Werewolf Wednesday #7

 

Welcome to werewolf wednesday where the moon is always full and I am howling. Every single Wednesday I will be profiling a new werewolf from books, TV or movies. I might also mix it up a bit some weeks and throw in some other furry fun!! Please feel free to join and howl along with me every week!

Today on Werewolf Wednesday I have something very special for everyone! We have a guest! Shane Porteous is here to tell us about his book How Gods Bleed, and you guessed it – it’s about werewolves! There are two things I want to point out about Shane’s book before we get to the interview and howling. One: You can download the ENTIRE novel for FREE on Amazon! (Links to this book will be at the end of the post). Two: This is not a paranormal romance book, it isn’t the usual kind of werewolf book that I talk about. Shane defines his book as a Alternative Dark Fantasy Actioner.

(Note: I have not read this book yet, so I cannot tell you what age group it is appropriate for so I would suggest reading it yourself before letting a younger teen or child read it.)

So let’s hear what Shane has to say about werewolves!!

 

 

 The werewolf king Gorgoza is dead leaving the west in turmoil. With the king’s     passing it is only a matter of time before someone has claimed the western empire for themselves, leaving the east ripe for invasion. Against the werewolf hordes no eastern kingdom stands a chance for survival.

But all hope is not yet lost for there may be a way to destroy the monsters of the west. Such a chance comes from the most unlikely of sources, Cada Varl the Immortal, the being responsible for the creation of the werewolves.

Accompanied by 6 of the greatest warriors of the great warrior society of Helluv Cada Varl journeys into the west in the hopes of saving the east from utter destruction. Facing impossible odds the group must journey across lands that will offer nothing to them but misery and death.

 

 

And now the interview:

 

Tell us about the setting of your novel How Gods Bleed.

It takes place in a gothic medieval styled fantasy setting. In a place called Noonsva, the largest continent in my created world.

 

How do werewolves fit into this book? Tell us about their creation.

Werewolves are the antagonists of the story.  Their origins lie in a series of events that occurred 4200 years before the story takes place. Allow me to explain.

Cada Varl was a soldier of the Kingdom of Gatavoi. He fought in the battle of Marga, the greatest and most destructive battle ever to take place on the continent of Noonsva. By the 11th day the battlefield was silent and only Cada Varl was still alive. Because of all the blood and death he saw during the battle, he lost his humanity and became a mindless shell.

As he wandered the landscape wolves were drawn to the smell of blood and feasted on the corpses of the slain soldiers. With a hunger for human flesh the wolves followed Cada Varl and attacked him upon nightfall. As the wolves fed on his flesh he witnessed the full moon and its light reminded him of his humanity. He stirred and using a spike of silver hung on a necklace he attacked and injured the wolves. They fled from him and though the light of the moon was enough to remind him of his humanity, it wasn’t strong enough to return it to him, so he remained immortal.

But now the wolves carried a piece of his immortality within them and still hungered for human flesh. They attacked villages and cities transforming those who survived their attack into werewolves. The werewolves spread across the land and in only a few decades the west belonged to them.

 

 Why did you choose to write about werewolves?

It was after reading, Mathion: book one of the Mavonduri trilogy. It took werewolves out of an urban setting or some isolated village and placed them into a high fantasy epic.  Mathion, presented werewolves in a way that I hadn’t really seen before. It really sparked my imagination and without a doubt was the biggest inspiration behind How Gods Bleed.  

 

How much research did you do for the writing of this book?

Research is kind of hard to define, I didn’t read up on werewolves or anything like that. I already had a pretty firm grasp on the history of werewolves before I wrote this. However I did spend a lot of time ciphering through the dozens and dozens of ideas I had in order to tell a cohesive story.

 

Tell us about Gorgoza, king of the werewolves.

Gorgoza was the first werewolf to see his kind not as cursed beings or monsters, but as a race. He gathered a powerful army of werewolves who thought like him and purged the west of all mankind. He shaped Western Noonsva into a place werewolves could call their own.  From cities to damns he destroyed every man made creation and in their place built monuments and buildings more grand and awe inspiring, than any of his human predecessors. Eventually he crowned himself king of his people and highly values knowledge. He is capable of horrible things but is not power hungry. He has no desire to expand his empire further east and wants nothing to do with humans. Ultimately his main goal is to ensure the survival of his kind.  

 

 Cada Varl is the main character of the book, correct? He goes to try and destroy the werewolf race. What is his motivation to do so?

There are two reasons; the most urgent is he wants to stop a full scale invasion of the east by the west. He knows that no human kingdom would survive an all out attack by the werewolves.

The second reason is he wants to make up for his sins. It is because of him that Noonsva has become divided between man and monster.

 

Do you think that werewolves are immortal or at least very hard to kill and long living?

You know the term immortal can be hard to define. I consider immortal to be someone or something that cannot die due to age, sickness or conventional methods. Something that can’t be destroyed is invincible as far as I am concerned. So according to my definition I consider werewolves to be immortal.

 

What is the most interesting thing you know about werewolves?

I always found it strange that there are stories about werewolves stretching back before even Greek/Roman times yet there is no single werewolf that defines the genre.  When people think of the sci-fi monster they think of Frankenstein’s monster. Vampires have Dracula and Varney as the forerunners of that genre. But werewolves don’t have such a character to define them.

 

Is this book part of a series?

No, it is a complete full length novel, not a teaser for a larger story.

 

What other books have you written?

My debut paperback novel is Rasciss, it tells the story of Hollowawk, a man who defied death and now must face the wrath of petty gods.

My first ebook is Grave Caller and answers the question, have you ever wondered what would happen if a Necromancer came face to face with something that terrified even him?

 

What is the best werewolf book you have ever read, aside from your own?

I mentioned it earlier but without a doubt that is Mathion. I first read it over a year ago and still constantly find myself thinking about it. There was just so much depth and history to it, something that a lot of newer fantasy seems to lack.

 

 If you could be a werewolf, would you be? Why or Why not?

Only if I could be a werewolf that could change at will. I think it would become too much of a chore having to chain myself up every full moon. Not that I mind being chained up, but only when I feel like it…on second thought that is probably a story for another time.

 

How Gods Bleed is a completely FREE novel. Why did you decide to list your work for free?

One thing that I have always prided myself on is telling original stories, or at least stories that haven’t been done to death.  Without sounding too arrogant I feel I have done that with How Gods Bleed. As far as I know no one has ever done what I have done with the werewolf. Even Mathion (Yes I am aware I have already mentioned it several times), my main inspiration, hasn’t done to the werewolf what How Gods Bleed has.

With this in mind, it is very important to me to see what readers think of such a radical retelling of the werewolf story. I made it completely free because I wanted to make it as easy as possible for potential readers to get their hands on a copy.  

 

Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?

Two things, because I like to brag and I thought people would find it both interesting and important.  The first is about the cover, it was designed by Christopher Richards.  He is such a huge fan of my work that he designed the cover free of charge. (Thanks again Chris!)

Secondly there is something that I want to make perfectly clear. How Gods Bleed is not an urban fantasy, paranormal romance or a horror story. I have nothing against those sort of stories, I am just making it clear that is not what How Gods Bleed is about.

If I had to label How Gods Bleed, it is probably best described as an Alternative Dark Fantasy Actioner.

If you want to share your links to FB, Twitter and Amazon please do so.

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6936182-shane-porteous

http://www.youtube.com/user/theabominationuknow?feature=mhee

 

To download this book for FREE here is your link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/101158

 

 Thank you for being here to celebrate Werewolf Wednesday with us Shane!!

Thanks for having me, I had a lot of fun!!