Wolfy tales

The wolf howls in the depths of the forest

He wants to sleep but his stomach is torn by hunger.

Though he is blessed with a thick coat,

The northern winds chill him to the bone.

Hungry and cold you may be, wolf

But I will never let you to take my child.

A Nordic lullaby, and one that I played constantly while writing my one and only (so far) novel(ish) story: Run with the Pack.

What can you make of this sleepy, snowy song, sung by a Swedish Youtuber with a dreamy video production? The forest landscapes are captivating. Why not take a look?

What, another challenge?

Write a poem, short story, flash or whatever. Keep it brief and to the point. No prizes for length or literary merit. The winner will be the most original, fun, sleepy, tear-jerkiest, funniest, scariest, wierdest or overall bestest read.

Bonus points will be given to most original or best-researched illustration. Zero credit for Unsplash, pinterest or the usual free image crap. Try taking a look at the amazing NPS photo library (public domain), for starters. Please credit any copyright work used.

Best wolfy tale, poem, illustration or other original creative work takes the prize. Lycanthropic (werewolf) tales welcome as are fresh takes on that canid enchantress Red Riding Hood. In which case, feel free to enter into the Legends Rewritten Challenge. Deadline and details to be announced. Meanwhile, check out the Jonna Jinton lullaby and be lulled and bewitched by it, as I was.

To enter, just write and post your comment to the most appropriate Vocal Community and then comment on this story with a link to your entry.

If you want to read my book Run with the Pack, you can invest $0.99 in owning a copy in Kindle, more in paperback or, if you are too mean to part with a dollar, you can read it in chapters, at no cost, here:

If you do read the Kindle, or paperback, please leave an Amazon customer review. Need only be a line or two but every little helps. If you want to know what others think, here is one such review:

Monica: Very disappointing book. The story is a journey of two wolves learning to survive on their own and eventually form a pack together. However, the writing is simplistic and horribly repetitious.

Other reviews are more positive but these are all from friends and family, and so a little prejudiced. However: "This book is engrossing", "And epic adventure", "A wonderful story."

Here are some excerpts. From Chapter One:

“Yes, I will go, but I will not die alone in the forest. I will survive,” she said in a low growl, as she left, pissing on a tree stump so that they would never forget her name. As she loped off into the forest, she howled back at them.

From Chapter Three:

“Bahr, my son, I hear you, I hear your name. You are alone, now, in the forest. If you learn her ways, the forest will protect you and you will be strong. Live long and be strong my son, for I will see you no more.”

Prologue: Farewell dear brother

As the family trouped off, leaving our own flesh and blood to die with final, unseen dignity, we hung our heads. Then raising them, we howled a last song to our kin. A requiem, stirring in full lupine voice, beginning at a low sorrowful timbre, rising to a crescendo, a momentous wall of sound, alerting the whole forest, the whole world to our grief. Even the unmovable trees were stirred into sadness at the passing of this once magnificent beast.

Enough of the self promo. Take a look at the Youtube song Vargsången, or any other wolfy inspiration you can find, and have a think about a poem, flash fiction, short story or other contribution, and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Ray