How would I do werewolves? I'll begin with the concept, human turning into beast, then pick and choose aspects from werewolf mythology.  First, the transformation. My werewolves change into actual wolves. Let’s face it, for a female protagonist, becoming a wolf is a lot more flattering than turning into a slavering beast. Besides, I want to explore idea of being half-wolf.

What does it mean, then, to be half-wolf? How would your personality change? Forget turning into a crazed man-killing monster. That’s not a wolf. Healthy wild wolves have only been known to attack humans in self-defense. Yet with a wolf-human hybrid you’d have a wolf who isn’t afraid of people and a human with a deep-rooted instinct for hunting down prey. Might you then have a killer? Absolutely. Or you could have someone who avoids civilization, forges deep bonds with other werewolves and unleashes its hunting instincts on hapless deer and rabbits. Maybe you’ll have both—a dominant Pack with strict behavioural controls and lone wolves who hunt and kill people.

Okay, so I have this Pack of men and women . . .. Oh, wait, are there women? While stories of female werewolves exist, the male variety is much more common. As well, according to werewolf legend, the gene is passed from father to son. Let’s run with that, then. My hereditary werewolves will always be male. So how else can you become one? Forget drinking water from a wolf’s footprint. A little reality, please. Either you inherit the gene or you get bitten, which injects the ‘virus’ into your bloodstream. But what’s the chance that a werewolf will bite you, then run away? If he bites, he kills. Sure, the occasional victim might escape, but it’s very, very rare. So your chances of being a female werewolf are extremely slim. From there I can reasonably postulate a world with only one female werewolf. My protagonist.

Now, let’s take this woman, stick her in contemporary North America and make it believable. Well, as believable as it can be, given the whole shape-shifting business. Should being a wolf give her special abilities in human form? For this, I looked at what a wolf might have that we don’t. Improved hearing and sense of smell. Greater strength, balance, agility, all that physical stuff. Makes sense.

What happens when they transform? First, they should retain their body mass, meaning they’ll be oversized wolves—even Timber wolves weight about one-third less than your average human male. I’ll also have them keep their human hair and eye colour, so my protagonist becomes a 130 pound, blue-eyed, white-blond wolf. Can they still talk? No way. ESP? Forget it. They communicate as wolves do, but with some human gestures, such as jerking their heads to say, ‘Turn this way’. Do they see in black and white? Umm, well, they did, at first, but I kept screwing up and describing things in colour so, lazy writer that I am, I opted for colour vision. Hey, it’s my world. I can do what I want.

Next: how often should they change forms? According to modern retellings, werewolves transform automatically with the full moon. Yet in older stories, werewolves often shape-shift on demand. I liked this better, so I went with it, but added the codicil that they must change at least every seven to ten days, which means you cannot be a werewolf and live fully as a human.

This habitual need to turn into a wolf may pose an inconvenience, so let’s deal with the question of a cure. Is it possible? Well, maybe with a complete blood transfusion, but where the heck are you going to find a doctor to perform one? Let’s keep it simple and assume you’re a werewolf for life.

What about death? Should they be immortal? Nah, let’s just give them increased longevity and youth. Oh, and they’ll heal fast. Why? Convenience—werewolves in my world get hurt a lot. Do you need a silver bullet to kill them? No, too fantastical. If it can kill us, it can kill them.

Okay. That’s it. Birth, life and death for my werewolves.