I’m honored to have Dylan J. Morgan here today. Those of you who know Dylan, know how awesome his stories are. He’s agreed to talk to us about the werewolves in his “Blood War Trilogy”.
There are some Werewolf excerpts from his novels at the bottom of the interview. 🙂
High in a black, cold sky, the thick bodies of bloated clouds are pushed aside by the wind. Silver rays brighten the night as the perfect circle of a full moon glows in the blackness. Filtering into the depths of thick woodland, moonbeams fracture and disperse, spreading their radiance throughout pine forests spanning the lower reaches of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains.
The darkest shadows move, separating from the gloom, and a hulking pack of bipedal monsters advance slowly through the trees. Energized by the moon’s glow, lycanthropes march down the mountainside, drawn to mankind by the smell of its blood. Feral eyes gaze into the night, nocturnal vision easily picking out the shape of a small hamlet near the forest’s edge, its mortal occupants sleeping soundly, unaware of the carnage to come.
The alpha male issues a low throaty growl, and the pack of werewolves advance out of the woods to sate their hunger.
Five words can sum things up for me: ‘Twilight can kiss my ass’. I hate what that movie franchise has done to werewolves, the image they have implanted in the ideas and minds of the next generation of horror lovers. Werewolves aren’t overgrown wolves. They don’t transform back into hunky dudes wearing shorts. They don’t lust after one-dimensional pale chicks who can’t string more than four words together. Give me a break. Werewolves are beasts, the most dynamic and fearsome of all horror monsters. They beat zombies and ghosts hands down; vampires shrink in the shadow thrown down by a gigantic eight foot tall lycanthrope. With a jaw that can crush a mortal head in one bite, claws that can gut and disembowel a vampire with a single blow, werewolves are unrivaled in the supernatural world—an apex predator.
These are the true monsters of horror. These are the werewolves of my Blood War trilogy. These are your worst nightmares come true.
Why did you choose to write about werewolves?
Basically, because I love werewolves. I love them more than vampires or zombies or any other kind of fictional monster. Everybody writes vampires these days, there’s too many of them, particularly in paranormal fiction, and there’s not enough werewolves. I’ve always wanted to write werewolves, and although there are vampires in the Blood War trilogy, I’m secretly on the werewolves’ side. 😉
Why a war with vampires?
Well, the way I figure it, werewolves and vampires would have to be enemies in the supernatural world as they’d both want to be the more dominant race, and both crave the blood of man to survive. When the idea eventually came to me about writing about a centuries-old war between these two species, I seriously wondered why I hadn’t thought of it sooner. The Blood War trilogy started from a simple idea that had nothing to do with werewolves or vampires, but at the end of the day this series of novellas couldn’t be what it is without the eternal hatred between these two supernatural races.
That’s true they both hunt the same prey. Why a hybrid werewolf? Why are they allies with the purebred werewolves? Both share a hate of vampires.
There’s no hybrid werewolves. Well, there’s hybrids, which are an amalgamation of werewolf and vampire, and they’re fighting both pure-blooded species to try and gain control over the supernatural world. Around four hundred years ago small pockets of werewolves and vampires fell in love, they mated, and the hybrid bloodline was born. The rest of the werewolf packs and vampire covens found out and rounded up all the werewolves and vampires that had crossed the bloodlines and executed them.
They did not, however, manage to cull all of the hybrid babies, and two hundred years later the hybrids launched surprise raids against werewolf and vampire alike and joined the war, making it a three-way conflict.
Simon Cain is one of the hybrids, why does he only take a werewolf shape? ( from my memory of book 1. I don’t remember him ever being a vampire, but do remember him changing into a werewolf often.)
The thing with hybrids is that while they carry the genes of both werewolf and vampire species, most of them have a dominant gene that takes president when they transform into their hybrid shape. Those that have a more dominant werewolf gene resemble a werewolf (although not completely the same shape and stature) and those with more dominant vampire genes take on a more vampiric form.
When he transforms, Simon Cain doesn’t take on a werewolf shape, but his genes are predominantly lycanthrope, so he becomes more wolfen.
Why can’t the amalgamations or hybrids transform others?
That’s a very good question, and something that’s not explained in any of the books. The disease that pure breed vampires and werewolves carry that allows them to transform humans into supernatural monsters is diluted in hybrids to the point that it no longer causes an effect. The disease is different in vampires and werewolves, and it cancels out when mixed in hybrids.
That’s really interesting. I would have thought the disease would be stronger, but it makes sense.
Why are your werewolves the half man-half wolf monster?
I don’t like werewolves on all fours. They look more animal, less threatening, and don’t even get me started about those puppy-dog efforts of Twilight. The name werewolf comes from Old English, where ‘were’ means man–so naturally I wanted my lycanthropes to be half man-half wolf: bipedal and monstrous, savage and brutal, the kind of creatures that are way more scary than what your worst nightmare can dream up. Think Underworld or Dog Soldiers, and then you’re in the right ball park.
The Hybrid creatures that have a stronger werewolf gene change into werewolves. Is there any difference between a hybrid werewolf and a pure breed werewolf. I haven’t notice much difference until the end of Monsters and Mortals, there was a statement about the hybrids being a little smaller than the pure breeds. Are there any other differences, in appearance, ability, or temperament? Anything you want to tell us about their differences or similarities?
Hybrids, although possessing similar abilities and qualities of their pure breed creators, are not quite as dominating because their genes came from a distinct genetic mutation when the bloodlines were crossed. Those with dominant werewolf genes resemble lycanthropes without actually possessing the exact same characteristics. They have snouts, as a werewolf would, but they might be of varying size, they might not be as muscular or as tall as pure breed werewolves. Some have little hair covering their bodies, others have more. They look more like a mutated, or deformed version of their more dominant cousins. This is why hybrids seldom congregate alone, but in larger groups to try and negate their weakness against their foes.
Does this also mean their weaker than their pure breed creators? For both werewolves and vampires?
Yes, they are weaker, although they do possess the same strengths. This is why hybrids prefer strength in numbers when in combat.
Can the hybrids conceive and give birth. Pure breeds were able to have hybrid children, How was that possible?
Yes, hybrids can conceive and give birth, it’s how they’ve kept their bloodline going for so many centuries. But the bloodline is diluted the further down the family tree one goes. Those hybrids born directly from a werewolf-vampire coupling are the superior individuals of their race, and they call themselves The Chosen. Those hybrids born thereafter aren’t as supreme.
By pure breeds I assume you mean werewolves and vampires? They have reproductive organs, as they also have offspring, but somewhere down the line some of these individuals broke a sacred vow they’d all taken of never to having intercourse with one of the opposite species. Once the genes of vampire and werewolf combined in the womb, hybrids were created.
Thank you, Dylan for the interview. I’m honored to have you here this month. Below you can get a feel for Dylan’s Werewolves! These are my favorite werewolf parts of some of his novels. The links take you directly to Amazon.
Simon edged closer. His appearance shifted, not a subtle flicker like before; his jaw line thickened, his skull bulging. A splintering sound cracked the stillness of the bedroom, bones shifting under his skin as his body swelled.
BLOODLINES — Blood War Trilogy: Book I
Deformed beasts, wolfed demons and blood-thirsty vampires hunted her under the brilliant light of a full moon. Monsters and Mortals – Blood War Trilogy Book II
She grew four feet taller, arms and legs thickening as her skeleton cracked and reformed, muscles dis tending with blood ready for a fight.
The Last Stand — Blood War Trilogy Book III
The werewolf before her stood almost eight feet tall, it’s broad and muscular body clearly defined amid the room’s thickening shadows. Black hair covered its body, arms hanging powerfully at its side, elongated fingers curled and tipped by scythe-like talons. Beasts at the door. . .
Dominio della Morte
You can find Dylan J. Morgan at
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Mari Wells 
Great interview Mari!!! I have to look into those books!! Lots of love, Emily