IT’S HERE! Once Upon A WolfPack: A #WolfPackAuthors Anthology is out today!


Today is an exceptionally exciting day, not only for a whole bunch of authors, but also for the wild wolves at Lockwood Animal Rescue Center in Los Angeles and the people (most of whom are US Army Veterans) who so tirelessly work at rehabilitating these wolves and giving them a chance at a better life.

Today is the publication day of Once Upon A WolfPack, an anthology of stories written by the members of the #WolfPackAuthors writers’ group in aid of wolves and men alike. Read more about the #WolfPackAuthors and their books here.

Once Upon A WolfPack consists of 555 pages (paperback version) of short fiction in almost every genre out there, the single thing tying them together being the majestic wolf, and the cause for protecting wolves. Each of the #WolfPackAuthors selflessly gave their work for this noble cause, as all proceeds from sales of the book go to Lockwood ARC in aid of their wolves and their wonderful Warriors and Wolves program. Read more about Lockwood Animal Rescue Center here.

To whet your appetite a little, I’ve decided to include a short excerpt from my own story, The Soapmaker’s Mother, which has been taken up in this stunning anthology!

They were gathered on the granite cliffs on North Island, the kin of my kin and their kin and so forth, as they had done these many years past and would continue to do long after my eventual death. I did not recognize their faces. I could not recall their names, but I knew they were my brethren, because we breathed the same air and our souls responded in the same way to the whispers of the wind at night.
I could feel the hunger pooling in the pit of my stomach, as it always did when others of my kind were near. I could feel their warmth radiating outward toward me, as though they were candles and I a moth, drawn inexplicably to their heat, their light, the promise of certain death if I got too close.

María must have felt it too. Or sensed it. I felt her stiffen beside me, her gaze shifting to me in the darkness.
“Do you feel it?” she asked. “Do you feel the way their presence closes around your heart?”
I felt that and more. It was almost as though my skin could feel the sensation of the wind rippling through their hair. It was almost as though my hands could feel the dark soil pushing up against the pads of their clawed paws. And if I turned my head just so, I could smell the stench of fear wafting off their future prey. I could feel the crunch of bones and blood in their maws and I felt both the anticipation before and the satisfaction after the hunt as though it was my own. These things I couldn’t share with María, not when she’d given up so much of herself in return for my freedom.

“I feel it as though I am among them,” I said when María’s eyes remained on me. Even that, I hated knowing, had been a gift from them. That I could know the things I couldn’t see, that I could sense the things I couldn’t hear.
“Do you fear them?” she asked, her breath leaving behind white imprints on the night.
“No,” I replied, though I did fear them for what their presence did to me in their ignorance. The hunger gnawed on my mind. It addled my sense of responsibility and brought forth thoughts a man was not to think when accompanied by a woman with a noble heart. She did not know what danger
she was in, that she’d put her trust in a tainted creature.
“We should not linger,” I suggested, though I would have stayed all night had she not been with me. Just to feel their presence was enough to sustain me for years to come, but what bliss it would have been to join them on the hunt, to feel their excitement surge as they located and felled their
prey.

“You are not safe here.”
“There is no place safe for me in this world,” she whispered before retreating, back the way we’d come.

To read more and to support these wonderful authors, as well as the Wolves and Warriors at Lockwood Animal Rescue Center, get your copy of Once Upon A Wolfpack today! It is available in e-format and paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other book retailers worldwide. See links below to get your copy now, and if you’re so inclined, please leave a review on your preferred platform!

Thank you for your support, and happy reading!!

Once Upon A WolfPack at Amazon

Once Upon A WolfPack at Barnes & Noble

Once Upon A WolfPack at Rakuten Kobo

Once upon a Wolfpack: A #WolfPackAuthors Anthology COMING SOON!

Writing can be a lonely endeavor. That is why we writers tend to band together and stick together. We move in groups (or packs!), typically the quiet types that are active at night but the members of which look out for each other in ways our non-writing friends and family simply can’t. I have the privilege of being part of such a group, the very aptly named #WolfPackAuthors. You’ll be hearing a lot more about this fantastic group of authors in the future, but for now, just one very exciting announcement! The #WolfPackAuthors’ first short story anthology is about to hit the book-world and it is going to knock your socks off!

The anthology is a collection of stories from members of the #WolfPackAuthors and it is all about the majestic wolf. But this anthology is so much more than just a book about wolves. It is a labor of love. Not just the love of writing, but the love of real live wild wolves. That’s right! All the proceeds from the sales of “Once Upon A WolfPack” will go towards the rehabilitation and conservation of wolves. More specifically the wolves at Lockwood Animal Rescue Center in Los Angeles. But not only that, the Lockwood Animal Rescue Center also provides a sanctuary for others, such as the countless veterans who returned from the front struggling to find their place among society again. These veterans come to Lockwood ARC to feel the healing touch of wolves, even as these wolves need them to look out for their safety and future. It’s a perfect symbiosis!

Learn more about Lockwood Animal Rescue here.

Check out the individual members of the #WolfPackAuthors and their very awesome books at the brand new #WolfPackAuthors section of this page. The #WolfPackAuthors truly have something for every reader!

And finally, watch this space for pre-order details and an exclusive excerpt from my latest short story, The Soap Maker’s Mother, which has been included in the anthology!

Support the #WolfPackAuthors and you support animal welfare!