Fate hasn’t exactly been kind to twenty-year-old Alexandra. Unless you count the fact that she can communicate with animals, the only piece of luck she’s ever had was being rescued by a werewolf and landing in a forever home with an eccentric couple and their unusual pack of animals. It’s taken twelve years to earn the official title of Shepherd but she’s now mostly trained, fairly effective, and the first female in over two centuries to hold the position as protector of animals.

All animals…

The Territorial Council isn’t thrilled with her new title of Shepherd, but they don’t have any more control over the appointment than they have over her. All they can really do is wait for her to screw something up – which Alex is determined not to do.

Everything changes when a chance encounter with a genetically modified Shifter leaves Alex shaken and initiates a quest to locate its maker. In a desperate bid to save her pack, Alex must infiltrate the Parallax Corporation – an international organization with their hands in everything from biomedical engineering to publishing. They have now expanded their efforts to include terrorism and are attempting to breed the perfect weapon. Despite years of training and enough money from her live-in pack of misfits to finance a small country, Alex finds herself woefully unprepared to tackle the new threat.

To make matters worse, Alex must work with a mysterious man who’s been trying to kill her since the day they met. Together with her pack, Alex must learn how to stop the biological cloning and find those responsible for the plan before it really does become a global threat.

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 Author Interview 

Where do you find your inspiration?  I think that my inspiration can mostly be attributed to my pets. I love watching the way they interact with one another, and I do my best to incorporate their actions and movements into my writing.  The more I watch them and write about them, the more I see similarities between people and animals. From there, it’s not too big of a jump to believe in were-creatures.

What is your favourite aspect of Shepherd’s Moon? I think that my novel is unique in that I include many types of animals as Shifters.  I’ve always felt that if werewolves exist in fiction, why can’t were-jaguars and were-cats and horse-shifters also exist? And if they existed, wouldn’t they have the same idiosyncrasies as their human counterparts? I like that Shepherd’s Moon explores those questions.

Who is your favourite character from Shepherd’s Moon and why? That’s a tough one because I love all of them for being so individual. I think most people would expect me to say that Alex is my favorite character, but in fact, I have a love/hate relationship with her. I suppose I could safely say that Brock is one of my favourites – he’s the alpha wolf in the household and is always so controlled and self-assured. I think if I could choose one character to write an entire book about, he would be my go-to guy.

What are you working on now?  I’m currently in the middle of finalizing book two of the Shepherds series. The working title is “Blood of the Shepherd” and it takes place in Seattle, WA. In addition to that, I’m still freelancing for several curriculum development groups, and doing my best to keep PetsWeekly regularly updated.

What do you love about most about writing? Physically, I love being able to work from home.  Emotionally, I love having control over my world (mostly). Mentally, I love exploring the new hobbies and personalities that each new character brings into the world.  Mostly I just love that I can begin my day with an empty page, and by evening, create an entire new world with rules and characters that have never before existed. Not too many people can say that about their lives…

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About the Author

Stacy Mantle is an award-winning writer and author of Shepherd’s Moon. She is well-known as the founder of PetsWeekly.com – a popular website for people who have multiple pets. She currently lives in the deserts of the Southwest with three dogs, several cats, and a very understanding husband. When she’s not writing, she is volunteering at animal rescues, reading, relaxing with her husband, or wishing she were on a beach in the Cook islands. Visit her online at StacyMantle.com.

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