Dogs of Myth
The
coyote appears often in the tales and traditions of Native Americans—usually as
a very savvy and clever beast. That is why I’ve frequently linked my coyote
shifters to Indians. Coyotes are smaller than wolves but are formidable
opponents and can run up to forty miles an hour.
Coyotes
tend to form strong family groups and both parents care for the young. Coyotes
are a member of the canine family and can be mistaken for one. There are gray
and red wolves it seems. With there being many species of the canine genus,
I’ve done research on legends of mythical dogs and wolves to create my own
mythical shifters.
One
of my favorites myths for canines is the cadejo which I used in Coyote Bound. I
took the parts I liked and created two different wolf forms, both deadly, but
one even more so. That character was Kamari from Getting Nawty With the Coyote.
The canine is a dog of crossroads that kills unsuspecting people at night.
I
liked this idea because of the character I created with Kamari. She’s a hunter,
and FBI agent who’s suffered but kills willingly. She’s almost hard to break
even by the woman who would be her mate.
Other
mythical canines I find fascinating, the hellhound which I used In Submitting
to the Hellhound. I like the idea of this dog in fiction because despite how
vicious it is, it does have a penchant for loyalty to its master or mistress
like a lot of dogs. I made a subtle distinction between the red-eyed hellhound
and the yellow-eyed one. I like the idea of having some contrast when it comes
to fantasy and the dark world it can be.
The
last one is cynogryphon. The cynogryphon is used in Hearts of Fire. This
mythical creature is part wolf and part eagle. I was fascinated by this
combination, and I’m going to dive into that world in the future with some
self-published books. I don’t know if I’ll bring Cyanna back as the main
character, but the focus will include her store in the city.
There
is an entire world of mythical creatures out there to be explored for fantasy
world creation. I’ll definitely be looking back as I work on the sequels to
some of my books including Submitting to the Hellhound. The hounds will be of
focus but so will the healers because they are the story in a way. I mean the
series is called Succubus Heat not Hellhound Heat.
Photo by Ilargian Faus from Pexels
