Full Moon of Werewolves Schedule
About today’s guest: Me…Lori Devoti
I’m giving away FIVE copies of Guardian’s Keep. Guardian’s Keep is my first Nocturne featuring garm—and the book where the hero and heroine of Dark Crusade first appear (also a garm book). Just leave a comment on this post to be entered. Winners will be announced at end of Full Moon promotion. Last day to enter Saturday, March 25th at midnight central U.S. time.
Funny thing, when I decided to build my world for my Unbound series, I purposely meant not to have werewolves. Not because I don’t like them. I, in fact, LOVE wolves and to me the werewolf was the perfect shifter—sexy, alpha…what more could you want? But there were already so many authors doing them so well. So, I decided not to write a werewolf book. I chose hellhounds instead. Then I discovered Garm.
Garm is a wolf who is bound and howling during Ragnarok, the Norse end to the present or old world…death of the gods and the cosmos. There is some confusion as to whether Garm, this one particular wolf, might also be Fenrir, a very specific wolf (who was instrumental in the plot of Guardian’s Keep). Wolves are actually mentioned a lot more than hellhounds in my books on Norse mythology. So, it became obvious my world needed wolves…and, of course, they had to be shapeshifters. But since they weren’t “just” wolves and they aren’t werewolves I decided to call all my wolf-shifters garm. And the species/group/whatever was born.
Now garm are not, as I said, werewolves. Their shifts are not tied to the phases of the moon, and garm aren’t made—they are born. Their shifts also don’t hurt; they are magical. Garm are in fact magical beings, in that it is just a part of what they are and when they shift magic leaks off of them. They however, unlike my witches, can’t do anything with their magic except shift. (My witches, who can’t create their own magic, pull it when a garm or hellhound shifts and then alter it for their own use.) They also are telepathic, but only when in their wolf forms. And my garm are protectors. They are the guardians…a role they played in Norse myth too, guarding the entrance to Hel’s home and such.
So, there you have it a short primer on garm, both from Norse myth and how I tweaked those myths to fit my fictional world. I love my garm. They are alpha, but still protective. And they have a lot of honor. They are much more structured than my hellhounds (who I love too).
And, while they aren’t werewolves, I still think they deserve a little love. :)
Buy Lori’s books:
Amazon
Sounds cool!
Karin Shah
Available now!
Samhain Publishing
I like the idea of a garm and that the shift doesn’t hurt. I love learning about mythology!! :mrgreen:
I love mythology, and yet I know next to nothing about Norse mythology lol. Thanks for the little tidbit on it, I’ll have to check into more Norse myth. And I also love hearing about how someone came up with their stories, because it can start out so simple and progress into something much more elaborate.
Thanks for explaining about garm. They sound awesome.
Love the background and the fact that the shift is magic. No need to worry about shifting for the older ones when they get a touch of arthritis. :wink:
I love books about mythology. You can get great ideas while you’re reading them.
Thanks for the post. I wasn’t quit sure what a garm was. I know now. Thanks.
Have a great day.
hi Lori, I love your garm, and I love your books. In Dark crusade I hope to see the elf Gal, he was such a decent person. Thanks for the post.
And we do love them. I don’t suppose you’ll have a garm as a prize one of these days? :mrgreen:
Thanks for the wonderful post… I enjoyed your explanation about garm! :D
As a reviewer, I get a lot of different types of books but I’ve never read any about Garms! This would be a first :)
I love that you put a twist on the shifters – made them so that the moon really didn’t play a role and that they are protectors and have honor. They sound pretty darned cool. And yes, they deserve love too. :)
I love the mythology behind your garms. I love new twists on legends.
Guardian’s Keep is the one Nocturne book I own, and for good reason. It’s one of the best! I love the garm… and the hellhounds. :mrgreen:
got the garm protecting my myspace page :mrgreen: would love to win one
I enjoyed your explanation about the garm. I like the idea of the shift not hurting.
Thanks blackroze! I love when people use my garm to decorate their spaces. :)
Thanks, everyone! I really enjoying taking mythology and rewriting it as if it were real and alive today. I’m doing that in the book I’m working on now too–it’s a dragon book. It’s just plain fun to do! And Fenrir’s story was a particularly fun one because I got to take a character presented as evil and show his side. Loved that.
Enjoyed the post and the explanation of a garm!
I think the Garm need a little love too. Especially if they are good looking, have lots of muscles….. Oh sorry, got a little off track there. I truely love hearing about all the lore and myth behind the different paranormals. Thanks for the great post Lori!
I like the idea. Garm’s sound really cool and I agree they need love also!!
Cool! :) I think the book sounds intriguing
Sounds very, very cool!
I love to find something that hasn’t been over done. I have never read anything like this book before so I’m eager to try it.
Like the new twist to the shifter….. Thanks
Hi Lori, I am reading your latest book right now. I picked it up last night because i couldn’t wait any longer for it. I love all of your books and your characters. Werewolves, garm, they are great.
I never knew there was so much info out there about shifters. Thanks for keeping me so well informed!
Thank you for explaining the garm. They sound fascinating.
Thanks for the lesson!! I loved it.
Thanks Lori. I’ll add these hellhound and Norse mythology tidbits to my lore repertoire!
Julie
I really like the fact that you went your own way, came up with your own species and brought them to life in your books. I love the Garm.
not your mother’s werewolves. These sound interesting and very different from the pack. Need to put them on my wish list too
Garm sound really cool. I knew a little bit about Norse mythology before but am loving that I’m seeing it more frequently in books. What a great way to tweak the werewolf stuff.