Guest: Jeanette Battista

Please welcome Jeanette Battista to our little dark corner on the web today!  Her next release, THE MOON OMNIBUS, is out in August, and one lucky commenter will win a copy! (Isn't that a gorgeous cover?)  Let's set aside the vampires and talk about weres, yes?

Weres Just Wanna HaveFun

Before I get to the meat of today’s post, I want to thank VampChix/Bite Club for hosting me. I am so excited to be a guest posting here!

When I think of monsters/supernatural creatures, vampires have been the ones to represent control. Vampire myths attribute them with the ability to control people’s thoughts, memories, even their actions through the power of suggestion. Vampires themselves are rigidly controlled in most cases—even Dracula in his formal buttoned-up evening dress—because they have to fight against their need for blood. A large number of vampires in fiction control the people around them (hi, Renfield!), and constantly fight to stay in control of themselves.

That kind of makes me a little depressed.

Now werebeasts are different. Werewolves have always struck me as being terribly out of control. In mythology, they aren’t even in charge of their changes—the moon and her phases determines that for them. In some cases like Supernatural or American Werewolf in London, the werewolf doesn’t even know they ARE one. Add to that the animal instinct that drives them to hunt and kill, and it’s no wonder Weres are often portrayed as being uncontrollable—merely a rabid beast driven by the simplest of urges.

I am very controlled in my everyday life: Type A personality coupled with a mild amount of OCD ensures I like my life ordered. So when it came to writing, I wanted characters that weren’t like me much at all. I like writing messy interpersonal relationships (much more than living them) because even though pack dynamics governs werewolves, I’m still writing about people. And people tend to be inconveniently messy.

Werecreatures are visceral. If vampires are the intellect, then Weres are the emotion. In my world, the Weres I created feel emotion deeply and most characters have a very strong familial bond. Even the werecats, while solitary, do recognize the importance of family and the power of the personal bond with someone else. The emotion that runs through each character is what makes them unpredictable.

Weres don’t strike me being lonely creatures; not the way vampires do. 

As much as I trend toward a vampire in my natural behavior, to me Weres have more fun. What do you think? Which Were would you want to hang out with? Who are the best Weres in fiction? Sound off in the comments.

For a glimpse of my fun-loving Weres, check out the Moon Series. And one lucky winner from the comments (chosen at random) will win a copy of The Moon Omnibus (due out in August) that combines the first three books of the Moon Series: Leopard Moon, Jackal Moon, and Hyena Moon!

Find me at www.jeanettebattista.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jeanette-Battista/256275467786365

Twitter: @Battista_j

Bio 

 Jeanette loves all things medieval, most especially weapons, so much so that her graduate studies were in medieval literature. Unfortunately, horses aren't practical on the freeway, so she opted for a motorcycle. Likewise, a lack of jousting opportunities led to taking kickboxing, boxing, and combat classes off and on for a decade. When not writing or working, she spends time with family, hikes, reads, buys killer boots, and plays Pocket Frogs. She lives in North Carolina with her daughter.