News – I live in the Pacific Northwest, which is hardly the frozen tundra (though we do get a lot of rain). But this winter I have been spending my time in the snow and ice of Alaska–at least in my head. I’m working on the 6th book in my Howl at the Moon series.
In book 5, How to Run with the Wolves, the story took place partially in Alaska when my pack of Californian dog shifters met a pack of dog shifters living in the remote wilds of Alaska. The Mad Creek, California dog shifters are very much domesticated, living human lives in a quaint little town with many of them having been beloved pets before getting the spark and becoming human-dog shifters. They are a peanut-butter lovin’, couch-surfin’ tribe. So, naturally, they were fascinated to meet a pack of utterly wild dog shifters who hadn’t had any contact with humans for decades and were more wolf than dog.
The new book 6, How to Love Thine Enemy, is set entirely in Alaska in late winter. The pack of Alaskan dog shifters, called the Qimmig, were once the sled dogs of the Inuit, but that was over a century ago. When the Inuit leader tried to get the Qimmig to go to war, the Qimmig left the people, never to return. How to Love Thine Enemy is a Romeo & Juliet story in which two young males–a Qimmig and an Inuit–fall in love. But neither of their tribes want anything to do with the other.
This story has been perculating for a few years, ever since writing How to Run with the Wolves. I knew I wanted to do a story in which the rift between the Inuit and the Qimmig was finally healed. Or… at least, starting to heal. It takes a soul bond and a near tragedy to bring this about. The story has deep love, wilderness, magic, adventure, and lots of snow!
Look for How to Love Thine Enemy in late March 2023. Meanwhile, I recommend the film Slash/Back (2022), which is a recent film set in a modern Inuit town, if you want to immerse yourself in the world: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/0I8LGDRLHBNQ41DX5NTI0XQFNL/
See you soon!
Eli Easton
Nola Kim