Dear Author » Lori-Handeland

REVIEW: Crave the Moon by Lori Handeland

Jayne — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:00:54 +0000

Dear Ms. Handeland,

I will admit to having lost touch with your Nightcreatures series. Silly me thought that you’d switched over to your Phoenix Chronicles and hadn’t been checking your website lately. Seems like I’ve missed not just one but two books in the process. Well, I’m back in the saddle with “Crave the Moon.”

Gina O’Neill has been trying to hang onto the Colorado ranch she inherited when her parents died trying to save her and her childhood friend Jase from a cave in that happened at a site on the ranch which has always been said to be cursed. Sometimes Gina would swear that she hears someone or something calling her name on the wind and still feels drawn back to the location of the accident. It’s a photo she takes of a bizarre tree in the area which leads Dr. Matteo Mecate, an archeologist trying to prove his deceased mother’s ridiculed Aztec theories to be true, to write Gina asking for permission to dig at the site. When he gets no response from her after repeated attempts to contact her, Matt heads to Colorado and, on the spur of the moment, passes himself off as another client at the dude ranch while he tries to discover the location where he thinks an Aztec superwarrior might have been buried centuries ago.

There is instant chemistry between Matt and Gina which of course gets ruined when Gina finds out Matt has been lying to her about who he is and why he’s there. It goes from bad to worse after independently wealthy Matt buys the ranch from the slimeball who bought Gina’s mortgage from the bank. Then things get worser still when the eons old creature buried and contained all those years ago finally gets out. Will anyone survive long enough to fall in love or is the world doomed if Gina and Matt can’t come up with a way to save the day?

I love that Matt is sort of geeky and has to have glasses or everything’s a blur – wow can I relate to that. He’s not media reference savvy but he’s got a hot bod. He’s also got that professorial habit of drifting off in his mind as he contemplates great things. Gina is nice, direct, no nonsense – what I’d expect a woman raised on a working western ranch to be. She leaves the flirty girly stuff to others. Gina does some token resistance of the feelings she has for Matt and he manages a half hearted effort but they’re pretty much like magnet and steel – maybe not quite a fated mate romance but darn close. I guess with all the other paranormal stuff to fit into the book this is the only way to do it. But do they have to do the “inappropriately timed fucky fucky” not just once but twice?! I’m thinking – werewolves all around, knowledge that the Nahual “master of all Aztec evil” can strike anywhere and these two cloud their mental “here and now” with bedsport? Time and Place people!

After ten books you’ve still maintained an inventive use of historical fact mixed with local legends and myths -this time Aztecs x Utes – plus a heaping dollop of imagination. Some parts of the basis of this book seem real – such as the willing Aztec sacrifice getting a year of goodies, while the trip north of the Aztecs to war against the Utes for sacrificial warriors is stretching it. But it is fun to read about and shows you put some time into at least trying to come up with something that sounds pseudo realistic. And then as the Nahual says to Matt – prove that this is wrong. Since in RL we are guessing/unsure about so much of Aztec life – anything could go. I love the way that Gina actually saves Matt when she fights the Nahual –

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

This is a paranormal and I know I should just let go and free fall into it but some things still bother me. I agree with Gina that two sorcerers are one too many. Then there’s the part about certain people having a damn good idea of the extent of the evil locked up in this little corner of Colorado and not much being done beyond spreading rumors of something evil there to try and keep people away. Then things really go downhill as the voodoo priestess gets involved. And are they just going to leave the Nahual like he was before? They know that doesn’t always work. Plus I have some unanswered questions – why did the Nahual bite Amberleigh and not get everyone else too? If horses are spooked by werewolves, why didn’t they bolt from the barn the first night? Also how much longer is Edward Mandenauer going to still be around. The guy must be pushing the upper 80s by now. But he’s still got his network of minions and seemingly endless supply of weapons and cool stuff to use in the battle against monsters. I want minions!

Like a newly turned werewolf craving human blood, I find I’m still helpless to resist these books. Weak! I’m weak I tell you. The title might be “Crave the Moon” but I crave the Nightcreatures. B-

~Jayne

REVIEW: Any Given Doomsday (Phoenix Chronicles-Volume I) by Lori Handeland

Jayne — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:00:42 +0000

Dear Mrs. Handeland,

I hope the inhabitants of your newest urban fantasy series never meet up with the Jager Suchers from your previous one or there’ll be a lot of fur flying. Since the J-Sers are sworn to hunt down and kill strange beasties and the “Phoenix Chronicle” series seems to be splitting at the seams with them. Lots of creatures, lots to learn about them, lots to be told about them in little drips and drabs and be left to wonder if the characters passing on their knowledge in any particular scene are telling the truth, their version of the truth or just what they think will get them what they want. It’s very confusing.

In “Any Given Doomsday,” the world is again filled with creatures, monsters and those who hunt them. It’s a brand new world in which seers direct Demon Killers to hunt down lots and lots and lots of different things. Demons, shapeshifters, vampires, chindi, berserkers, and Lord knows who else in the next book. Then there are dhampirs, fairies, skinwalkers and good shapeshifters, empaths, telepaths, and the directors who guide them – the seers.

The heroine is another first person, wisecracking, tough talker who has always had the ability to “sense” things about people by touching objects. Her foster mother once sent her to someone to try and learn about her gift – and she did – but obviously not enough. Now all hell is breaking loose and a world that up until now has been unseen and unknown to her has just become very seen and but still fairly unknown. And if Lizzy Phoenix can’t get a grasp on her powers and lead the home team to victory, not only will evil prevail but all life on the planet will stop worrying about the stock market and global warming because it’ll be – literally – hell on earth.

I started reading the book and was immediately sucked into it. All your books seem to do that to me but it remains to be seen if I’m still being sucked by the end. For one thing, I need to like or just respect the one telling the story and Lizzy gave me oodles of trouble. Now, I like a good kickass heroine who can talk trash as she gets the job done. Bring it, I say. But she’s also got to have some common sense and be able to back up what she says. Lizzy holds her own with her former police officer coworkers when they begin to investigate the crime that jump starts the story. She keeps her head on straight and starts to work the situation. But very quickly she finds herself way out of her depth.

She’s thrown together with a man from her past. One whom she loved and was loved by but also a person who hurt her deeply. I can understand she’s not thrilled to have to depend on him. She’s still hurt by the brutal death of a loved one and totally confused by what’s going on. Okay, no problem. When she begins to catch on to what is happening and what will be expected of her, she wigs out a little. Again, totally cool that she wants to pull the covers over her head and hope it’ll all go away. For a little while that is.

But she’s told plenty of times that she is needed not only to fight the good fight but that she’s got to lead everyone. Whoa, yeah, a lot to handle but she’s an adult. She’s already come face to face with evil and quickly gets more of it shoved in her face. A whole heaping helping of pure-ty bad to the bone “just because it’s fun to torture and kill innocents.” So even she admits she needs to go train with another man from her past who scares the sh*t out of her. So why doesn’t she pull up her big girl panties and deal with it? After a certain amount of time, she needs to stop wavering, stop getting jealous, stop acting like a petulant child and get on with it. The world is depending on her.

And for someone who is the leader of the forces of good, she needs a better handle on when and where she can boss people around. “Don’t touch me!” and “Don’t leave me!” and “Don’t do this!” are quickly followed by people doing just what she ordered them not to do and she ends up looking weak. I was also really ticked off by something that happened with her trainer when they were out on her vision quest. She accuses him of something that I happen to agree with. Now the one who did it is unrepentant but that’s the way you’ve constructed him and he never wavers in his personality or actions. So I’m actually sort of okay with him. But Lizzy goes from a strong accusation backed up by rage to getting turned on by this man and seeking him out to do a little more. WT major F?

I was also disappointed by the endless number of different types of characters who suddenly are revealed to have additional powers or abilities just when the plot demands it. And no we’re not supposed to believe old wives tales – except when they’re true. Need to know how to kill a creature? Um, check back later right in the nick of time. I don’t mind complicated plots and important clues being casually tossed out to see if I pick up on them. But I would like the feeling that the plot isn’t being made up as you go along and suddenly discover you need an out. I’m sure that’s not what you did with the story but it sure felt like it.

The sex scenes are definitely not typical romance ones. In fact, they’re rather sleazy at times. Which is I guess more common in Urban Fantasy novels but just not something I expected from one of your books based on past reading experiences. The blood and gore quotient is about normal though, given how creatures routinely got killed in the “Nightcreatures” stories. I will give you points for the fact that once the final action section was in motion, you built on what you’d told us to allow Lizzy to triumph over her opponent. And the idea of her opponent still needing to fund his empire of evil with a balanced stock portfolio was deliciously funny.

Will I follow you to the next book where Lizzy hopes to find her special someone? Yes, I’ll be there. Your books are like crack for me. There. I’ve admitted it. The imagery is intense, the action is nicely spread through the story and I do want to know what happens next. I just hope I’ll like it a bit more the next go round. C

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or Powells. No ebook format.

REVIEW: Thunder Moon by Lori Handeland

Jayne — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:00:23 +0000

Dear Ms Handeland,

Your books are like potato chips or popcorn or anything smothered with chocolate. I can’t stop reading them anymore than I can restrict myself to one serving of a snack that’s bound to go straight to my hips and stick there like superglue. Sigh. Just when I think that you must be running out of supernatural legends or myths to bring into the Jager Sucher world, you trot out another one and write a book about it. And yes, I did google the subject of the latest paranormal beastie to bedevil your characters and also noticed a bunch of other legends listed at one site in particular. Seems like every group/clan/bunch of people have their own particular bugaboo to scare them in the dark.

After reading last years entry in your Nighcreatures series, “Hidden Moon,” I knew that Cherokee sheriff Grace McDaniel would a heroine at some point. She’s another of the “tough as nails” women you seem to specialize in and of whom I can’t get enough. But while some heroines like this end up grating on my last nerve, yours have enough of a sense of humility and poke fun at themselves enough so that I can laugh along with them.

Grace is competent at her job, willing to roll with the punches, cares about the people she’s been sworn to protect, even the drunks and rednecks, and can track almost anything that walks through the Blue Ridge Mountains near the Georgia town of Lake Bluff. Things which move right through solid objects and can fly might stump her for a little while but she soon figures out what to do about them too. I also like that she doesn’t get along with Elise Hanover (Dark Moon is one of my least favorite of this series) as I can’t stand Elise either. So sue me.

Books written in first person don’t bother me. In fact I often enjoy them quite a bit but sometimes I do miss not having the other lead character’s point of view. Since you usually have your heroine suspect her hero of being the baddie for at least a little bit of the book, I can see why you need to restrict what we the readers know but I wistfully wonder what goes on in the minds of these heroes. Ian Walker, another hero with secrets in his past, pops up in Grace’s world right when things start to go wonky and the music from “The Twilight Zone” should start sounding in her head. It doesn’t help Grace’s equilibrium that the heat between these two sizzles like the thunder which starts the story. But she is clear headed enough to order her deputy to investigate Ian’s bona fides as a doctor.

I like Ian yet I felt that some of his revelations were veering towards deus ex machina territory. I also didn’t care for Elise Hanover’s closed mouth. Yeah, I did mention I don’t like her, right? One character I was happy to see again is Doc Bill, the local ME. I bet he could entertain a lot of people at the next medical conference he attends.

Looking back at some of my previous letters, it would appear that many of the issues that annoyed me are ones which still do so I guess I just need to deal with it for future books. But then, what’s the deal with the Jager Suchers? Is this the end of this series? Or is there more to come? I couldn’t help laughing at the way Grace follows their underground actions by reading the tabloids but if it works for the MiB, then why not a small town Sheriff. From the excerpt at the end of “Thunder Moon” it seems that you’ve got a new series planned. I await it eagerly. B

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in mass market. No ebook format. Please, St. Martin, please get with the twenty first century.

REVIEW: Hidden Moon by Lori Handeland

Jayne — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 09:00:43 +0000

Dear Ms Handeland,

I think I’ve figured it out. With each location change, I find the books in the Nighcreatures series get fresh and interesting again. Then as the series continues in that location, things get stale, you have to pull out more tricks to keep things interesting and I lose interest. With the geographical move to Lake Bluffs, GA, I get to perk up again. But then what next? Will Grace have a book? Something to do with Cherokee legends? And will my grade go down until you move to something new? We’ll see but for right now, I’m glad I am still sticking with this series and that I asked Jane to get me an arc.

Claire is a heroine I can like. She’s a small town girl who tried the big city and who discovered that maybe her own backyard isn’t so bad after all. She’s usually levelheaded, not prone to hysteria and neither immediately believes all the supernatural stuff with which she’s confronted during the town’s annual Moon Festival nor holds out in disbelief way past when it’s obvious that things aren’t normal anymore. She doesn’t try to act like a Wonder Woman but instead uses her head to think her way out of danger.

By having all the old werewolf stuff revealed through Claire’s internet searches, you save the info dump scenes that have been at the end of the past few books. Also, I enjoyed the fact that you used a different character to explain the Mengele thing and was frankly glad that so few Jager-Suchers were in this book. And that it didn’t end with a hundred more people learning about this super secret government society. I guess Claire and Grace are lucky that the villain didn’t decide to turn the entire town into werewolves with the swastika incantation once the lightning bolt hit apple tree was found.

While I enjoy first person novels, sometimes I feel that I don’t get to know the other characters as well. It’s not a problem here with Claire’s best friend Grace as you provide lots of background information about the Cherokee town police chief but I don’t feel like I got to know Malachi Cartwright (and that name never did sound like a Gypsy one to me). Yes, I know his background history and what happened to him but I never felt I really got to know him. And how did Mal know Claire was The One and thus know to use the mist on her to get her used to him? Or did he just guess and take a chance? And how did the gypsies trace the descendants of the witch? They’re not exactly hooked up to the web. Plus the romance between Claire and Mal is a little fast even with the LoveMist. A week by my calculations.

Still, I’m just so darn happy that this book worked better for me as I do have a lot of time invested in the series so far and I enjoy seeing strong heroines. Bring on “Thunder Moon.” I’m ready. B-

~Jayne

Book Sales by the Robins and other winged creatures.

Jane — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:52:01 +0000

She’s got a new book out next month which I haven’t yet read. I think I read some of her categories a long time back. She did write categories, didn’t she?
Prince of Magic author Linda Winstead Jones’s THE EMPEROR’S BRIDE, a new trilogy, to Wendy McCurdy at Berkley, by Richard Curtis of Richard Curtis Associates (NA).

I’ve never read or heard of Robin Miller. Why the name change? Does she write novels with sex under Miller and novels without under Caroll?
Robin Miller writing as Robin Caroll’s BAYOU CORRUPTION, involving rival reporters who agree to work together to solve an attempted murder and end up uncovering a gun smuggling ring, and love, to Krista Stroever at Steeple Hill Love Inspired, for publication in March 2008, by Kelly Mortimer of the Mortimer Literary Agency.

This could be really touching or very schmaltzy.
Television writer Robin Epstein’s GOD IS IN THE PANCAKES, the story of a 15-year old girl in the midst of an ethical dilemma: whether or not to help her favorite nursing home resident die, and how this affects her closest relationships, to Kate Harrison at Harcourt Children’s, by Talia Cohen at the Laura Dail Literary Agency (NA).

This was sold as a Sci Fi/Fantasy and not a romance. I am not sure whether blogging partner, Jayne, has given up on Handeland or not, but I do know that she is tired of the werewolf series that Handeland is writing for SMP
Lori Handeland’s ANY GIVEN DOOMSDAY, the first in a new urban fantasy series where a psychic PI is given more powers than she bargained for and discovers herself fighting monsters of Biblical proportions to thwart an upcoming doomsday, to Jennifer Enderlin at St. Martin’s, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Irene Goodman at Irene Goodman Agency.

This is a pretty interesting sale because of the way it is termed. Does “immediate ebook production” mean that Harper Collins is going to try out ebook publishing before print and become a competitior to Ellora’s Cave and Samhain? Very interesting.
Delilah Devlin’s three erotic novellas, again to May Chen at Harper, for immediate e-book publication, in a nice deal, by Bob Diforio at D4EO Literary Agency (World).

Judith Todd’s BROKEN WING, to Kerry Estevez at Medallion, in a nice deal, by Bob Diforio at D4EO Literary Agency (World).

USA Today bestselling author Elaine Barbieri’s next two historical romances, again to Alicia Condon at Dorchester, by Evan Marshall at the Evan Marshall Agency (world).

Leanna Ellis’s ELVIS TAKES A BACK SEAT, in which a young widow determined to fulfill her husband’s last request hauls a three-foot bust of Elvis strapped in the back seat of a vintage Cadillac from Texas to Memphis with adventures and insights about Elvis and life along the way, to David Webb and Karen Ball at Broadman & Holman, in a very nice deal, by Natasha Kern of the Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World English).

Had to google lepidopterists. People who study butterflys. Which made me think of this at cuteoverload. Then I got distracted for twenty minutes cruising the site and watching the otters holding hand video over and over. Damn you, cute overload, and your time wasting cuteness.
Documentary producer Poppy Adams’ debut novel THE TIME OF EMERGENCE, about two long-estranged sisters, who come from a long line of lepidopterists, to Carole Baron for Knopf, for six figures, for publication in spring 2008, by Denise Shannon at Denise Shannon Literary Agency, on behalf of Judith Murray at Greene & Heaton (US).

USA Today bestselling author Constance O’Banyon’s next two historical romances, again to Alicia Condon at Dorchester, by Evan Marshall at the Evan Marshall Agency (world).

REVIEW: Rising Moon by Lori Handeland

Jayne — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:00:29 +0000

Dear Ms Handeland,

Despite the fact that I’ve had some problems with this series and gave the last book a C grade, guess what my little hand reached for in Waldenbooks the other day? But of course, it was this book. But after reading it, I really am going to have to try and discipline myself when the next book, Hidden Moon, comes out. Two C grades in a row means I need to wait for other opinions before plunking down any more of my hard earned cash.

PI Anne Lockhart arrives in New Orleans desperately hoping that the picture she received in mail will help her locate her younger sister. Katie has been missing for over three years and Anne has put her own life on hold while she tries to find her. It doesn’t help that their last conversation was an argument and that Anne has felt steeped in guilt ever since. The photo of Katie in front of a French Quarter jazz club is the first real lead in ages and nothing will stop Anne from following up on it. Not even the warnings from NOPD Detective Conner Sullivan who tells Anne that he’s been looking into dozens of missing person reports that all have one thing in common: all the victims were last seen at the Rising Moon club.

With Mardi Gras filling the city to capacity, the only place Anne can find to stay is in the room offered as part of the waitressing pay for working at the club. The fact that this will help her follow up on these missing person cases is a helpful. That she will be around the club owner, sexy jazz musician John Rodolfo, is a bonus to good to be ignored. But when things start happening that shouldn’t be happening and Anne starts seeing things that shouldn’t exist, she finds she’s dealing with far more than a missing sister.

My problems started early with this book. For instance, would a NOPD officer turn over information on missing persons to a PI he’s just met? Or any PI for that matter? Or ask for a PI’s help in solving these cases? Granted, police work isn’t my area of expertise but I just don’t see it.

Then there’s the fact that Anne appears to want to “save” hero. She even mentions one time that she’s not sure that hero isn’t just taking the place of the sister Anne vowed to save. Is this love? Or just need? Or just hot sex? The two don’t interact much beyond cryptic conversations and body banging. I never really saw love building between these two, just need for both of them.

Another problem is how the heroine leaps into situations which are questionable at best. Yes, she admits while she’s heading into the dark alley or racing out into the night after someone who looks like her sister that she’s acting foolishly but then she goes ahead and does these things anyway. She’s in a city she doesn’t know, dealing with weirder and weirder things, with no gun, no taser, not even a set of brass knuckles but off she goes! I had this problem with the last heroine and despite the fact that you’re writing your heroines as strong characters, they sure don’t act intelligently at times.

The first part of the story drags too much while last part goes too fast. There’s too much background info dumped at once, even for those of us who’ve followed the whole series, and I think it would be way too much for a newbie.

Anne swings back and forth as far as believing in John’s redemption. One minute she’s horrified at what he is and what he’s done then in the next breath she’s defending him against people who’ve known what he’s capable of for years. I found myself rolling my eyes at this, “Yeah, like she’s going to just “know” John is good/saved now.” And poor Conner Sullivan. Jeez, the man spends two and a half books investigating the nightcreatures and then what happens to him happens to him. I don’t know if you have future plans for him as a hero but it’ll be a long time before I forget him in this book.

I got really annoyed with Adam Ruelle’s cajun accent. I’m glad he wasn’t in the book much. Remember how I talked about the deus ex machina aspect of Midnight Moon? Well I think that by lying about King and and John, you turned them into this book’s deus ex machina. Suddenly information you gave us in the beginning means nothing any more. Though it pains me to say it about a series that started so freshly, it’s getting old and wearing thin at this point. Just how many Jager-Sucher couples will we end up with? I do appreciate the fact that you don’t feel the need to drag each and every one of them into subsequent books though.

Wow, there’s a lot that didn’t work for me here. More than I realized until I started to write this review. Yet, (just as with the last book) I bought it immediately and read it straight through so you must be doing something right. I’m just not sure it’s right enough anymore to get me to buy the next book without lots of people chiming in on how wonderful it is. C-

~Jayne

REVIEW: Midnight Moon by Lori Handeland

Jayne — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 22:44:00 +0000

Dear Mrs. Handeland,

Well, we’re up to book five in your “Nightcreature Novels” series. Most have featured werewolves but this time you dish up something different.
Something very different. And this is perhaps some of the problem I have with this book.

Priestess Cassandra was introduced in the last book, “Crescent Moon.” She’s in the witness protection program after having testified against her drug dealer husband who’s bad business dealings lead to the death of their only child, Sarah. Now Cassandra is a voodoo priestess in New Orleans and from an experience in “Crescent Moon,” the word is getting around that she’s got power, lots of voodoo power. Because of this, she’s been sent to Haiti by the secret agency formed to hunt down monsters let loose by Hitler’s minions in the death throws of the Third Reich. Here she’s supposed to learn the secret to raising the dead in order to end a curse featured in “Crescent Moon.” She hasn’t told anyone that she also plans to use the knowledge to raise her dead daughter.

Devon Murphy is the man she finds in Haiti to lead her to the bokor, the powerful voodoo priest with the knowledge Cassandra needs. Together they find some strange, spooky and horrifying goings on Haiti. And while the bokor might be able to show Cassandra what she needs to know to raise lifelike zombies, what he does to her could end her life.

I’ve enjoyed this series to various degrees but they’re like Lays potato chips. I just can’t stop reading them. Even the books with which I have problems, I compulsively read to the end. Even though there are sometimes plot discrepancies, even though I am amused by an agency that is supposed to be Super Duper Top Secret yet lots of people appear to know about it and before each book is finished lots more are told about it, even though you sometimes have your lead characters act stupidly or forget things in order to convey knowledge to the reader which then makes these lead characters look more stupid, even though you sometimes rely on deus ex machina revelations to wrap up problems, even though you really wing some things about this newest creature, even though some things make me go “eeuuuww” I still can’t stop reading them. So I guess you’re going your job well.

What bothered me in this book? Well, the whole idea of raising the dead daughter. Cassandra is beyond obsessed with it. Even she realizes that she’s acting irrational. And everyone else thinks she’s ~~a whack job~~ nuts. And I couldn’t stop thinking of this zombie child who would never grow up and who would have to avoid certain substances to keep from disintegrating again. Blech. And then there was Cassandra’s mental lusting and some inappropriately timed sex scenes. The first of which was just after Cassandra and Murphy had killed a zombie in Haiti and the body was within feet of them. The kisses are getting hotter, the caresses are getting bolder, clothes are starting to get yanked off and all I could think was, “there’s a freakin’ dead body just feet from you!” Finally there’s the fact that up until the last third of the book, no one had ever heard of wereleopards, yet just when they need to know how to kill one, the information is discovered. How? Did someone go on the internet and check www.wereleopards.org or maybe www.Wereleopards_R_Us? Yet, see above paragraph.

Am I going to buy and read the next book “Rising Moon?” You betcha. Will there probably be things that weird me out in it? I’m betting yes. Will I hope that you don’t have heroines forget to have their weapons with them when said weapons are needed and other such stupid things? Oh, please yes. What grade will I give “Midnight Moon?” Hmmmmm, C+ but remember I just couldn’t stop reading it.

~Jayne

Oh and in case any of you readers are confronted with a wereleopard before you have a chance to read “Midnight Moon” here’s how to defend yourself. All you need is a black diamond that you can stick the animal with. So make sure you always have that and silver to ward off werewolves.