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My writing had caused a serious handicap for me. It was far easier for me to sit back and pound out a story than actually go out and talk to people. I had spent years living this way with literally no friends to call upon, and the few I did encounter I usually regarded with suspicion. All my friends had either betrayed me in some fashion or moved away when I was in school, so I wasn’t too keen to restart the process. I was literally living in a very comfortable shell, and I didn’t want to move.

Who was your celebrity crush when you were 15?

There are a couple of reasons why I choose the age of 15. One is the fact that 15 is in that interesting transitional period between childhood and adulthood. Most people have passed puberty, but not by much, so are still confused and overpowered by their new desires and attractions. Many people still cling, at least on some level, to childhood beliefs like knights in shining armor, magical princesses, and wishes coming true. There's nothing like a celebrity crush when you're 15. That rock star, athlete, or TV actor can make a mighty big impact.

It's hard to imagine it today, but 40 years ago Edgar Rice Burroughs was considered a children's writer. Only a handful of his books were in print, eight or nine Tarzan titles, and they were published as a matched, cheap ($1.00 apiece) set of hardcovers by Grosset & Dunlap. The only place you could find them was in the Juvenile or Young Adult section of your local bookstore.

Mars? Venus? Pellucidar? If you were born after 1940, there was an excellent chance you didn't know they existed. Yes, ERB Inc. reprinted the Mars and Venus books, but their distribution was dreadful. For example, in Chicago, where I grew up—the second-biggest city in America—only one establishment, Carson Pirie Scott (a department store, not a bookstore) carried the ERB reprints.

Okay, that’s not really funny, is it? I suppose the true question before us is: Is there any such thing as a werewolf?

To begin, I suppose we should go back to the root of the matter—what is a werewolf? Literally defined, the word werewolf translates to ManBeast. The word were is taken from Old Germanic wer to mean “Male Human”. The word “wolf” began as “wulf”, which literally means beast.

There’s also the school of thought the word “were” comes from the Old English weri meaning “to wear”. Fighting men of the northern countries were said to wear bearskins into battle. In fact, the berserkers of earliest Scandinavian wars—those insane and bestial men of war—are said to have worn the skin of wolves and bears in tribute to their king.

While modern fiction takes great liberty with the werewolf (myself included) Ancient Mythology tells us that the first werewolf began life as a king.

This is a picture (taken from Wikipedia) of Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf:

Last year I had the great experience of being "discovered" by a good-sized independent publisher that had the means and desire to put a book that I authored in bookstores. Lots and lots of bookstores, including all the big box stores, many independent bookshops, and even Target. Bookstores all over the world. Sounds like a dream come true, doesn't it?

Well, it was indeed a dream come true, but probably not exactly in the way you're thinking. And the things I learned from the experience were definitely not the things I expected to learn. Many of those things were lessons I wish I had been tipped off to by someone who had trod the road before I did.

Which is why I'd like to share them with you. My experiences are by no means universal, nor would every writer react to them the same way I did. But for what it's worth, here's what I would tell you if you and I were talking over coffees at your local Barnes & Noble.

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