The Wolf’s Moon by Patrick Jones

Dire wolf skeleton and mural, La Brea tarpits museum, LA.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

These Dire Wolves really did exist four thousand years ago. They are double the size of the grey wolf. Their bones were found in the La Brea Tar Pit in Los Angeles. Why did they become extinct? Who knows?

Mark Lansdowne saw a sign saying Granny Barton’s Antiques. He was curious and stopped. He was just browsing when he spotted an old book and was drawn to it. He purchased it for five dollars and left.

He was reading the book, when the dogs, he had three named after the Three Stooges, growled and the hair on their backs rose . He went out, but saw only a pair of red eyes and smelled a scent of rotting meat. The red eyes drifted back into the forest as if they were never there.

As he sat drinking a cup of tea, he heard a scream. It could be anything, a wild animal. He decided he couldn’t do anything in the dark, so he’d check it out in the morning.

In the morning, Lansdowne checked around his pond and found something had come to eat or drink. Just the one with huge paws, but no nail prints. The dogs were with him, and these prints did not look anything like theirs. And then there was the awful smell , which he and the dogs followed.

His dogs all had something that distinguished them from each other. Larry was the biggest, Moe heard the best and Curly was the smeller in the group. Curly returned with a bone. It could only be human, it contained a screw. It was Janey Malone, the waitress at Barkers.

In Maple Hills, Missouri, it is such a small community that everyone knew everyone else. Barkers was the local gathering place. Farmers were talking about missing cows and deer hunters were seeing no deer.

Dave and Janey didn’t show up for work at Barkers. Now Myron Cox was missing, with just a trail of blood . Lansdowne called the sheriff. Sheriff Ralph Benson showed up. Morrison, a deputy was at the Cox home, investigating his disappearance, while Benson was at Lansdowne’s. Benson received a call from Morrison saying Christine McKay, from the Department of Conservation, had found Dave Morris, dead.

Benson joined up with Skruggs, Lansdowne’s lifelong friend, and Lansdowne to follow the smell to the cave. The woods were silent, no sound of squirrels or birds. The smell was stronger than before and he spotted a paw print that hadn’t been there earlier.

Months ago two girls had turned up missing from their rafting trip. He found a tennis shoe belonging to one of them. As they left the cave, Lansdowne said one of them had to stay in the area. He told them he would stay and protect what was left of Janey.

Lansdowne had climbed a tree with a view of the cave entrance. As the creature approached, Lansdowne came down from the tree to track it. The creature felt something was wrong and turned around. It had laid a trap for Lansdowne.  Now Lansdowne became the hunted.

The bite caused excruciating pain, but he was still able to kill the beast. He felt he was going to die.

When he came to, his pal, Skruggs, was there. He must have been at death’s door, because his wife, Glenna, had come to him telling him he must get better and move on. Mark seemed to be healing very quickly, he was hungry and anxious to go home.

As the sheriff and Lansdowne talked, Amy came in. She always cut his hair. She kissed his cheek and told “Mike” how glad she was he wasn’t dead. She looked to see if Benson caught what she had said.

The sheriff thought there were seven missing, but Lansdowne figured nine, maybe eleven. Too many in too short a time for it be done by one animal.

The carcass of the wolf had been taken in for examination. It was an extra-large wolf, even though there had never been any wolves in the Ozarks. It couldn’t be identified in any database. Where had it come from? Are there more?

   4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others

I won this book in a Goodreads First Read Giveaway. The author was gracious enough to autograph the book for me. Thank you. This is Patrick’s Jones debut novel and I feel he knocked it out of the ballpark. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with next.

I thought it was going to be just another werewolf book, by the cover and title, but was very pleasantly surprised. The blurb made me a little more curious, but didn’t do the book justice.

It is about wolves that had gone extinct 4,000 years ago. I love creature books. It is so realistic and I can see how it could be true. With all the scientific advances of today, why couldn’t someone recreate a wolf? Jurassic wolves, what’s not to love?

The writing was excellent and the characters were well developed. I fell in love with Lansdowne and his “puppies”. He has an awesome best friend in Skruggs, now all he needs is a love interest, or does he already have one and not realize it? He thinks he hasn’t moved on from his wife’s death, but has this experience made him realize life is too short, you must live it, not just exist.

There is more than one mystery, and it seems Mark Lansdowne is not what he appears to be. This is a series and I am eagerly awaiting the next book, whether it is about how Mark came to be in Maple Hills, or about the wolves, I don’t care. I feel it can only get better. Soooooooo, write faster Mr. Jones. lol

This video is courtesy of Sandy Jones.

Interview with Patrick Jones:  Hi Patrick. I want to welcome you to my blog and thank you for sharing with us.

Interview Questions:

1.  What was the inspiration for writing about these particular wolves?

The Dire Wolf died out or went extinct around ten to twelve thousand years ago.  (Bones found in Arkansas were dated to about 6000 years ago).  If these dates are accurate, they lived alongside of prehistoric man.  Some scientists believe the Dire Wolf hunted in packs and they probably did, but skeletal remains at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, CA indicate that they may also have been lone hunters.  A grey wolf averages about  120–150 pounds, but can you imagine a wolf or a pack of wolves the size of African lions with three inch fangs?  Scary?  You bet!

1.   Can you tell us about the cover and who designed it?  I feel these are always key elements to drawing a reader to the book.

My wife Sandy did the original cover but she was just never satisfied with the way it looked.  She always felt it could be better at grabbing the attention of the reader.  She subsequently designed 4 other covers.  It was not until this point that we both agreed on the cover.  The cover is one of Sandy’s pictures taken on the actual “Wolf’s Moon” in January 2012, precisely because that picture described a scary night.

1.  What was the hardest part of writing the book?

The hardest part of writing the story was stopping to eat.  “The Wolf’s Moon” started out as a short story but took on a life of its own.  I attempt to write every day from 5AM to noon but in the case of this book, I just never noticed the clock.  On the days I could not write, for whatever reason, my mind kept going refining what was to come next in the story.

1.  If the book was made into a movie, who would play Lansdowne and why?

Hmmm.  John Wayne?  Nope – dead.  Sean Connery?  Too old now.  Anyway, I couldn’t afford either one.  Then one day it came to me, the guy that played the part of the scientist in the TV program SG1, Michael Shanks.  He looks much like I imagined Linden to look and I think he could pull it off.

1.  What do you do when you are not writing?

I love to hunt with my son, Patrick and my daughter’s son, Cody.  Fishing is great as is woodworking in my shop.  I work mainly with walnut and cherry.  Making a table or a bookcase out of either or both is so satisfying.  The best thing is to be with all of my grandchildren.

1.  I am a bit of a car nut.  If you could own any car, what would it be?

We already own it!  A 2011 Camaro, black with black interior.  I love the 2001 Silverado Sandy bought me after nine-eleven.  The truck means a lot to me but we bought the Camaro as an anniversary gift to each other.

1.  If you had 24 hours to be alone, go anywhere, do anything (money not an issue), what would it be?

I already do that.  I have a cabin tucked away in the woods in the Ozark Mountains.  The cabin is small and rustic.  No running water, no electric.  A couple gallons of water and a kerosene lamp and I’m set.  God has made many beautiful places on this planet but none more beautiful than the view of the glen from the cabin.

1.  What are you working on now?  Would you like to share anything with us?

I’m working on the next book involving Linden and Skruggs right now, as well as another story without the guys.  There is one reader who wants to marry Linden and another who wants an introduction to Cindy Winters, and another still who wants to go to dinner with Amy.  It’s really flattering that readers get that deeply involved with the characters.  That means I did my job right.

1.  Is there anything else that you would like to share with your fans?

When I have a reader that leaves a good review it makes me happy.  When I get a review that isn’t so great, I smile and remember that everyone is different and it is possible they are only looking at the story and not everything as a whole.  I am happy they read the story.  When I’m in the grocery store and someone wants to chat about the book, it’s a great feeling.

Fun Facts

Country or rock and roll?  Usually everything but rap.

Margarita or Martini?  Sometimes a Black Russian; other times a Bud.

Summer or winter?  All four seasons.  I thank God everyday he allows me to see each.

Football or baseball?  Football…you know God is a man…the NFL is on Sunday and Monday and Thursday.

Spontaneous or planner?  More spontaneous.

High or low maintenance?  Low more often than not

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pat Jones was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. His special interests include the science of paleoanthropology and archaeology.

Woodworking is one of his favorite hobbies, with special emphasis on the unique grains and textures of various species of trees. He and his wife, Sandy, thrive on designing and creating a flower garden of perennials, second to none! Constantly evolving, the garden began as a way that he could surprise his wife on her birthday. The rest is history! The garden now spans one fourth of an acre!

When their children graduated from school, the couple relocated to rural Missouri where they now reside with their four dogs. The love of the area, in combination with the uniqueness of the people, provided the impedance for “The Wolf’s Moon”.

The sequel to “The Wolf’s Moon” is already in the works and proves to be yet another suspenseful page-turner! Pat believes that there is a story in everything. Everybody that he meets has their own special story; one simply has to take the time to listen. The story then writes itself.

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To order a copy of the book, simply click on the cover.

  Giveaway – Patrick has offered 2 ebooks for the giveaway. It is International and easy to enter, as always. Just answer the question – Do you think there have been enough scientific advances to make a Jurassic wolf? – and leave your email. Ends November 5, 2012. CLOSED.

 The Winners of the 2 ebooks were vetteklisa and Susan Laine. I would like to thank everyone that stopped by to comment and enter.

For another chance to win, go to http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho…

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