Lisa Diane Kastner’s protagonist finds a new family in the sequel to “Cure”’

Let’s face it, family can be a challenge. But when that family is a group of supernatural shapeshifters? Well, that’s a horse—or a wolf—of a different color.

In our newest Citywide Bytes interview, I talk with author Lisa Diane Kastner for her recently-released book, “Family Pack,” the sequel to her 2022 release, “Cure.” The book continues the story of Luna Auber, whom after her brother dies suddenly learns that she is both a shapeshifting lycanthrope and the descendent of a legendary female Viking warrior.

In “Family Pack,” Luna’s epic journey continues amidst a conflict between The Lycanthrope Society, which believe that humans and lycanthropes should exist in harmony, and The Righteous Group, which believe that lycanthropes are intended to rule over all other species.

Lisa talks about the series got its start on a dare from fellow author and New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry, and full disclosure, I nerd out quite a bit here. When one of the greats of the writing world dares you to do something, you just gotta!

We also go into how Luna’s progressed on her journey in this new life and the conflict that she’s about to be a part of. Lisa talks about Luna’s powers and how she adapts to this new world as well as how the character and author parallel one another.

And if anyone out there wants to make my dream of Citywide Blackout cookies happen, I’m here for it!

Debut author Jessica Vitalis talks about her unique take on Death

Imagine this: The Grim Reaper approaches you one day and asks if you want their job. Crazy, right? But it's this idea that kicks off Jessica Vitalis' book “The Wolf's Curse.”

The Great White Wolf is very, very old. And she is very, very tired. For hundreds of winters, she has searched for someone to take her place. But she is invisible to most people. In all those years, only three have seen her. One died young. One said no. One is still alive — a 12-year-old boy named Gauge.

In this interview, Jessica and I talk about worldbuilding and character creation that preceded writing the book and how she is reflected in Gauge. She takes us through the process of becoming a published author with Greenwillow/HarperCollins and her advice to those with a book and the goal of seeing it on store shelves.

Jessica and I also dive into her other work and what about this story made it stand out from the others. She talks about her transition from Columbia grad to writer and what she had to learn along the way.