. Rumor Has It: JACK TEMPLAR Blog Tour Stop: Guest Post/Giveaway/Twitter Party/Free Books

Jack Templar, you warned me once, you warned me twice. I scoffed at the first warning and rolled my eyes at the second. Yeah, I'm a sissy pants. I can admit that. I don't like things that go bump in the night. I don't like glowing eyes. I don't get any type of thrill fighting monsters. But because I agreed to read your book for this tour, I had to just suck it up and take the plunge. Now I have you, Jeff Gunhus and Donna over at GWR Publicity Tours to thank for the never-ending nightmares and the never-ending battles against the Monsters!

Readers beware: Monsters ARE real!

See what Jack has to say about all this on Rumor Has It today!

Werewolves: Fiction vs. Reality

Hi, Jack Templar here. I’m excited to be here on the Rumor Has It blog as part of the blog tour for my book, Jack Templar Monster Hunter.

Before we go any further, I have to warn you that you’re taking a huge risk by reading this post. If you’re a monster hunter, then you've already made your decision to join the fight. But if you aren't a hunter, I’ll give you the same warning that I put all over my book.

GO AWAY.

Really. This isn't a comic book. This is the real thing. Monsters are real and if you read this post and (especially) if you read my book, the monsters are gonna know it…and they’re gonna come looking for you. The choice is yours.

Still here? OK, don’t say I didn't warn you.

I get a lot of questions from new hunters about whether monsters in real-life act and look like the monsters in books, TV and movies. In a different blog stop, I talked about how real vampires pale in comparison (pardon the pun) to their movie version. Rather than being the good-looking, smooth, heart-throbs Hollywood puts on the big screen, vampires are usually dirty, foul-smelling, creatures who lurk in the dark, always desperate for their next meal. (Sorry ladies.)

While werewolves get a more accurate treatment in fiction, there are some big misunderstandings.

If you've ever seen a werewolf transformation in real life, you know it’s just about the most disgusting thing you’ll ever see. Since Hollywood loves to gross people out, they've done a pretty good job of imagining how it looks (depending on the movie, of course.) Even Lupin’s transformation in Harry Potter (yeah, I’m a fan) made me wonder whether the special effects guys might have a werewolf cousin or something.

Something important you should know is that the whole full moon thing isn't real. A full moon definitely isn't necessary for a werewolf to transform. (More on how the moon does influence them below.) Most werewolves have mastered the ability to control where and when they transform…for the most part. Emotional stability plays a big role in it. Think of it like the Hulk. You know how he has to control his temper or change into the “other guy?” Werewolves are the same way.

How does this help you? Sometimes you’ll be 80-90% sure someone you know is a werewolf. This is when you can do the anger test. Figure out what really drives them nuts. I mean, really makes them angry. Then go for it. Eat their last Oreo. Pick your nose in front of them. Pass some gas. Ask their boyfriend or girlfriend out on a date. If they lose their temper and don’t transform…I guess you were wrong. Careful, because making the wrong person mad can end badly…even if they aren’t a werewolf!

I mentioned the moon earlier. The fullness of the moon (whether day or night) does have an impact on the werewolf’s strength. No, it’s got nothing to do with the gravitational pull (I always get that question.) It’s old magic that comes from the origins of werewolves. It’s a little too complicated to go into here, but this tidbit of information is crucial for your survival.

Track the phases of the moon every month. Knowing how full the moon is will help you determine whether you should fight a werewolf you run into or if you should turn and run away like a Scottish howler being chased by a flock of blood-bats. (Unless you've had training, you might want to run no matter what.)

The last bit of Hollywood silliness is this whole thing with silver bullets. Yes, they work, but only as well as any other metal bullet. I've heard rumors about a special metal that looks like silver that’s supposed to be some miracle weapon against werewolves, but I think it’s just a legend.

There’s a bunch more I wish I could tell you about werewolves and how to fight them, but I've already stayed in one place too long. I’ll try to include more tips in my next book so you can be better prepared for the fights ahead.

Do your duty, come what may!

Jack Templar

TWITTER PARTY& FREE BOOKS!

Twitter Party with Jeff Gunhus on Friday, Dec. 21, 6 - 8 pm EST. I hope you all can stop by!

OH! Jeff Gunhus will have Jack Templar's e-book available free at Amazon.com Thursday, Dec 20 & Friday, Dec 21. This is a great book so head on over and get in on the action!

Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family business. Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits...until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.

As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.

Hi Everyone -- Jeff Gunhus here. Jack Templar is a good friend of mine and I've had the pleasure of helping put his adventures down on paper.

I spent my childhood in Greece, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia where there was a distinct lack of TV. I quickly found that books were the gateway to incredible adventures, fascinating characters and unbelievable discoveries. Now, with five children of my own (all who watch too much TV, in my opinion), I've enjoyed revisiting my old books and reliving those adventures all over again.

When Jack Templar contacted me, I felt like he was already one of my good friends and part of the tradition of the books I loved as a kid. So, I didn't hesitate to help him share his story...even though it made the monsters in my area take an uncomfortable interest in me.

I've enjoyed every minute I've spent with Jack and both of us would like to hear from all you hunters out there. Send us an email or leave a comment on this site and I promise one of us will get back to you.

As Jack always says, Do your duty, come what may!

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