Mae Clair: What’s Your Preference, Vampires or Werewolves? H0p!

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Mae Clair

Today is Mythical Monday on my blog, and also the first day of the Vampire vs. Werewolf Hop. What a great mesh! During the hop, participating authors and bloggers will be discussing those sexy creatures of the night and giving away prizes. You can find a complete list of participating authors here.

As someone who enjoys a good paranormal romance, I readily admit a fondness for both night prowlers. Do I have a preference? Hmm …there are plenty of sensual, smoldering vamps out there but, if I had to choose, I’m definitely partial to the guys with a lunar attachment.

It started many decades ago with my older sisters watching a show called Dark Shadows. I was the annoying grade school kid but, even at six, was enraptured. Sure, the star of the show was vampire Barnabas Collins, but I was infatuated with Quentin Collins, tortured smoldering werewolf. A connection was born.

Today, many stories favor shifters and wolf packs which I do enjoy. But, to me, there is nothing more tragically romantic than the original werewolf legend in which lycanthropy was a curse. I love the idea of a single individual struggling against the power of something he or she can’t control. That was the concept I used when writing WEATHERING ROCK, my time travel/paranormal romance about a Civil War colonel transported to modern times. Let me share the blurb:

Drawn together across centuries, will their love be strong enough to defeat an ancient curse?

Colonel Caleb DeCardian was fighting America’s Civil War on the side of the Union when a freak shower of ball lightning transported him to the present, along with rival and former friend, Seth Reilly. Adapting to the 21st century is hard enough for the colonel, but he also has to find Seth, who cursed him to life as a werewolf. The last thing on Caleb’s mind is romance. Then fetching Arianna Hart nearly runs him down with her car. He can’t deny his attraction to the outspoken schoolteacher, but knows he should forget her.

Arianna finds Caleb bewildering, yet intriguing: courtly manners, smoldering sensuality and eyes that glow silver at night? When she sees Civil War photographs featuring a Union officer who looks exactly like Caleb, she begins to understand the man she is falling in love with harbors multiple secrets–some of which threaten the possibility of their happiness.

Finding a decent guy who’ll commit is hard enough. How can she expect Caleb to forsake his own century to be with her?

Intrigued? I hope so! 😀 I fell in love with Caleb while writing this story and would love to share his tale with you.

Finally, in closing, because it’s Mythical Monday on my blog, I hope you enjoy these snippets of folklore related to werewolves:

Most people know that being bitten by a werewolf will transform you into one at the rise of the first full moon. It’s also common legend that someone can willingly become a werewolf through the use of sorcery or by making a pact with the devil. But here are a few less commonly known ways of getting your (were)wolf on:

Being the seventh son of a seventh son
Through cannibalism (can I get an ewwww on that one, please?)
If you’re Catholic, failing to go to confession for a 10-year period
By drinking from the track or footprint of another werewolf
By drinking water haunted by the dead
By eating a wolf’s brain (second ewwww!)

USE THE RAFFLECOPTER LINK BELOW, comment WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, and tell me what most attracts you to werewolves. I’ll select a winner through random.org at the end of the hop and award an ebook copy of WEATHERING ROCK, Kindle or Nook (winner’s choice). I also invite you to like my Facebook Author Page and/or follow my blog by email by using the subscription option in the top right corner of the side bar. Either ‘twould make me very happy! 🙂

Don’t panic if your comment doesn’t appear immediately. Moderation is on, but I promise your remarks won’t be lost and will materialize as soon as I check in. 🙂

Happy hopping! 🙂

Buy WEATHERING ROCK at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Lyrical Press
iBooks

A Rafflecopter giveaway

37 thoughts on “Mae Clair: What’s Your Preference, Vampires or Werewolves? H0p!”

mawmom on January 14, 2013 at 8:54 AM said:

I had never heard of some of those ways to become a werewolf, thanks I will be sure to not drink from any wolf prints LOL! I love the protective nature of the who werewolf persona. Thanks Carin
mawmom at gmail dot com
I follow you all over the place :O)

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 1:05 PM said:
  
  Awesome! That made my day 🙂 Thanks so much, Carin. And some of those werewolfy things were news to me too. Not that I’d want to test any of them out 😀 Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
  
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Donna Cummings on January 14, 2013 at 9:18 AM said:

I am a bit more partial to vampires. But I like your explanation of why werewolves intrigue you, so now I’ve got to figure out why vampires do it for me. LOL I also love the various ways of becoming wolfish — I’d never heard of those!

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 1:07 PM said:
  
  I can do some serious swooning over vampires too, Donna. I think they’re probably more mysterious than werewolves, and also probably more tortured (if you go with the old legend – – the one I favor – – when they weren’t able to walk around in daylight).
  
  Glad I could share some new tidbits on the lunar crew!
  
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Tracey D on January 14, 2013 at 10:12 AM said:

I love their sense of loyalty and the need to protect their loved ones.
Now I know why I howl at the full moon; the last time I went to confession was over 20 years ago! LOL

Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 1:09 PM said:
  
  LOL! I bet in the old days that belief had a lot of people running to the confessional. Werewolves do have a great sense of loyalty, a trait that comes from both the human side and wolf side. interesting! I never stopped to think about that before. Thanks 🙂
  
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Debbie Peterson on January 14, 2013 at 10:56 AM said:

I too am a child of “Dark Shadows” and Quentin was my favorite character to follow… Vampires? Okay… but I’m with you Mae, I love the wolves!

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 1:10 PM said:
  
  Another Quentin girl. I love it! And yeah, I love a good vampire, but they never have anything on the wolves. 🙂
  
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Laura Lee Nutt on January 14, 2013 at 1:07 PM said:

I’m definitely a werewolf girl. To me, they tend to be much more masculine, and I far prefer my heroes on the more masculine side. Plus, they tend to express more passion, energy, and that wild, nearly uncontrolled protectiveness is delicious.

I did a post on this a couple years ago, Werewolves verses Vampires, http://lauraleenutt.blogspot.com/2011/06/werewolves-versus-vampires.html. I’m glad to see others are tackling the subject too, but really, when you look at it, it’s like asking people if they prefer cats or dogs. There’s no right answer, but some sure have some strong opinions. 🙂

Thanks for the post, Mae, and let me second and third those ewwws.

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 1:13 PM said:
  
  What a great comparison about preferences, Laura! And I’m going to have to check out that post.
  
  I also like werewolves the traits you list as your reasons for being partial to them. All very yummy. Now, you have me wanting to read a good werewolf book, LOL.
  
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Emma on January 14, 2013 at 1:49 PM said:

I still prefer vampires to werewolves, but I have developed a fondness for were stories in recent years.

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 6:10 PM said:
  
  Glad to hear the wolves are corrupting you to their way of thinking, Emma. LOL!
  
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Karen Michelle Nutt on January 14, 2013 at 1:52 PM said:

Just stopping by all the blogs on the hop. I loved Weathering Rock and can’t wait until you write the next in the series.

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 6:11 PM said:
  
  It’s always nice to have you drop by, Karen. Thanks so much for stopping and sharing how much you enjoyed WEATHERING ROCK. 🙂
  
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Mel Bourn (@MelCamino5) on January 14, 2013 at 2:03 PM said:

I didn’t realize the other ways to become a werewolf. EWWW! on the eating ones. Not for me. I am partial to wolves as they were the first paranormal I read. Been in love with them ever since. I love the brute strength and primal ownership attitude.

I couldn’t get rafflecopter to work, but I am a FB fan: Mel Bourn
Mel
bournmelissa at hotmail dot com

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 6:16 PM said:
  
  Drat, on the rafflecopter thing. It’s always rough configuring it with WordPress. Thanks so much for letting me know. Commenting here with your email address is fine. And I appreciate the FB follow, Mel. Always nice to see you drop by.
  
  And I’m so with you on the EWWWW factor, LOL!
  
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donnablhmistress on January 14, 2013 at 2:25 PM said:

I couldn’t get your rafflecopter to work, I do follow – vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com

I love vamps, but then I love werewolves. i just can’t decide.

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 6:17 PM said:
  
  Thanks, Donna 🙂 And yeah, Rafflecopter is not working, but commenting here is just fine. And by liking vamps and werewolves you get the best of both worlds. Hmmm, maybe that’s the way to go! 😀
  
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Lynne Kensington on January 14, 2013 at 6:52 PM said:

So, my brat answer is–my choice is between necrophelia and bestiality? O_O

My serious answer is–I prefer werewolves. Werewolves are at least human most of the time; you only have to worry about placating them during their monthly, kinda like my fellas with me. 😀

Werewolves are not often seen in fancy clothes–more often, I’ve read of them as “regular Joes”. Since I’m not a fancy person, I much prefer the ordinary extraordinary, if you know what I mean. Your werewolf love can hold a job, if necessary, and take you out to lunch or out for a hike in the mountains or, if that’s your preference, to the beach during the day. You only have to worry about what time of month it is, not what time of day.

Then, there’s this vision in my head of “Lady Hawk”. Loved that movie–visually stunning at times and such a sad and tortured love story. And finally, may I present for my argument for werewolves, Alcide Herveaux. In fact, you can strike the rest of my answer and rely on that empirical evidence alone. 😛

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- Lynne Kensington on January 14, 2013 at 6:57 PM said:
  
  Oh, and Mae, don’t think the rafflecopter thingy worked for me, either. My email address is LynneKensington@hotmail.com.
  
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  - Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 7:51 PM said:
    
    Oops, forgot to mention about the Rafflecopter thingie. Apparently it’s a bust. Tomorrow I’ll repeat this post again without it. *sigh* It worked so great for me the first time I used it.
    
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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 7:50 PM said:
  
  Oooh, great answers, Lynne! Although I’ve never read the Sookie Stackhouse stories or seen True Blood, I do remember Lady Hawk and I loved that movie. I think I might even have to dig it out again now that you mentioned it. Such a good one. 🙂
  
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sheridegrom - From the literary and legislative trenches. on January 14, 2013 at 7:10 PM said:

Mae – Here I am showing my age again:) I’d pick ghosts first if they were a choice but since they aren’t, I’ll have to go with werewolves. Of course the only werewolf I’ve met is Caleb and we know who introduced me to him, don’t we? When did you say the sequel is due out?

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- Mae Clair on January 14, 2013 at 7:54 PM said:
  
  Caleb is a good choice, Sheri 😀 I’ve got to get cracking on that sequel again. I’ve been distracted with other writing paragraphs but I have to get back to the paranormal. Oh–for the record–ghosts are a great choice too!
  
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Josette Schaber on January 14, 2013 at 11:13 PM said:

Thank you for the informative stop on your blog.
I read both types of books, if it is a good story, then it’s a good story and I’m happy. However, I am drawn to that bad boy, with the rugged good looks. So, weres typically fall into that category.
However, if you’re looking for those rugged vamps, check out The Shadow Wranglers series by Sarah McCarty. The vamps are also friends with some equally rugged weres.

Josette Schaber
evanlea at gmail dot com

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- Mae Clair on January 15, 2013 at 1:18 PM said:
  
  Thanks for the comments and info, Josette. It sounds like you’ve found some good vamps AND weres along the way 🙂
  
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valeshka on January 15, 2013 at 7:41 AM said:

Now, see, I watched Dark Shadows reruns on SciFi in the ’90s, and I always identified with Barnabas, even as a little girl. Go figure. (His curse was far greater than Quentin’s, in my opinion.) Honestly, though, to me werewolves tend to represent all the traits I would hate in a partner—aggression, possessiveness, need for conformity—traits some people see as protective and masculine, but ultimately remind me of my abusive dad. (But let’s not pursue that.)

Not that there can’t be well-written weres out there who don’t feel like they “own” someone the moment they scent them, or vamps who display the same dread traits outlined above, but it’s just my personal take on things.

tp DOT quixotic AT gmail DOT com

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- Mae Clair on January 15, 2013 at 1:20 PM said:
  
  And everyone is entitled to their own take. Ultimately, maybe, it’s the character that decides and attracts us rather than the TYPE of character (i.e, wolf or vamp). I agree there can be good and bad in both camps!
  
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Ellen Thompson on January 17, 2013 at 3:09 AM said:

They seem to be so big and strong. I like that they are loyal and have strong attachments to the ones they love. Thanks for the great giveaway!

thompsonem3 at aol dot com

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- Mae Clair on January 18, 2013 at 10:10 PM said:
  
  Thanks for stopping and commenting, Ellen!
  
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Kitt Crescendo on January 17, 2013 at 11:09 PM said:

Oh, Mae…the one about 10 years sans confession cracked me up. What happened if you converted from Catholicism? Should I be worried about my mom? As always, I love it!

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- Mae Clair on January 18, 2013 at 10:09 PM said:
  
  The confessional thing was a new one on me too, Kitt, LOL. So weird, the folklore that’s out there!
  
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Cindy Barton on January 18, 2013 at 8:46 PM said:

Well hun, couldn’t get the rafflecopter to open up. I have a thing for the shifters, not saying I’d kick a vamp to the curb but, hands down shifters for me.
cmucha319@yahoo.com

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- Mae Clair on January 18, 2013 at 10:08 PM said:
  
  I’m a werewolf girl too, Cindy. And, yeah, the rafflecopter link went belly up early but commenting here is fine!
  
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sherry1969 on January 20, 2013 at 7:52 AM said:

I love how protective and alpha they are and I think it’s great how they know who their mate is.
sstrode at scrtc dot com

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- sherry1969 on January 20, 2013 at 7:53 AM said:
  
  I didn’t say that I love werewolves the best.
  
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  - Mae Clair on January 20, 2013 at 12:35 PM said:
    
    Sounds good, Sherry. I’m with you! 🙂 Thanks for joining in the hop Love your avatar!
    
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