to you that, I think, perhaps you still mourn.”
“She was my wife.”
“And she left you.”
“Not of her free will, but yes, most do.”
When one realizes that a long-lost soulmate has been reincarnated, it poses some complications. When you have been a werewolf for nearly a millennium, the complications explode exponentially. Ethan Garraint understands that he should stay far away from Erin Holt, but she is in his city, New Orleans, and possibly in danger. And the truth is, he doesn’t want to stay away. He only wants to remind her of the lifetime they lived long ago, when they were more than lovers, when they became legend.
Excerpt:
She stood across the room from him, face pale, greenish-brown eyes wide and unmistakably filled with fear, but fear of what exactly he could not discern at the moment.
“Erin.” Ethan stood up. Nearly imperceivably, and, no doubt, only caught by him because he was watching her so closely, she stepped backward a fraction of an inch. Ah, it was clear that she was fearful of him for some reason. Cautiously, he moved around the desk. She held her ground, though, still watching him with those enormous eyes filled with shadows. Once he reached her, he couldn’t stop himself from gently placing his hands on her arms. “What’s happened?”
She was breathing deeply. He could feel the rhythm in his skin, his blood. Strange how he was so connected to someone whose real flesh-and-blood company he’d actually spent so little time in. But then again, this was a spiritual connection, a fact that Brother Guidrade had so repeatedly drummed into his head. It defied logical sensibilities. It simply was.
And then she closed her eyes, sighing deeply and slumping forward a bit so that her head was resting on his chest in what he could only describe as emotional exhaustion. “It’s going to sound ridiculous.”
He pulled her closer into his arms, stroking her lovely auburn hair that he’d become so fond of. “Ridiculous things can have their moment,” then he added, “Tell me, Erin.” However, admittedly, he had that pesky precognitive sense that he already knew.
“It was a dream but a very realistic one,” again, a deep sigh that he was not comfortable with. The thought that their entanglement had become so burdensome to her weighed on him considerably.
She pulled her head up and looked into his eyes in a way that startled him, not fearful now, not tired, but seeking deeply. “You were in it.”
He let his hands drop. Why, he couldn’t say. Perhaps he was a coward. Maybe he’d idyllically hoped they could spend these few days together unencumbered by the truth. “And?” he said because he had no choice.
“There was something with you in the dream, a creature. Well, actually a kind of wolf.”
He bravely held her gaze, though now he understood her initial fear. “I see.”
“You said it was your constant companion.”
And then he smiled. He couldn’t help it. What a benign thing for him to say. “Well, what do you think, Erin?”
She looked confused, “What do I think?”
He stepped backward, leaning against the desk but still watching her closely. “Yes, sorry, what do you feel might be a better question.”
She crossed her arms in front of her. Though he had an inkling, she had no idea she’d done so. “I-I don’t know. It was just a dream. It doesn’t mean anything.”
He watched her closely, feeling the jagged nuances of what she was wrestling with. Her modern sensibilities told her to ignore what her genuine innate senses were telling her. It was somewhat painful to witness how the mores of a world determined to ignore the old ways ostensibly split its inhabitants apart. “Erin,” he spoke softly so as not to further agitate her. “I need you to stop and take a moment. Try to forget what you think you should say, and use your senses, your inner self. And tell me what you truly feel.”
Her eyes widened a bit in confusion. He felt the battle within her. When she was younger, when she had no sight, she was not under such scrutiny, such pressure to suppress her very real and tangible gifts. But once she gained her sight, she was forced or perhaps even forced herself to quickly conform to a world that gave no credence to such abilities. Essentially, she had buried part of herself.
“I-I don’t know.”
He frowned because that was not at all what he felt. She did indeed know but was afraid to say. He reached out and grabbed one of her hands, pulling her closer to him. “It’s all right,” he murmured. “You know, I was foolish to believe it would take a backseat and remain hidden from you.”
Hesitantly, she spoke, “It? What does that mean?”
“Dreams, you know, aren’t meaningless. The spirit within us takes flight in dreams, leaves behind our earthly form, and explores other dimensions and realities, revealing truths we cannot easily reach in the physical world.”
“Ethan, you’re scaring me.”
“You don’t have to be afraid, Erin. You just have to open your mind to other possibilities.” And then he squeezed the hand that he held in his own. “Now, tell me, my dearest one. What do you feel?”
She looked at him almost sadly, and it pierced his heart deeply in a way that he had not thought was still possible. How was it that she could so easily reach him when others were wholly incapable of breaching the ice built up around his emotions through centuries of his protracted existence? “You hold the key to each other, one that is unique and cannot be denied.” They were words from the Cathar Master, still so poignant and relevant now.
“I,” she stopped herself, so frightened of letting go.
And then he took the other hand in his, perhaps to give her strength, perhaps to provide him with some. “Yes,” he said softly.
“It’s real,” she murmured.
“Yes,” he repeated. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at those lovely, gentle hands he held clasped in his own.
“How can that be?”
And then he looked up into her beautiful eyes that seemed in this moment as though they would engulf him. “Well, it happened long ago when the world was still filled with magic and demons. Although it still is, though much better hidden, one might say.”
She shook her head, “I don’t understand.”
And then he laughed at the twisted sort of perversity of the moment. How did one deliver the news to his lover that he was not a man but a sort of devil? “I am a werewolf, Erin. It’s that simple.”
And then there was something else in her eyes, a fire that he remembered from long ago and was very glad to see in some respects. Very deliberately, she pulled her hands out of his grasp. At this moment, he realized this would be much more complicated than he had anticipated. “Ethan, that’s simply impossible.”
She realized, granted not for the first time, how she despised feeling as though she was not in control of things in her life, not in control of her decisions. It was a scar, she supposed, from that huge expanse of time when it felt like everyone else in the world was making decisions for her. That very frustration prompted her to get on that plane from Arkansas and come here alone to New Orleans. And that frustration was now pushing her to whole-heartedly reject this preposterous assertion that the man in front of her had just made.
Werewolf, indeed, did he think she was so naïve to swallow any ridiculous thing he might throw her way? Did he think she was so swept up in this romantic spell, this fog she’d seemed to be operating under, and simply embrace any laughable delusion he decided to feed her?
She didn’t stop to think that it indeed had been her dream.
She didn’t stop to think that the memories she’d recovered about their relationship before she regained her sight were in her head, her mind.
She was frustrated and, in a rage, born of a life that had left her largely powerless.
He hadn’t said anything. He was just looking at her, still casually leaning back against his desk. It reminded her of the first time she’d seen him in the French Quarter, watching her from across the street, with no expression, just waiting, waiting for what she couldn’t imagine.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“What would you like me to say?” he responded rather flatly.
It felt a bit like a punch. She wasn’t at all sure what she’d expected but not this. “You do understand how ridiculous that sounds. Werewolves? They’re imaginary, made-up stories.”
“Old stories from long ago.”
“Yes,” she said a little shakily. It felt like she was losing ground, though she didn’t know why.
“Where do you think those stories come from? Those old legends?”
“So, I suppose you’re going to tell me vampires exist as well.”
“I spent a good amount of time with one when I was a priest at Chartres Cathedral in France.”
She took a quick breath that felt oddly painful. “What? When?”
He stood up straight but did not walk forward even an inch toward her. “It was around 1350.”
“1350? Do you really expect me to believe—” Then she stopped, almost choking on the words.
“Do I expect you to believe me? Evidently not, though I assure you that it is wholly and sadly the truth.”
“I-I can’t just accept this. I—” And then she felt the room begin to spin, actually quite purposefully spin all around her in a cataclysmic motion.
It made her feel sick. It made her want to drop to her knees, but somehow, somehow, she didn’t.
When it finally, thankfully, stopped, she was somewhere else. She was in another room, a cold room made of stone.
Well, I have been working hard on edits for my new book, The Story of Enid which should be released this summer. This novel is the second installment in The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf series following The Broken Vow. I am very excited about its upcoming release and wanted to share a little teaser video which I posted on YouTube. Hope you enjoy.
When one realizes that a long-lost soulmate has been reincarnated, it poses some complications. When you have been a werewolf for nearly a millennium, the complications explode exponentially. Ethan Garraint understands that he should stay far away from Erin Holt, but she is in his city, New Orleans, and possibly in danger. And the truth is, he doesn’t want to stay away. He only wants to remind her of the lifetime they lived long ago, when they were more than lovers, when they became legend.
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.
Just in time for the Halloween season, I have revamped and revised a new version of the Ghosts, Witches, and Werewolves boxed set. This set includes the revised versions of the novels, A Ghost of a Chance, The Witches’ Own, and The Broken Vow. And currently, it is on sale for $4.99. So, if you are in the mood for something spooky and a bit different, check out this box set which will soon be available at most online eBook retail platforms.
Jack Brennan, an ambitious high-powered attorney, dies. But that’s not the end, rather only the beginning. He finds himself constrained to an inexplicable afterlife as an earth-bound spirit trapped in an old Virginia farmhouse. His only companion is a very much living, reclusive writer of campy vampire novels. The maddening problem is that Hallie does not know he is there, nor that he is somewhat reluctantly falling in love with her.
Hallie Barkly is recovering from a painful and disillusioning divorce. Out of the ashes of her former life, she has managed to somehow forge a career and exorcise her demons by writing under the pseudonym of Sebastian Winters. Slowly, she is awakening to the fact that she is not alone.
Their lives intersect, and two unconventional lovers are brought together under insurmountable circumstances. Together they must battle an unseen force hell-bent on possessing Hallie’s life and bridge death itself to make possible what cannot be — to find a chance.
On the surface things seem quiet and serene in the picturesque coastal village of Kilmarnock, Virginia. But something unseen roams its lush forests as the past and present collide and the unthinkable begins to wreak its vengeance. Young Lucy Bonner is executed for witchcraft in the town’s distant and brutal past. Her death triggers an unholy chain of events which grasp at the restless heart of novelist Peter McQuade, spurring him towards a quest to uncover the dark and terrifying truth.
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.
Here is a snippet of a recent episode of The Story of Enid that I’ve posted at Kindle Vella. The werewolf of my stories – Ethan Garraint, also known as Etienne and Geraint – is given to expressing himself in journal entries. So, dropping in occasionally on his personal writing gives a closer look at his very unique psyche. I hope you enjoy and drop by Kindle Vella (the first three episodes are free), if you’d like to pick up his tale or his previous novel, The Broken Vow.
A Villain
What constitutes a villain? It is an ancient question that the great philosophers contemplated, often, repeatedly, and with no consistent conclusions. It is a question I have turned over in my mind occasionally as well. Thus, in my vast experience and within the scope of my long, protracted lifetime, I have concluded that defining a villain seems to lie largely in perspective. Outside of extreme examples, mass murderers, horrific despots, and the like, most villains don’t usually see themselves in that regard.
As a prime example, I offer myself. I have been hunted in my lifetime, termed a beast, and, yes, have killed, some might say, unjustly. So, am I the villain? Well, it’s my tale, my chronicle, though I try to be even-handed and fair in its retelling, though unequivocally, I would have to say not.
But Lapetus, my adoptive Brother, might he be a villain?
He certainly dresses the part and seems sinister enough and does try to impose his will. But does he believe so?
When one realizes that a long-lost soulmate has been reincarnated, it poses some complications. When you have been a werewolf for nearly a millennium, the complications explode exponentially. Ethan Garraint understands that he should stay far away from Erin Holt, but she is in his city, New Orleans, and possibly in danger. And the truth is, he doesn’t want to stay away. He only wants to remind her of the lifetime they lived long ago, when they were more than lovers, when they became legend.
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.
Some years back a good friend of mine and I had a pact that every Halloween we would write each other a Halloween story. After a few years of this, I wrote one entitled “Wolves” which was the story of a sort of vigilante who was on the hunt for a diabolical werewolf that had killed her parents. Well, it turned out the werewolf in question wasn’t so diabolical but rather an enigmatic European fellow who at present was a carpenter who built his own furniture. A few years down the road, this particular character, Ethan Garraint, made another appearance as a supporting player in a Halloween story that I called “The Broken Window.” At this point, I was beginning to get the feeling that my werewolf needed a solo outing. So, I decided to write The Broken Vow: Vol. I of the Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf. This story took Ethan Garraint, or rather Etienne at that time, through a very tumultuous period of his life when he lived with the Cathars at Montségur in Southern France, and hundreds of years later was in New Orleans tracking down a mysterious entity who had largely been responsible for their massacre. Within the novel, I explored some mystical concepts as Etienne was essentially mentored spiritually by the Cathar people. I always knew that I would write a sequel to this book and that the tone of this new one would change a bit. It would have to be a love story. So, as I’m finding Kindle Vella to be a very productive conduit these days, I decided to put The Story of Enid on Kindle Vella where it can function as either a stand-alone tale or a sequel. Once I complete it on Vella, I will be publishing it as a regular book and eBook. So, if you are in the mood for a werewolf tale that is just a bit unusual, I hope you’ll drop by Kindle Vella and check out The Story of Enid: The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf. (The first three episodes are free to read)
Take Care,
Evelyn Klebert
When one realizes that a long-lost soulmate has been reincarnated, it poses some complications. When you have been a werewolf fThe Story of Enidor nearly a millennium, the complications explode exponentially. Ethan Garraint understands that he should stay far away from Erin Holt, but she is in his city, New Orleans, and possibly in danger. And the truth is, he doesn’t want to stay away. He only wants to remind her of the lifetime they lived long ago, when they were more than lovers, when they became legend.
Evelyn Klebert 