Forgotten Love Stories #3 – “Werewolves of Windermere” (+ Q&A)
- N.J. Lysk
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Maybe you will say I’m stretching it here, but in truth, I forgot about Devlin, Rami and Naveen… Book 3 got delayed for ages while I wrote the rest of The Stars of the Pack series.
What inspired you to create the world of Werewolves of Windermere—especially setting it in England's Lake District?
I chose the location because I’d spent years wanting to go and of course it was a natural setting where I thought werewolves might live freely. I had never been there (visited in 2024 and damn it’s as good as advertised!) so I didn’t lean as much into the visuals as I could have. In fact, then I went and sent Devlin to university in St Andrews, where I have also never been (though I chose it because of my two years in Glasgow). The book idea itself wasn’t too different from that of Ray in The Stars of the Pack, but Devlin, who came fully formed into my head, was an older guy, someone way closer in age to me, and who very importantly, knew what he wanted.
For me that’s the key of these books, Devlin’s desire and clear goals (his professional aspirations) contrasting with the wilderness surrounding him in Windermere and with the constraints his brother puts on him pursuing his soul’s work. I think I have always felt constrained by my family—not in the direct way Devlin experiences because my parents were actually very bad at the kind of boundaries (such as bedtimes) that kids require. But because I felt tied to them in a way I couldn’t break.
What’s your writing process like when balancing multiple POVs—or multiple partners—as in this trilogy?
There is usually a character that shows up first. They got something that is eating at them that they need to get out. In this trilogy, that was obviously Devlin, but through the events Devlin orchestrates to get out of the impossible situation his brother puts him into, Naveen and Rami ended up needing the mic too. Well, they already had their own issues, obviously, that’s what relationships do to us, bring out whatever we haven’t been brave enough to look at on our own.
I try to keep chapter length more or less even, but mostly I write in a POV until I ran out of steam/scene, then ask myself who’s feeling the most in the next scene and go for that person. Or if it’s two people, I switch to give whoever was ‘talking’ a bit of breathing room and let the readers process. If I need to, I skip someone in the rota, especially in 3 POV stories like this, because ultimately not everyone is as talkative all the time. With experience, I have learned that sticking to a single POV too closely can majorly derail a story so I try to pay attention when writing starts to feel like pulling teeth. It’s not always POV, but it is one of the factors, which is one of the reasons that I have so many cut scenes!
Other times, I use POV to hide information I don’t want the reader to have yet.
Many readers describe your stories as deeply angsty but ultimately uplifting. Can you talk about how you balance angst and hope in your writing?
Well, I do have a few low angst stories (Paper Kisses, A Bond Unbroken), but that’s ultimately true and it’s because it’s what I love to read. I really believe we are here to learn and the process of going deep into our own wounds and cleaning them up so we can heal and grow is tough.
But at the same time, we need the laughs and the good moments (and the nostalgia for the good moments) to know there is something on the other side. It’s a cliché that love heals… but it’s also absolutely true. I don’t think it’s romantic love per se, it’s the faith that we deserve to be here and deserve to be happy even when we are not, and sometimes it’s very handy to have someone on the outside reminding us of this.
My characters often struggle to believe they have arrived at a happy ending, and in truth there is no such thing as an ending (not even death) because everything is cyclical, but I believe in happy nows and in stopping and saying: wow, I’m grateful.
SPOILERS:
In the epilogue, Devlin says:
Naveen looked stunned, and before he could outright object, I changed the subject. “I think you should choose the names, you and Rami. You wanted a kid. For me they are just... an unexpected gift.”
“Unexpected or unwanted?”
“Both,” I admitted, “but sometimes you end up liking what you get.”
And that’s the heart of it for me, that life doesn’t work out how you plan it, but there is always joy to be found in it anyway, sometimes joy you would have missed in your original plan because Devlin’s an obsessive teacher to boot and he will be a great parent (with the help of his partners’ softness to make sure he doesn’t get too strict). And well, having lacked that kind of structure myself, I’m a fan!
You’re famously “allergic to silver”—how much of your personal tastes (like Earl Grey) sneak into your characters or narrative flourishes?
Rather a lot. I’m a total foodie and I’m not subtle about it! Now that I think about it, I don’t think I have mentioned werewolves’ allergy to silver in my books! For me, it’s a mild skin irritation (my dad would instead turn silver jewellery green with his sweat, which is a lot more showy!) so it’s not something I think about much.
Unlike Earl Grey (top tip: if you like that one, Twinnings has got a Lady Grey that I like even more with honey and lemon!), which can make my day with either a splash of milk or way too much honey.
I often write neuroatypical characters and give them traits and experiences I have had or that are analogous to what I have experienced. When it comes down to it, everyone has got something that makes them different, though obviously it’s more intense for some people and since it’s been pretty intense for me, I tend to reflect that on who I am called to write.
Ari and Amira are ace, as is Tristan (though a different flavour closer to my own), Carry is autistic and Nate from Entwined follows a gluten-free diet. But it works equally well for me to have Cole be dyslexic (like my dad and a lot of kids I used to teach), or Irina’s nephew have dyscalculia and struggle in school.
I have suffered from depression, and my anxiety is quite wild. Re-reading my older work especially I can see that written in giant neon all over Devlin’s tendency to withdraw and not ask for help, for example.
Sometimes I worry when I write about ethnic/racial differences like with Naveen, but ultimately, I trust that I’m coming from a place of connection and compassion as someone who has felt different all my life and struggled to be ok with that when other people weren’t.
I think that’s one of the major reasons I write, to say; you are not alone, and no matter how different you feel, I get you.
Will Devlin have more kids?
It sounds like you haven’t read the second epilogue to book 3 ;p It answers this question and others. You can find it here.
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