This post was inspired by that classic line from Young Frankenstein, you know, the one where Frederick questions Igor, “Werewolf?” and Igor responds, “There, wolf.”
In paranormal romance if there isn’t a vampire, there’s a wolf. I meant werewolf. Sometimes there are both vampires and werewolves. Sometimes there are werelions and weretigers and werebears (oh my!)
If you turned furry once a month (among other problems), wouldn’t you want a job where no one sees you? What about taking the midnight shift as a DJ at a radio station? You’re just a voice on the air, and not even your co-workers ever get to know you. Kitty Norville is that DJ/werewolf in Kitty and the Midnight Hour. That’s what she calls her show. It’s when she switches from playing rock music to hosting a call in show for the insomniacs and other things that walk the night, that she discovers she’s not the only supernatural creature in the area, and that some of them are out to get her. Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series starts as pure urban fantasy, but eventually, even werewolves on the run find someone to love. Catch Kitty’s show and you’ll see.
Speaking of urban fantasy, another series that began as utterly awesome urban fantasy with great worldbuilding has also shifted gears a bit to allow its heroine, VW mechanic and coyote shapeshifter Mercy Thompson, to find love with the right werewolf. I’m talking about Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, where Mercy fixes VWs and solves supernatural mysteries, while keeping tabs on her fae boss and her vampire customers. Fixing VWs is how she makes her living, but fixing what goes wrong among the supernatural around Tri-Cities, Washington is what makes her a fascinating heroine. Start with Moon Called so you can watch the story develop.
Shelly Laurenston has created a series where everything possible can be a were. In The Mane Event, the start of her Pride series, she introduces readers to a pride of lion shifters living in a slightly alternate New York City where the NYPD has a shapeshifter division. The romances are hot (of course they are with all that fur!) but what makes the Pride series such a standout is the wickedly funny banter among all the characters, no matter what kind of danger they get into.
Just in case this ever happens to anyone, Molly Harper provides instructions on How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf. Living in Alaska means regularly finding wildlife in your yard, but when southern transplant Mo Wenstein finds a naked man with a bear trap on his ankle she knows that something isn’t quite right—especially after the guy goes from naked to very, very furry. Since the guy is her hostile neighbor, he’s actually friendlier as a wolf! Or he would be, except that wolf attacks are being reported around town, and he has no memory of what he does while he’s furry. Helping him prove his innocence turns out to be the recipe for turning a hostile neighbor into a mated werewolf.
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