Werewolf Wednesday: David Wellington’s Frostbite

Cover of "Frostbite: A Werewolf Tale"

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then what better place for it than the Canadian North? In the bizarre landscape of the Arctic’s “drunken forest” and forsaken settlements such as Port Radium, David Wellington crafts an intriguing, original take on the werewolf mythos in Frostbite.

Wellington had already shown his taste for revamping classic monsters, in novels such as Vampire Zero and 13 Bullets.  In Frostbite, he makes the rules for his lycanthropes all the more strict and frightening, while at the same time presenting a very human story.

Werewolf Wednesday: Nu Yang’s lycanthropic playlist

Nu Yang is author of “A Good Mate is Hard to Find,” one of the fresh new tales of female lycanthropy in Wolf Girls: Dark Tales of Teeth, Claws and Lycogyny. The anthology was published this summer by Hic Dragones.

Nu’s atmospheric, visceral tale starts off with a rash of murders causing grief for the local werewolf — but not in ways you would expect. It turns out finding an appropriate and worthy mate is even tougher for werewolves than regular folks, which means the old “it’s not you, it’s me” conversation is more than just awkward for the supernatural creatures among us.

Werewolf Wednesday: Soundtrack of the Apocalypse

For those who don’t know, Jason McKinney is an author who has tackled zombies (Memoirs of the Dead), werewolves (Dog World and Dog ‘Verse) and both at the same time (Werewolves of the Dead).  One thing I really wanted to know, since his latest novel deals with the  (inevitable) werewolf apocalypse, was what would make his playlist? Check your music catalogue and crank up your iPod so you, too, can be ready.

Parson, composer, werewolf hunter: Sabine Baring-Gould

Sabine Baring-Gould is by no means a celebrity today, but in the 19th century he brought a modern sensibility to an ancient body of superstitions: werewolf lore.

Portrait of Sabine Baring-Gould
Portrait of Sabine Baring-Gould (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I first came across his name thanks to A Very Special Christmas, of all things. On the 1987 compilation album, among the carols recorded by the then-current crop of rock stars was “Gabriel’s Message,” by Sting. The liner notes credited S. Baring-Gould as the composer.

Born in 1834, the Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould was a prolific writer, composer and collector of folklore. Among his scores of published works  are a multi-volume Lives of the Saints, hymns including  “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” and The Book of Were-Wolves, a classic survey of werewolf folklore first published in 1865.

For fans of gothic literature, the first chapter alone makes the book worth picking up. As the introduction in the edition I have puts it, Baring-Gould’s account of his stumbling across pervasive belief in werewolves while on holiday in France is worthy of a Victorian novel.

If you think comic books are expensive, try publishing one

Creating your own comic book series can be an all-or-nothing endeavour. Just ask Rachel Deering, the woman behind Anathema.
Telling the story of Mercy Barlowe, a woman whose lover, Sarah, is burnt at the stake for being a lesbian, the first issue shows us how Mercy seeks out supernatural help to rescue Sarah’s soul from a sinister cult. (You can read the As You Were interview with Rachel on her career and her own experience with homophobia here.)

Coming soon: Werewolf tunes and Metal Queens

Hoo boy, it’s going to be a busy week here at As You Were.  We will of course be celebrating Werewolf Wednesday on said day, but we have another guest post coming up, this time courtesy of prolific horror writer and editor (and metal fan) Armand Rosamilia.

On Wednesday, we’ll be looking at the top werewolf tunes out there.  Yes, I know you all have your opinions and will be full of outrage that I gave your favourite short shrift.

Don’t worry, you can have your say, too!  I’ll be posting my first-ever poll on Wednesday, so you can weigh in and vote (and, if I’ve done it correctly, add your own favourite) for the best werewolf song.

Despite what you might think, I was able to pull together a list BEYOND Ozzy’s “Bark At the Moon” — and turned up some selections that may surprise you.

Then, without even blinking, Thursday will feature Armand’s guest post as part of his Dying Days zombie blog tour.  But since he knows of As You Were’s affinity for the heavier side of music, he’ll be devoting his post to the known and lesser-known hard-working women  in metal, which is the subject of another of his book series, Metal Queens. Not enough, you say?  Well Armand will also be giving away two ebook volumes of Metal Queens as part of the post — making this the first giveaway ever on As You Were. It’s a week of firsts!

So: don’t forget to stop back on Wednesday for some great (and diverse) lycanthropic music, and then return Thursday for some metal madness. Metal horns: m/