Women Who Run With the Werewolves: Tales of Blood, Lust and Metamorphosis

by Pam Keesey | Horror |
ISBN: 1573440574 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 1/25/2009
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14 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, January 25, 2009
I pulled this trade paperback off of my read-and-enjoyed horror shelves during a recent decluttering. It's a collection of stories with a women-as-werewolves theme, and with a title that's a play on the feminist book Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Estes. [I recall finding that one impressive back when it first came out, but I think the werewolf version is a bit more fun!]

The book includes the wonderful (if interestingly-named) "Boobs", Suzy McKee Charnas' tale of a girl who finds puberty to be an unpleasant kind of shape-shifting, and who then discovers a somewhat different kind. [This story's a great antidote to some of those sickeningly-sweet books-for-teen-girls that tried to persuade us what a wonderful thing it was to get our first periods. Ahem!]

There's also Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Wife's Story," which takes the usual werewolf tale from a different point of view. And Thomas S. Roche's "Sisters of the Weird" introduces a troubled young woman to a very unusual new friend.

As with most collections there are ups and downs in this one, but overall I enjoyed the variations on the theme!

Table of contents:

Introduction, by Pam Keesey
Permafrost, by Charlee Jacob
Boobs, by Suzy McKee Charnas
Moon Running, by Judy Brewer
A Model of Transformation, by Renee M. Charles
The Final Truth, by Steve Eller
The Wife's Story, by Ursula K. Le Guin
Teamwork 81, by Paul Allen
Sisters of the Weird, by Thomas S. Roche
The Change, by Barbara J. Ferrenz
Euphorbia Helioscopia, by Jeremy E. Johnson
The Hound of God, by Tom Piccirilli
Visitation, by Pamela J. Jessen
A Wilder Truth, by Mari Hersh-Tudor
Breaking the Circle, by Michael W. Lucas
Wilding, by Melanie Tem

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, February 21, 2009
As this seems to be the only copy of this book registered, and since I know there are quite a few werewolf-story fans here, I thought I'd offer this book for a book ray; see the forum post here.

Bookray instructions:

When you receive the book, please journal it, and PM the next person in line for their address so you'll have it ready when you've finished the book.
Note: even if you've sent books to that person before, please PM them before mailing this one, to confirm that the address is correct and that they're able to take on a bookray book at this time.
Try and read the book promptly - ideally, within one month of receiving it. (If you expect to take longer, you can request to be put at the end of the list. If you find you're swamped with other books when the person before you contacts you about the book, you can ask to be skipped, and then let me know whether you'd like to be moved down the list or dropped entirely. If you receive the book and find it's taking longer than you'd planned to get through it, I'd appreciate an update in its journal entries or on your profile, just to let me and the other participants know you haven't forgotten it.)

When you're ready to pass the book along, please add your comments about the book and indicate where you're sending it, either through a journal entry or through the controlled-release-note option. [If you use the controlled-release-note option and specify your own country/state/city, we'll end up with a handsome map of the book's travels.] If you find that you're having problems contacting the next person in line, or don't think you can manage to mail the book as originally agreed, please let me know; I'll be glad to try to work something out!

Participants, in mailing order:

amberC [Australia]
Tsjara [Netherlands]
chucklesthescot [Scotland]
Sarahmuh [Sweden] [asked to be skipped]
allthesepieces [PA, US]
Guinneth [NH, USA]
BarkLessWagMore [NH, USA]
Megi53 [VA, USA]
judygreeneyes [CA, USA]
mysticalzoe [ME, USA]
penelopewanders [Switzerland]
Bookworm-lady [Spain]
vampirequeen [UK]
Tiamat-muc [Germany]

Journal Entry 3 by wingGoryDetailswing at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Friday, February 27, 2009

Released 15 yrs ago (2/27/2009 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

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I'm mailing this book out to BCer amberC in Australia, to kick off the book ray. [I'm using one of the new reusable envelopes from the supply store; the book fits - barely - into the smaller-sized one. Will see if it survives the international post, and whether it actually could be re-used after that {wry grin}!]

Hope everybody enjoys the book!

Journal Entry 4 by amberC from Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Sunday, March 8, 2009
The book arrived today in the very nifty Bookcrossing envelope. I carefully peeled off the labels and will reuse the envelope.

I have a couple of other commitments before this book, but will read it soon.

Journal Entry 5 by amberC from Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Saturday, March 14, 2009
As usual with short story collections I enjoyed some more than others.

My favourites were Moon Running, The Wife's Story and Visitation.

I have PM'ed Tsjara and will post when I have her address.

Journal Entry 6 by amberC at Darwin, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Released 15 yrs ago (3/18/2009 UTC) at Darwin, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases

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On it's way tomorrow to the next on the list, Tsjara.

Journal Entry 7 by Tsjara from Zaandam, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Thursday, March 26, 2009
The book has arrived here safely and the bookcrossing envelope survived the journey :)
Thanks AmberC for sending it to the other side of the world and GoryDetails for hosting the ray.
I will start with this one as soon as I have finished my other rings.

Journal Entry 8 by Tsjara from Zaandam, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Thursday, April 30, 2009
It has been a while since I have read a horror story and I enjoyed it a lot. I even missed my stop once, on the metro/underground, because I was so absorbed in a story. Though the bits about how yummy blood and meat is almost turned me into a vegetarian :p
The ones I liked most were Moon Running, The Wife's story, The Hound of God, and A Wilder Truth.

I have PMed chucklesthescot and the book will travel again soon.


Journal Entry 9 by Tsjara at Heiloo, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (5/5/2009 UTC) at Heiloo, Noord-Holland Netherlands

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The book is now travelling to Scotland (in the bookcrossing envelope).
Enjoy!

Journal Entry 10 by Chucklesthescot from Paisley, Scotland United Kingdom on Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Book has arrived safely in Scotland, thank you Tsjara! I look forward to getting my fangs into this one. Hope to get it read this weekend and will PM allthesepieces later for postal address. Thanks for letting me join this ray GoryDetails!

Journal Entry 11 by Chucklesthescot from Paisley, Scotland United Kingdom on Saturday, May 16, 2009
Moon Running was my favourite story in this but I liked the revenge element in Boobs! Who hasn't wanted to get their own back on the bully at school?!! I have the address for the next reader and will be posting this out to allthesepieces on Monday morning in that nifty reuseable envelope!

Journal Entry 12 by Chucklesthescot at Paisley, Scotland United Kingdom on Saturday, May 16, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (5/18/2009 UTC) at Paisley, Scotland United Kingdom

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This book is continuing it's journey across the water to America. I hope you enjoy reading this!

Journal Entry 13 by snarkhunting from Quincy, Massachusetts USA on Friday, May 22, 2009
Aaah-ooooooooo!

Journal Entry 14 by snarkhunting from Quincy, Massachusetts USA on Wednesday, June 17, 2009
This was fun to read. I was especially drawn to Ursula K. LeGuin's contribution.

I'll be sending a PM to the next participant tonight.

Journal Entry 15 by snarkhunting from Quincy, Massachusetts USA on Wednesday, June 24, 2009
PM received. I expect to be able to get to the post office within the next few days. Sorry about the delay!

Journal Entry 16 by snarkhunting at -- BOOKRAY, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA on Monday, June 29, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (6/29/2009 UTC) at -- BOOKRAY, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA

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On its way to the next participant! Thanks again for the chance to read this. Hope you all enjoy it.

Journal Entry 17 by Guinneth from Manchester, New Hampshire USA on Friday, July 10, 2009
This arrived safely while we were on vacation. I'll start in on it right away.

Journal Entry 18 by Guinneth from Manchester, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, July 12, 2009
I found this collection a bit disappointing overall; I'm unfamiliar with Cleis Press but in many of the stories the sexual portions (mostly women with women) seemed forced and rather stilted, and I wonder if lesbian love was one of the guidelines for inclusion in the anthology! It seemed arbitrary and not necessarily a furtherance of the plot nor a deepening of the character development in most cases.

That said, I did enjoy several of the stories toward the end of the book far more than I had any of the others that came before:

The Hound of God, by Thomas Piccirilli. This was a very interesting take on the werewolf legend in which the protagonist is viewed as a protector, in this case of the other residents of Harlem. They leave offerings of food and other gifts outside her apartment door after she kills carjackers and other criminals, and several people act as her caretakers. An original and well written story.

Visitation, by Pamela J. Jessen. A sad, nostalgic tale: an elderly woman who has chosen not to transform since becoming a mother receives a visit from her grown children as she languishes in a nursing home. Regret is the theme here, both for the loss of one's wild nature and for the things unsaid and undone with loved ones.

A Wilder Truth, by Mari Hersh-Tudor. This was one of a couple of stories in which the protagonist spends most of her life as a wolf and then discovers she can transform into a human. I thought A Wilder Truth handled this interesting reversal the best of the lot.

Melanie Tem's Wilding is actually a novel as well, and I'm not sure which came first but the short story of the same name here had the feel of coming in in the middle of the narrative, but perhaps that's just because I've read the longer version.

Thanks for sharing this one, GoryDetails. I already have BarkLessWagMore's address and will get this off to her some time this week.

Journal Entry 19 by Guinneth at on Thursday, July 23, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (7/22/2009 UTC) at

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Oops - I forgot this was still sitting in my car! Sorry. I finally mailed it off yesterday.

Del. conf.# 0308 2690 0001 7695 8068

Journal Entry 20 by BarkLessWagMore from Merrimack, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, July 23, 2009
This one arrived today along with some lovely bc labels and what looks like a felix the cat bubble wand/pencil. My daughter grabbed it thinking anything extra was hers but then I realized it might have accidentally been left in the envelope and belong to Guinneth. If so, please let me know.

I have one book to finish up and then I'll get started on this one. Thanks!

Journal Entry 21 by BarkLessWagMore from Merrimack, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I started this book last night but only managed to get through the intro, Permafrost & a few pages of Boobs before nodding off (no fault due to the book).

I've read many raves about Charlee Jacob's work but was a little unimpressed with Permafrost. An institutionalized woman with bipolar dreams of running under the light of a full moon as a werewolf. It was decently written but too brief and I saw the ending coming as soon as the author described the doc's eyes.

Many elements of Boobs by Suzy McKee Charnas reminded me a lot of the movie "Ginger Snaps". Have you all seen that one? If not, you must. I'm curious which came first, the movie or the book but I'm too lazy to look it up. I enjoyed this story a lot. It brought up body issues, bullying and made me thankful I'm long past over all of that stuff!

Moon Running by Jody Brewer was a unique take on the whole "I despise being a beast" thing usually found in these types of collections.

A Model of Transformation by Renee Charles was a bit of uninteresting froth about a beautiful young woman's transformation to stunner to super model with a twist, of course. I found the "erotic" bits to be very clinical and detached. The story would've been the same without them. They seemed as if they were added after the fact or as if the author were uncomfortable with writing the scenes. As a result they were anything but erotic.

The Final Truth by Steve Eller This story starts out like a teenage boy's wet dream and ends like a bad version of a Tales From the Crypt episode. A workaholic city boy decides to get away from it all and rents a cabin in a secluded area. Immediately appears a beautiful woman who jumps his bones. He decides to give up his previous life and play house with the were-woman. But as with most wild things she's unpredictable and her actions in the end weren't adequately explained enough for me to buy into it.

The Wife's Story by Ursula LeGuin I liked this one a lot. It was short, melancholy and precise with an emotional impact behind the words.

Teamwork by Paul Allen I love dogs but I didn't like this story featuring a guide dog and her new owner Gretchen. The reason? Gretchen was not a sympathetic character.

Sisters of the Weird by Thomas S. Roche This one about bar chicks who howl at the moon just didn't thrill me. There wasn't enough meat (sorry) to the story to grab me.

The Change by Barbara Ferrenz I liked this one about a woman experiencing personality changes and a lust for blood. Her doc insists her changes are due to menopause, she believes he screwed up her head after prescribing her a drug. His solution is to write up a prescription for something else. I enjoyed the whole distrusting the medical industry bits in this story.

The Hound of God by Tom Piccirelli I enjoyed this one quite a bit but wanted it to be longer. The heroine of the story, Tangera, was a fascinating character with an interesting life story that was only briefly touched upon in this short story. I have some of this author's work and will have to see if he ever expanded on this one.

Visitation by Pamela Jensen This was a sad story about an older woman abandoned by her children who apparently gave up her best years, her dreams and even resisted her own nature in order to raise them.

A Wilder Truth by Mari Hersh Tudor Shunned by her wolf family because she's different a young woman is forced to enter into a strange new world. An okay story but not as original as some in this collection.

Breaking the Circle by Michael W. Lucas This is yet another story about an adolescent werewolf who is shunned by her family and trying to cope. This theme seems to be a common one in this collection but this one was one of the better ones as it really gets into the head of the protagonist.

Wilding by Melanie Tem was a bit confusing and hard to follow for me. I have the book in my TBR so will read that and see if it makes more sense.

I think I missed taking notes on one or two stories and my memory is so bad I can't remember enough about them to post a comment.

This was a decent collection but I'm still a bit confounded as to why it was classified as horror/erotica on the back cover. Only a very small handful of the tales fit in either category.

Thank you for sharing. I've PM'd the next in line and will send along as soon as I hear back.


Journal Entry 22 by BarkLessWagMore at By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, August 13, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (8/13/2009 UTC) at By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Mailed off to Megi53.

Journal Entry 23 by Megi53 from Danville, Virginia USA on Thursday, August 20, 2009
Came today and I've finished the introduction -- I like the way Pam Keesey writes, with her obvious enthusiasm for old horror movies and pulp magazines. I tried to read *Women Who Run With the Wolves* back in the early 90s and "couldn't get into it", but Keesey's quotes and analyses made it accessible for me now.

Looking forward to reading a few stories over the weekend.

Journal Entry 24 by Megi53 from Danville, Virginia USA on Sunday, September 6, 2009
I read most of the stories this weekend while the moon was full. So many of the authors had marvelous descriptive powers! From "Permafrost": "My thick fur is glacial silver; my eyes are a borealis blue. I have a flavor on my tongue as raw as the wind and as red as the blossoms on the Arctic lichen."

Others go in for interesting philosophical ruminations. From "Euphorbia Helioscopia": "The woods surrounding our place provided plenty of fuel, as well as a cathedral for the mind. ~snip~ It's amazing where thought can take you. [long ode to nature] ... all this contributes to mental spelunking, encourages it."

Reading the material in the back of the book, I saw this title came under the heading of "Lesbian and Gay Studies" -- although I only counted four stories with sex scenes of this type; maybe I'm clueless. Speaking of which, another Cleis title in that section was Nancy Clue and the Hardly Boys. Ha! One of my old library school classmates always wanted to write a gay send-up of Nancy Drew; I wonder if his pen name is Mabel Maney? Before I get back on-topic, I must say that the short author biographies printed after all the stories but before the booklists were very droll!

My least favorite stories were "Moon Running", "Sisters of the Weird", "The Change", and "Wilding". The settings and the writing style struck me as bland. The dusty four-house compound in "Wilding" was intriguing, but the idea didn't go anywhere -- possibly because this was an excerpt from a longer work. I enjoyed most of "The Final Truth" but itched (a common theme in these stories!) to rewrite the ending. Spoiler (highlight to read): Wouldn't a wolf mother whose offspring is ready for solid food go hunting outside? Better yet, why couldn't Justin have been sent to kill some random hiker when the baby needed meat? That would have been much stronger -- the computer nerd goes completely feral.

My favorite selections were "Model of Transformation" and "Teamwork" for their delightful descriptions of luxury: "Hervé was ecstatic", indeed!

"The Hound of God" and "Breaking the Circle" had well-crafted plots and I imagined how much my students would appreciate the young characters in each story.

I have a plain old manila/bubble envelope addressed to judygreeneyes already and hope to mail it on Tuesday. Hey, y'all -- how long did the supply store envelope last? Looks like it made at least three trips.

Journal Entry 25 by Megi53 at Danville, Virginia USA on Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (9/8/2009 UTC) at Danville, Virginia USA

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Mailed to San Diego (I usually put the destination in my controlled release notes rather than my hometown, but since Gory says using the latter will help make a handsome map of the books travels, so I did).

Journal Entry 26 by wingjudygreeneyeswing from San Diego, California USA on Friday, September 25, 2009
Thanks, Megi53 -- the book arrived safely in San Diego, so this book is next on Mt. TBR. I should be able to start it soon.

Journal Entry 27 by wingjudygreeneyeswing from San Diego, California USA on Friday, October 2, 2009
Luckily when I received this book I was just finishing the one I was reading, so I moved right into this one. I didn't go through the book in order, but rather jumped around. I can't say that I've ever read stories before about werewolves, so this was a bit enlightening. The closest thing was the movie many years back, "An American Werewolf in London", which is a fun flick.

I always enjoy Ursula LeGuin, and like her story in this book. I also really liked "Wilding" and "Euphorbia Helioscopia".

I read a vampire story a year or two ago, "Sunshine" by Robin McKinley, which is the first vampire story I really liked -- it made them more real, less sinister in some ways, but not as campy as many books make them, and not as dark as Anne Rice novels. I wonder if there are any novels that gives a similar treatment to werewolves??

Ready to mail to mysticalzoe!

Journal Entry 28 by rem_EOL-341852 on Tuesday, October 13, 2009
It arrived here just a minute ago, I am currently reading another book, but may read this one at the same time. Thanks for including me, and I've been waiting for this book, for a while!!

My thoughts on the book as I read through:

Introduction was a bit boring, it took me a day to get through it.

Permafrost~Not well written at all, I felt like I was in the middle of a really bad Werewolf novel.

Boobs~I get the whole "Ginger Snaps" reference, which by the way is my favorite werewolf movie of all time, I own the movie and watch it every October. I enjoyed this story a lot, and was actually happy the "bully" got what he deserved. Sometimes I wish we could all take out the bully's in this way, but trust me I am not demented! :)

Moon Running~Was pretty good, it could be a movie!! I think so far that was the best story. I have yet to read the other ones, but this one takes the cake, so far!!

The stories I have found to be boring, and lack of storytelling was "Model of Transformation","The Final Truth", and "The Wife's Story". Hoping the rest will pick up soon.

Teamwork, was pretty good, and I just loved te dog human relationship, Sister of the weird, was so-so, The Change was Blah!

Euphorbia Helioscopia~was absolutely magical, it's how I really envision female werewolves, I liked the whole cabin in the snow covered woods, such a cozy story!!! I highly recommend this one!

The rest of stories were average. Thanks for allowing me to part of the ring, and I'll be posting this to penelopewanders on Monday!!

I just saw that penelopewanders is going to be gone all this week, I will post on Friday instead, so she can receive it when she arrives. Sorry for the delay!




Journal Entry 29 by rem_EOL-341852 at Gardiner, Maine USA on Friday, October 23, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (10/23/2009 UTC) at Gardiner, Maine USA

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Sending this off to Penelopewanders as promised, off to Switzerland!!! Enjoy!!

Journal Entry 30 by wingpenelopewanderswing from Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Wednesday, November 4, 2009
This arrived in Switzerland while I was on holiday -battling with the Swine werewolf stalking Europe just now. I've returned but am still somewhat in the throes - and trying to catch up with work at the same time. I'll try to get to this soon.

Journal Entry 31 by wingpenelopewanderswing from Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Monday, November 9, 2009
We were talking about reading outside of our comfort zone, and I realize I often use rings to do this. This is definitely a case in point. I can't say this was my cup of tea - I think I enjoyed the introduction best, really, as I found the theory very interesting. The actually stories left me pretty cold. I think if I had to choose I'd say I enjoyed reading Boobs and Sisters of the Weird most, although I'm not sure why. Thanks for making it available though. I have the next address and will try to send it out in the next day or two.

Released 14 yrs ago (11/11/2009 UTC) at ☑ 'Controlled Release' > Country > Province > City, .---controlled release---. Switzerland

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Wending its way slowly down to Madrid. Thanks for making it available!

Journal Entry 33 by wingBookworm-ladywing from Madrid, Madrid Spain on Monday, November 23, 2009
I received it today; thanks, Penelopewanders, for sending it and for the lovely bookmark!
This seems to be the kind of book I enjoy reading... short stories, and horror!
Thanks for sharing; I might take a while, as TBR mount keeps piling up.
Eva

Journal Entry 34 by wingBookworm-ladywing at Madrid, Madrid Spain on Monday, April 18, 2011
Currently reading; I am really, really sorry for the delay!
I will ask for Vampirequeen's address, and the book will soon move on.
Eva

Journal Entry 35 by wingBookworm-ladywing at Madrid, Madrid Spain on Friday, April 29, 2011
I really, really liked this collection of short stories!
A real page-turner!
As in any antology, I have my clear favourites: "Boobs" is a great short story, almost a novella, beautifully written; looking forward to more books from this writer!
I also liked "The Change", which undoubtedly rings a bell with women "of a certain age".
Some of the stories deal with the opposite change; we are led to believe humans turn into wolves, when it is the other way round. Sometimes the plot is too obvious.
All in all, I must confess I looked for "The Wolf Man" with Lon Chaney in my DVD collection, and enjoyed it just the same as when I watched it on TV as a schoolgirl!
Thanks for sharing, GoryDetails, sorry for the long delay; this lovely book will be on its way today to Vampirequeen.
And beware of the Full Moon! :)
Eva

Journal Entry 36 by wingBookworm-ladywing at Madrid, Madrid Spain on Friday, April 29, 2011

Released 12 yrs ago (4/29/2011 UTC) at Madrid, Madrid Spain

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Sent today to Vampirequeen (how adequate!) in Wales.
Enjoy! :)

Journal Entry 37 by vampirequeen at Aberystwyth, Wales United Kingdom on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Received in the post today. Looks like an interesting read, I shall get right on it.

Journal Entry 38 by vampirequeen at Coventry, West Midlands United Kingdom on Friday, August 26, 2011
An enjoyable read, certainly some different takes on the idea of the "werewolf"
Mailed to Germany 23/8/11

Journal Entry 39 by Tiamat-muc at München, Bayern Germany on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
thank you so much for this ray - and for shipping it through all these countries. I got it today (first day after my holidays) together with another RoyalMail envelope. After reading it, the book will travel on in a vampires/werewolves/witches-box of mine (hope that's ok)

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