1. Hi, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Well met. I am Gabriel fitz Michael, Duke of Dorré. I was a medieval knight until I was trapped in my wolf form and banished from my home. But then the brave and beautiful Lady Kathryn found me and came to my aid, and—well, it is a long story.
2. Have you encountered prejudice from other shifters? If I have ever met another werewolf he has not revealed himself to me. The people of my land have a deep prejudice against the werewolf. They believe him to be a savage beast who does much harm. I believed the same myself before I became a werewolf. And when I revealed to my wife, Alisoun, that I was a werewolf, she cursed me, trapping me in my wolf form. I was banished from my home, forced to live in the forest like an animal.
Also, the farmers whose chickens I steal seem to have a most egregious prejudice against werewolves. I wonder why that is so…
3. What’s the greatest challenge to being a werewolf? Figuring out where to hide my clothing once I have Changed.
4. Do you have any beauty tips to share? Apply honey to your wounds, it helps with the scarring.
5. Who, I mean what’s your favorite snack? I am awfully fond of fresh chicken.
6. How does the moon affect you? I turn into a large black wolf, although I still retain my human mind when I become a wolf. It is hard at times, though, to restrain certain wolfish urges. Usually I hide in the forest during my Change, so that I will not harm anyone, and every farmer's chickens will be safe from me.
Sometimes this plan works better than others.
7. How did you meet your author? One evening, she was reading the medieval poem "Bisclavret" for homework while a crusade movie was on in the background and suddenly she had an idea to write a story about a cursed werewolf knight. Me. The rest of my world and my companions evolved from that moment.
8. What’s she like? She is constantly reading and spinning stories in her head. She's a bit like my lady-love, Kathryn, in that way. The pair of them: always full of ideas and stories. She's also awfully fond of cats, and even named hers after a character from a play written by someone called Shakespeare. A bit after my time, I'm afraid.
At the moment my author, E.D., is attending something called a "university" in the New World. At a place called Berkeley, I believe. A savage land I'm sure, untamed and wild. I don't know how a delicate maiden can survive in such a place.
9. Does she run around with other characters? Yes. Constantly. She has even got a story written for young adults coming out soon all about pagan gods and their adventures in your modern world.
10. Anything you’d like to add? Even though it deals with the heathenish pagan gods, you probably should check out my author's upcoming release Heir to the Underworld from Sapphire Blue Publishing. The heroine, Frederica, though a trifle unconventional is a charming, vivacious young woman and her adventures among the pagan gods is well worth a read. You can learn more about this and my author's other stories on something called a website, located here: http://heirtotheunderworld.com/
It was a pleasure to speak with you, and my author conveys her salutations as well, and I thank you on her behalf for hosting me here at your...blog? Is that the correct word? Well, many thanks all the same. Good day.
Here’s the link to the book page:
https://www.nobleromance.com/ItemDisplay.aspx?i=173
Here’s the Blurb:
Lady Kathryn’s father sends her to court to find a husband, but being penniless and disinterested doesn't bode well for her success. Bored by the petty intrigues of court, her frustration and loneliness are eased when the king charges her with the care of his newest acquisition: a wolf he and his hunters have recently captured. What the king doesn't realize is his remarkable pet was once Gabriel, his favorite knight, cursed into wolf form by an unfaithful wife.
The beast's too-knowing eyes and the way he understands and responds to her every utterance convince Kathryn he is more than what he seems. Resolving to restore him, she doesn't count on the greatest obstacle being Gabriel himself. The longer he stays in wolf form as a captive of the court, the harder it becomes for him to remember his humanity and to fight his wolfish urges to maim and kill.
As Gabriel and Kathryn grow to care for one another despite his horrific curse, rumors of an uncanny wolf reach the ears of Gabriel’s former wife and her unscrupulous new husband, Reynard. Together, they plan to dispose of the king's pet, knowing if Gabriel ever regains his human form he could strip them of everything they have schemed so hard to gain.
Only Kathryn's affection and determination stand between Gabriel the wolf and Gabriel the man. But when Reynard returns to court, will Kathryn’s love be enough to keep Gabriel from exacting a brutish revenge that will condemn the wolf to death?
Here’s a short excerpt too if you have room for it on the blog:
Chapter One
Lady Kathryn de Réméré understood where her duty lay. She did—truly. The hitch, though, the tricky part, the really twisty trouble was . . . . Well, she was actually having a difficult time convincing herself that her duty was to do her duty.
The royal court had not taken part in a hunt since the marriage of the Princess Aliénor to their king a month previous. Kathryn had only been one of the queen's ladies since Aliénor's marriage, but in one short month Kathryn had grown very fond of her queen. She would do almost anything for her, but . . . did it have to be hunting?
Riding had never been one of Kathryn's favorite pastimes either, and when her father had gambled away the funds necessary to keep their horses, the loss of her late mother's bay mare had caused Kathryn only a small touch of regret.
Kathryn certainly liked horses, and riding could be pleasant, but this—this neck-or-nothing tear through the woods, the bouncing and jostling and branches hitting her in the face, and all the while the great brute below her ignoring all her most urgent instructions.
The horse recognized who was master, and it certainly was not the featherweight astride his back pulling ineffectually, and rather irritatingly, at his reins. He had his head now and would not have slowed for a rider twice as skillful as Kathryn.
Her horse broke from the group of hunters and went careening wildly off into the brush. A bare moment later, Kathryn heaved forward off her horse's neck, the ground rising up to meet her. She lay stunned in the damp leaves, the musty smell of the dirt thick in her nostrils, while the careless beast gleefully galloped his way back to his home stable for some oats and a good brushing down.
The chase was on, though, and Kathryn would not be missed by her companions for some time yet.
Only slightly dazed, when her wits recovered sufficiently and the world stopped spinning, she stood with the aid of an obliging tree trunk to take in her surroundings. The lush forest possessed a heavy covering of brush on the ground, clustering around the roots of the tall trees. Kathryn put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her still-hammering heart. "Help. Anyone? Hello?" The forest swallowed her cries, and the only sounds around her now were the gentle rustlings of the trees. She swallowed sudden fear, stifling it, and started walking, hoping someone had noticed her difficulties and come looking.
She would be having a long day if they had not.
Kathryn gulped in a deep breath, then tilted her head to listen as a strange noise caught her attention. She froze and held her breath.
Barking, horses and—the high-pitched howl of a wolf?
I thought we hunted the hart this day. This thought was swiftly chased away by another and rather more alarming one: They're coming this way.
***
