10 Ways to Spot a Werewolf

1.  By their birthday ye shall know them… The legends say that anyone born on Christmas Eve is destined to become a werewolf. It’s regarded as a divine punishment for daring to compete with the Christ child. As if not getting a birthday party isn’t bad enough.

2.  Waxing won’t help… If you have a unibrow (brows that meet above the bridge of your nose), you’re probably a werewolf. According to this rule of thumb, Bert of Sesame Street fame has been a shapeshifter all along and will probably devour Ernie one of these days.

3. It’s not polite to point… Having an index finger that’s longer than your middle finger is a clue that you might be a werewolf. If that long forefinger occurs with thick and lengthy nails and hairy palms, it’s fairly certain that you have waaaaay more problems than just needing a good manicurist.

 

4. Water, water, all around… Like rabid dogs, werewolves are said to possess an irrational fear of water. Which is a real pain to live with because werewolves are also incredibly thirsty all the time. Their raging thirst when in human form apparently stems from all their extracurricular exertion as a wolf. Plus they need to wash all those victims down.

5. The better to see you with, my dear… Werewolves can be spotted even in the densest forest or darkest night because of their glow-in-the-dark red eyes. A shapeshifter’s eyes can glow when they’re in human form too. Especially if you’ve had a little too much Absolut and orange juice.

6. It’s only skin-deep… Centuries ago, the pentagram (5-pointed star) was considered a sign of evil. Werewolves were also considered evil, so naturally everyone thought the two would go together. Doctors of the time actually checked the skin of suspected werewolves for tattoos of pentagrams or birthmarks shaped like them! Sometimes they checked under the skin too, believing that a werewolf wore its fur within while in human form -- kind of like a reversible raincoat.

7. To sleep, perchance to scream… Someone with strange sleeping habits could be suspected of being a werewolf. Doglike behavior such as turning in a circle on the bed, scratching at the covers or even having restless leg syndrome could all be a sign. Restless dreams and nightmares have been rumored to plague werewolves. Sleeping excessively, especially through the day, has often been considered a solid clue to shapeshifter tendencies. (Wow – that takes in most teenagers.) However, NOT being able to sleep is also a sign of being a werewolf!

8. Temper, temper… People with rage issues and tendencies towards violence were often suspected of being werewolves. A werewolf’s aggression supposedly increased as the moon became fuller, and declined as the moon waned. No one ever seemed to consider PMS.

9. Able to leap tall buildings… If someone was unusually physically strong, they might be suspected of being a werewolf. Shapeshifters were notoriously well-muscled and some legends say they were as powerful as a dozen ordinary humans. They were immune to disease as well, so if the plague came to your village and you didn’t die from it, you might fall under suspicion. Same goes if your co-workers fall prey to the latest office flu and you don't.

10. Sexy as all get out … That is, you are if you play a werewolf in Twilight, True Blood, Being Human, and other popular movies and TV programs --- or if you happen to be a hot character in one of my new paranormal romance novels! The series centers around a family of shapeshifters, the Macleods, who have settled in northern Canada after being driven out of Scotland. They love their ability to turn into wolves at will, considering a great gift. However, it's a gift that complicates their lives, especially when love comes along. 

By the way, these shapeshifters find it insulting to be called werewolves – they refer to themselves as Changelings. (The first three books, Changeling Moon, Changeling Dream and Changeling Dawn, are available online and in bookstores.)  

For more info, go to www.daniharper.com 

Howling for Changeling Moon -- part of the "The 18 and Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop"

Changeling Moon on Amazon

ABOUT THE CHANGELING SERIES

The Peace River region of northern Canada is a unique place where raw wilderness exists side by side with farmers’ fields. And in the quiet rural community of Dunvegan, human beings unknowingly exist side by side with those who are something more than human. They call themselves Changelings, and they have the ability to become wolves at will.

Changelings live as humans – they have jobs and pay bills and go to school and mow the grass and do all the things that humans do. They view their wolfen side as a wonderful gift, but it also complicates their lives, sometimes dangerously so. Especially when it comes to relationships.

CHANGELING MOON is the first book in this paranormal series, which centers around the Macleod family of shapeshifters.  Here’s the back cover blurb to give you an overview:

He roams the moonlit wilderness, his every sense and instinct on high alert. Changeling wolf Connor Macleod and his Pack have never feared anything — until the night human Zoey Tyler barely escapes a rogue werewolf's vicious attack.

As the full moon approaches, Zoey has no idea of the changes that are coming, and only Connor can show her what she is, and help her master the wildness inside.  With her initiation into the Pack just days away and a terrifying predator on the loose, the tentative bonds of trust and tenderness are their only weapons against a force red in tooth, claw... and ultimate evil.

HOT TEASER  

(Hey, it IS an “Over 18” event!) 

from CHANGELING MOON 

by Dani Harper

Connor was leaning into her yet Zoey didn’t back up a single step. She matched his passion with her own, licked and nipped at his mouth, his tongue. Bit his chin again but lapped over it softly to ease the sting. There was no hesitation in her as her hands clawed lightly down his back, then slid around to flick open his jeans. Her fingertips circled upward, tugging apart his denim shirt. Buttons flew, but there was no pause, no uncertainty as she brushed her lips across his bare chest and gently seized a nipple in her teeth.

He froze, sucking in his breath. Her tongue played with the captive nipple, then she nuzzled her way to its mate before resuming her original mission—to get this man naked. Her hands outlined the hard muscles of his upper body, rubbed up and over his broad shoulders, then eased the shirt down his powerful arms, over the strong hands. She held the warm garment close to her face as she stepped back for a moment, instinctively drinking in the scent of him as she took in the sight. He stood perfectly still, allowing her to look.

Fully clothed, the man was sigh-worthy. Shirtless, his jeans unbuttoned and riding low on his hips, he was simply heart-stopping. The candles’ glow revealed a powerful body that combined strength with an easy grace, yet she sensed that the difference between Day Connor and Night Connor went deeper than appearance. There was something dangerous here, a force barely leashed. It radiated from him, unseen yet palpable. She hesitated. . . .

And he winked.

Just that quickly he was back to the Connor she knew, his pale gray eyes amused. She laughed a little, more at herself than anything, but didn’t move closer, not yet. Instead her fingertips moved to the buttons of her blouse. The amusement vanished from his face. It was his turn to watch, to look. To want. Peeling away the plaid material, she dropped it to the floor and ran her hands over her lace-trimmed cami. There was no bra beneath it and her nipples stood out plainly. His eyes followed her fingertips as she slid first one thin strap off her shoulder, then the other...

She never saw him move. In one heartbeat, she was standing, in the next, she was tangled on the floor with Connor.

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THE 18 AND OVER 

BOOK BLOGGER 

GIVEAWAY HOP

My blog, WAY PAST NORMAL, is taking part in the “18 and Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop”.   What’s a Hop? Every blog on the list hosts a giveaway and you can HOP from one blog to another!  (You don't have to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others - but it would be a whole lot of fun to try!)  MANY THANKS to the two hosts of this hop – Bitten by Paranormal Romance AND Getting Naughty Between the Stacks

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

CONGRATULATIONS TO 

DIANE FROM CANADA, WHO IS THE LUCKY WINNER THIS TIME AROUND.

HOP LINK - This link will get you back to the list of participating blogs at Bitten By Paranormal Romance – make sure you scroll all the way down to the bottom of their post to find the List of 101 participating bloggers!  Good luck to you!      http://www.bittenbyparanormalromance.com/2012/01/18-over-giveaway-hop-march-22nd-25th.html

Now for something REALLY scary: SEX

I love writing this blog. Exploring folklore, myths, legends, and the paranormal has been my passion since September 2008 when I started WAY PAST NORMAL. 

But every once in a while, I want to talk about books. Specifically, I want to be able to talk about the romance novels I write, which contain the paranormal (no surprise there) and people (hard to have a book without characters) and love (romance novels, right?) and sex. Apparently a few people have been shocked by that last one. 

Yes, my characters have sex.

And yes, my mother knows what I’m writing.

Why do my stories contain sex? Because sex is real. It exists. It’s a basic need and yet, so much more than that. It’s a vital part of who we are, and how we connect to and bond with the one we love. It’s both powerful and subtle, profound and sublime.

Sex in my stories is never casual. My characters don’t have gratuitous sex. No one-night stands, no orgies, and no sex just for the sake of adding another sex scene to the book. In my world, sex springs out of love, and the relationship grows because of it. Sometimes the characters learn from it and are even changed by it.  

Omigod, you’re saying, I came here to read something about the paranormal, not get caught up in a chat about sex.

I promise, I’ll get back to the ghosts and monsters soon. I just need to let my readers know that you’re now going to see a new page before you get to my blog. You’ve seen this page before, the one with the little disclaimer that announces that the blog you’re headed for might have ADULT CONTENT and do you want to proceed? It’s just the first time you’re going to see it on WAY PAST NORMAL.

Does this mean I’m suddenly going to decorate my blog with a whole lotta naked people? No. In fact, the most shocking pictures you’ll see here are on some ads for blog hops I participate in and links to other blogs that I follow which sometimes show shirtless males. Oh, and the photo at the beginning of this post.

In other words, my blog’s going to look about the same as it always has.  

But every once in a while, in between such subjects as Lucky Frog Legends and the Year of the Dragon and Black Big Cat Sightings and Tales from the Psychic Toolbox, I’ll be talking about my novels and sharing some excerpts. One of those times will be March 22 – 25, for the “18 and Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop”.

I sincerely hope you’ll drop by for the fun.

Dani Harper
www.daniharper.com


Questions for my readers:  What's your opinion about sex in romance novels?  Does it depend on the story?  Do you have a preference as to quantity? A little? A lot? None at all? Or "let's see how many state laws we can break"?

Werewolves, Changelings & the Moon (Lunar Love Giveaway Hop)

You know the story: The hapless human turns into a ravening beast during the full moon. But did you know that the idea came from Hollywood? Until filmmakers wrote the moon into the early Wolf Man movies, there’s very little mention of lunar influence in the old legends.

Traditionally, if you were a werewolf you could change form whenever you wanted to. In Sweden, men became werewolves by drinking magic beer and chanting a spell. The oldest legends have humans putting on a whole wolfskin to cause themselves to change form. This is similar to the skinwalker legends of Native Americans, where a pelt was placed against the skin. In some stories, only a belt made of wolf fur was needed. The moon was never mentioned.

In the Balkans, all you had to do to become a werewolf was drink the water from a wolf’s footprint. Or drink from a body of water where a wolf pack had just satisfied their thirst. Some rivers and streams were said to be lycanthropic – enchanted so that a single sip of their water would turn you into a wolf. If you could't find any magical water, you could simply eat the brains of a wolf (eeyeeew!) in order to gain the ability to shapeshift. But again, no moonlight was necessary.

The moon did prove useful in one European story. In Germany, Italy and France, it was said that both men and women could become shapeshifters by sleeping outside and allowing the full moon to shine on their faces for the entire night (especially on a Wednesday or a Friday). The story didn't mention if the spell was permanent or perhaps only lasted until the next full moon.

The moon didn’t matter a bit, however, if you were one of the unlucky folks to be made a werewolf by someone else. Often, the person doing the hexing was not a witch but a priest! From Russia to France, if you didn’t go to church or offended God in some other way, you could be officially cursed to become a werewolf.

In 14th century Normandy, the varouage was an excommunicated person who became a werewolf between Christmas and Candlemas or during Advent. During this time, the sinner was either redeemed – or doomed to belong to the devil and run as a werewolf forever. In Finland, if you were lucky enough to break the spell, you were still stuck with a wolf’s tail for the rest of your life! But at least you didn’t have to fear the moon.

As a paranormal romance author, I have a passion for wolfen shapeshifters, and my new series revolves around a family of them, the Macleods. Driven from Scotland when wolves were being exterminated there, they found sanctuary in the wilds of northern Canada. They call themselves Changelings, and they’re extremely long-lived. Able to become wolves at will, they spend most of their time as humans in a human world, hiding in plain sight.

However, there is ONE occasion in a Changeling’s long, long life that the moon has power over them. Their very first Change always occurs on a full moon! And because a human can become a Changeling if they’re bitten by one, the moon becomes a serious complication in the first book of the series:  CHANGELING MOON

He roams the moonlit wilderness, his every sense and instinct on high alert. Changeling wolf Connor Macleod and his Pack have never feared anything — until the night human Zoey Tyler barely escapes a rogue werewolf’s vicious attack.

As the full moon approaches, Zoey has no idea of the changes that are coming, and only Connor can show her what she is, and help her master the wildness inside. With her initiation into the Pack just days away and a terrifying predator on the loose, the tentative bonds of trust and tenderness are their only weapons against a force red in tooth, claw … and ultimate evil.

As part of the Lunar Love Giveaway Hop, I’m giving away a signed copy of CHANGELING MOON (and a tote to put it in). Details below!

(PS – This book was designated a Top Pick and nominated for Best PNR of 2011 by The Romance Reviews, received the Reviewers Choice Award from Two Lips Review, and garnered many 4 and 5 star reviews. Read excerpts of the book at http://www.daniharper.com/CHANGELING_MOON.html)
   

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Lunar Love Giveaway Hop

Over 170 BOOK-RELATED BLOGS ARE PARTICIPATING (including this one). Every blog on the list hosts a giveaway and all hosts are linked up so you can HOP from one blog to another!  (You don't have to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others - but it would be a whole lot of fun to try!)  MANY THANKS to the hosts of this hop, I AM A READER NOT A WRITER, and BOOKWORM LISA.

For my giveaway, I'm offering a signed copy of my shapeshifter romance, CHANGELING MOON plus a Dani Harper TOTE BAG to put it in!  

GIVEAWAY IS 

NOW CLOSED

Congrats to the winner, Rae M. ! 

HOP LINK - This will get you back to the list of participating blogs:

http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2012/01/lunar-love-giveaway-hop.html  Happy hopping and good luck!

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SHAMROCKS, CLOVERS AND LUCK (Feelin Lucky Giveaway Hop)

When I was a kid, I used to hunt for four-leafed clovers in the belief that they brought good luck. I didn’t know then that one was only considered lucky if you found it by accident – the clover was useless if you looked for it on purpose! No wonder I didn’t get the pony I was hoping for….

It’s said that Eve carried a four-leafed clover out of the Garden of Eden (probably figuring that she and Adam were going to need all the help they could get). And the ancient Celts of Wales carried sprigs of clover as a charm against evil spirits. A four-leafed clover worn inside your shoe would lead you to either love or treasure! (If you put one in each shoe, did you find both?)

Druids esteemed the four-leafed clover as a source of protection, because holding one would allow you to see fairies and other supernatural creatures. A salve was sometimes made of four-leafed clovers and applied to the “third eye” area of the forehead, to bring out psychic abilities. Or the clovers might be sewn into a tiny bag and hung around the neck. This would reveal the fairy folk to the wearer – but it would only work once for each clover that was in the bag.

Common White Clover,
Trifolium Repens 

The four-leafed clover is a symbol of good luck in many countries, but is most associated with Ireland. The Irish claim that they have more of them growing there than anywhere else. Maybe, since both the Irish shamrock and four-leafed clovers are said to come from the same plant:  Common White Clover, also known as Dutch clover (Trifolium Repens). That’s right, it’s the same stuff that sometimes takes over the lawn on this side of the Atlantic.  True, there are some potted plants sold around March 17^th that claim to be official shamrocks, but they’re usually oxalis or wood sorrel. Pretty, but apparently not brimming with good fortune.

St. Patrick with shamrock

St. Patrick made the shamrock famous by taking an ordinary clover leaf (which has just three leaves normally) and using it as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity which is the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. This is a prime example of Christianity adopting – and changing – the symbols of pagan faiths. The three leaves had previously been known as the three phases of the Goddess – Maiden, Mother and Crone!

So if the three-leafed “shamrock” (clover) came to represent the Christian Trinity, what did the four-leafed clover come to mean? Early Christians saw the four leaves as creating the sign of the cross. Some maintained that the fourth leaf stood for God’s grace and it was a sign of favor if you found one. Others have named the four leaves as Faith, Hope, Love and Luck.

21-leafed clover

So why are there four-leafed clovers when clover naturally has three leaves? Long thought to be a simple plant mutation, scientists have now found a recessive gene for the anomoly. In fact, there are no known limits as to how many leaves a clover can have. According to Guinness, the world record for the most leaves on a clover stem has been held by Shigeo Obara of Japan since 2002 when he discovered a clover with 18 leaves. He bested his record a few years later with a 21-leafed clover. And in 2009, he was credited with finding a clover with no less than 56 leaves!!!

How lucky is a clover with more than four leaves? In Ireland and a few other places, it’s said that it brings nothing but bad luck. In other places, there’s a different meaning for each clover according to leaf number:

     Two-leafed clover = love

     Four-leafed clover = luck 

     Five-leafed clover = attracts wealth

     Six-leafed clover = fame

     Seven-leafed clover = long life

Clovers with more than the standard three leaves are said to be lucky because they’re rare, and estimates place them at about one in 10,000 when naturally grown. They’re not evenly distributed, though – some patches of clover produce many of them (I found dozens in my yard as a kid), and others grow very few of the multi-leafed variety. 

Because the four-leafed clover is such a well-known symbol of good fortune, an entire industry has sprung up around them. You can buy genuine four-leafed clovers pressed between glass, embedded in resin, made into jewelry or just about anything you can think of – and to do it, some horticulturalists have refined the clover plant using the newly-discovered genes. In their specialized plots, four-leafed clovers occur about once in every 41 plants! How much luck these contain, however, is anyone’s guess.

One last word of advice:

  Never iron a four-leafed clover. You don’t want to press your luck! 

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FEELIN LUCKY 

GIVEAWAY HOP

100 BOOK-RELATED BLOGS ARE PARTICIPATING!!! That means lots of FUN and plenty of chances for YOU to WIN! Each blog on the list hosts a giveaway and all hosts are linked up so you can HOP from one blog to another!  (You don't have to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others - but it would be fun to try!)

For my giveaway, I'm offering a signed copy of my shapeshifter romance, CHANGELING DREAM plus a Dani Harper TOTE BAG to put it in!  BTW, although this is a series, each book is designed to stand alone. You don't have to have read the others in order to enjoy this one!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my blog and leave a comment.

Congrats to the winner, "DBookWhore"

MANY THANKS to the hosts of this fun and fabulous hop,  I SMELL SHEEP and FICTIONAL CANDY ! Hope you'll visit these terrific review blogs!

HOP LINK: http://www.fictionalcandy.com/2012/01/feelin-lucky-giveaway-hop-sign-ups.html This will get you back to the list of participating blogs.  Happy hopping and good luck!

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