Today I am so pleased to welcome Michelle Osgood to Joyfully Jay. Michelle has come to talk to us about her latest release, Moon Illusion (Better to Kiss You With #3). She has also brought along a copy to give away. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
WEREWOLVES, RANKED
MOON ILLUSION is the third book in my queer werewolf series, THE BETTER TO KISS YOU WITH. As you might imagine, I’m a fan of werewolves. I’ve read, watched, and played books, movies / tv shows, and games featuring werewolves, and at this point I am ready to call myself an expert. Or an excitable enthusiast, at the very least.
What follows is a ranking of popular werewolf depictions that is fully biased and informed by my own werewolf preferences:
#5 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/815855288718165495/
Remus Lupin is a beloved character in the Harry Potter series, and we meet him in HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. Remus Lupin is a werewolf, and, unfortunately, the scrawniest, strangest, alien-looking werewolf I’ve had the misfortune to see! I have been a fan of this series since I was eleven, and I can still remember my disappointment when the movie version of THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN came out, and the handsome, quietly tragic Professor Lupin turned into this strange, awkwardly-long-limbed creature that instilled pity more than power.
#4 UNDERWORLD
http://underworld.wikia.com/wiki/Werewolf
In UNDERWORLD we are introduced to a world of warring werewolves and vampires. Like with Lupin, and many popular depictions of werewolves, the werewolves in UNDERWORLD are bipedal. Unlike Lupin, these lycans are muscular and terrifying. If I turned a dark corner at night and came face to face with the creature above, I’d be screaming bloody murder—assuming I had time to scream. The UNDERWORLD werewolves are true movie monsters.
#3 GINGER SNAPS
http://www.northernstars.ca/gingersnaps/
GINGER SNAPS features a Canadian lady werewolf in Ginger, the teen girl who is attacked and soon transforms into a werewolf herself. These werewolves move on all fours, are large and muscular, and scary af. Extra points are given to GINGER SNAPS for portraying a female monster without sexualizing her monstrosity. When Ginger transforms, she’s not pretty. She’s bestial, fearsome, and powerful.
#2 WEREPUPS
You may recognize the baby werewolf above as one of Asia Ericksen’s WerePups! These dolls are fashioned to resemble baby werewolves (this one is named Fiona), and holy crap are they cute. Again, it’s exciting to see werewolves depicted as female, as so often strength and power are reserved for male monsters! Female werewolves defy many of our stereotypes of what women or girls are capable of, and I am excited to see more of them. Though Fiona is not fearsome, she is unbelievably adorable, and therefore she is my second runner up.
And my favourite popular depiction of werewolves?
#1 TWILIGHT
http://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Jacob-Black-Twilight-Taylor-Lautner-c.jpg
Now there is a good-looking werewolf! As in MOON ILLUSION, the werewolves in TWILIGHT transform fully into their wolf counterparts—though much larger. No awkward attempts at giving them thumbs or only two legs, these are wolves but way, way bigger. What I like about these kinds of werewolves is that there is no inherent violence in their depiction. With many of the above werewolves, the werewolf becomes all claws and slavering jaws and crushing thighs, a bloodthirsty monster out to hunt. Werewolves who transform into wolves bring not only power, but gentleness to their transformation. Just as real wolves are no more violent than they need to be for their survival, so too are these kinds of werewolves. And when we can tell stories about wolves without automatically assuming them to be monsters, we can tell stories about other folks without automatically assuming them to be monsters either.
What do you think, did I get my rankings right? Comment with your favourite werewolves and lets discuss!
Blurb
Nathan Roberts was just your average polyamorous librarian living in Vancouver until his best friend, Deanna started dating a werewolf. While hosting the small pack in his apartment while they hid from the underground network of Huntsmen, Nathan enjoyed a casual fling with Cole, the pack leader’s brother. But now, he may just be falling for him.
When his neighbor is murdered, Nathan is convinced the death is linked to the supernatural, but Cole and their friends deny any paranormal connection. This leads to a fracture of trust in their relationship, and Cole’s pack is left to deal with an unknown killer on the loose. As Nathan pursues answers on his own, he must come to terms with the truth, and his feelings for Cole.
Bio
Michelle Osgood writes queer, feminist romance from her tiny apartment in Vancouver, BC. She loves stories in all media, especially those created by Shonda Rhimes, and dreams of one day owning a wine cellar to rival Olivia Pope’s. She is active in Vancouver’s poly and LGBTQ communities, never turns down a debate about pop culture, and is trying to learn how to cook. Her novels The Better to Kiss You With (2016) and Huntsmen (2017) were published by Interlude Press.
Connect with Michelle: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads
Giveaway
Michelle has brought a copy of Moon Illusion to give away along her tour. Follow the Rafflecopter below to enter.
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Thanks for a fun post, Michelle, and best wishes for the success of Moon Illusion. (I don’t do Twitter so can’t participate in the contest — drats!) I’m primarily familiar with werewolves in books since I’m not much of a movie watcher. I like Patricia Briggs’ werewolves as well as those of SJ Himes and TJ Klune.