Nate opened the library door slowly and glanced inside. Miss Dennison’s desk was at the back, to the right. Twenty steps or so. The boy shut the door behind him, pushing it until he heard a faint click. Even though lunch had just let out, and the tables were filled with students, the place was a silent as a cemetery. As he crossed the room, his eyes darted across the desks, avoiding direct contact whenever he could. Nate counted his steps as he crossed the room toward the librarian. Twenty-one.
Nate looked at Miss Dennison, her eyes fixed on a computer screen, fingers flying across the keyboard. The monitor glowed softly on the thin woman’s pale skin.
“Um,” Nate squeaked. “Do you have any books on werewolves?”
Without looking up, the librarian pointed a long bony finger towards one of the aisles. “Row 12. Fiction. Horror.”
“No,” Nate said, a bit too quickly. “Um, I mean, like, facts about werewolves.”
Miss Dennison stopped typing. “Excuse me?”
“Real life,” Nate searched for the right words. “Like, history and stuff.”
The librarian withdrew her hands from the keyboard. She raised her head slowly. Her every action was precise. She spoke, low and steady. “I suppose you could check Folklore. There are many accounts of lycanthropy among ancient civilizations. For historical accounts, I recommend an Internet search. Computers are at the back. Use your Student ID to log in.”
“Thank you,” Nate said, quietly, eyeing the imposing aisles stuffed with books. He had never been much of a reader. The thought of delving into so many books made his palms sweat. He stepped toward the shelves, thought for a second, then turned around. Miss Dennison was still looking at him, her face like stone. Nate swallowed down a lump in his throat. “Lycanthropy?”
“Yes. Lycanthropy.” The librarian wrote the word on a yellow sticky note and handed it to him. “Werewolves, shapeshifters, skinchangers, all of them fall under the category of lycanthropy. It’s a good word to know if you’re doing any research on the subject.”
Nate took the piece of paper. The tacky strip on the edge stuck to his fingertips. “Thank you.”
Miss Dennison’s face turned up in a flat smile. Her lips parted slightly, exposing a long row of thin white teeth. “Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”
The Wolf Pact
Little Fears: The Wolf Pact is about 11-year Nate Torrance. Drifting away from his two best friends—one doesn’t want to grow up and one who can’t wait to be an adult—Nate feels more alone than he ever has in his life until he strikes up a conversation with Jennifer Mills, the new girl in Mr. Jenner’s Sixth Grade class. Their friendship quickly blossoms and, one day, Jennifer admits to Nate why her family moved into town: two years ago, her older brother, Brandon, disappeared in the middle of the night. Her family soon fell apart, and she and her mom decided to relocate in order to get a fresh start. Jennifer reluctantly admits that she believes her brother was taken by monsters.
Real ones.
Nate worries Jennifer might be crazy—until he runs across the path of a werewolf who has been stalking a neighbor’s house. The neighbor? Nate’s friend, Darren, the 12-year old who can’t wait to grow up. But it’s not Darren who the werewolf wants, it’s Darren’s 8-year old sister, Lindsay. Nate then recruits Jennifer to help him stop the werewolf and prevent Lindsay from suffering the same fate as Brandon. It’s not until the two run into a second werewolf, one who claims he’s hunting the first one, that Nate begins to discover the truth behind monsters and a mysterious place called Closetland.
The Kickstarter
I wrote the first draft of The Wolf Pact back in 2007, before the launch of Little Fears Nightmare Edition in 2009. While it was a worthwhile experiment, that original text is not the book I’m looking to publish. I’d like to take the same basic idea and many of the characters and rewrite it as a new novel set within the Nightmare Edition world. And if the Blessed are the Children Kickstarter hits $8,000, I’ll commission a cover from Veronica Jones and publish the book in print and digitally as a PDF and eBook. In addition to the fiction, the book will include full stats for the characters and creatures featured in the story.
Every Kickstarter backer who pledges $25 or more will get a free digital copy sent to them. If you back at $70 or more, you’ll get the digital copy PLUS a signed print edition sent to you. This book will be shipped separately so it will not delay fulfillment of your backer tier. Or, you can add a digital copy to your pledge for $5—no matter the level—and extra hardcopies for $10 (please include $5 shipping if you need it sent outside the United States).
I hope this excites you as much as it does me. I’ve long wanted to launch a line of Little Fears novels and, with your help, I’ll be able to. Thank you!
