Family Pack

by Kali Metis MFA, Lisa Diane Kastner

Overview

The novel, FAMILY PACK, written by Kali Metis (the pen name for Lisa Kastner) is the follow up novel to CURE and continues the tale of LUNA AUBER as she discovers her own destiny and provides the origins of the two primary lycanthropic organizations, The Lycanthrope Society (TLS) which believe that humans and lycanthropes should exist in harmony while The Righteous Group (TRG) believe that lycanthropes are intended to rule over all other species and Luna’s battle to prevent the dessimation of the world as she knows it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781960018878
Publisher:	Running Wild Press
Publication date:	10/03/2024
Pages:	308
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Writing as Kali Metis, Lisa Kastner was born in one of the most dangerous cities in America. In high school, she was a dancer and co-host on Dance Party USA. At the age of 20 her house had burned down and she was suddenly homeless. She spent the next several years rebuilding and obtain her Bachelors, MBA, and MFA. While fulfilling an amazing corporate career, she began Running Wild, LLC. Lisa was named to Yahoo Finance's Top 10 Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2021, nominated to FORBES NEXT 1000, featured in FORBES and named to New York Weekly’s Top Ten Females to Watch in 2021.

Table of Contents

C O N T E N T S 1. The Transformation Back 1 2. Birger, Historian 16 Interlude 1 18 Birger 3. Luna - Questions, More Questions 28 4. Birger...Librarian 50 Interlude 2 53 (800 AD) Birger and Ulf 5. Luna 58 6. Birger 61 Interlude 3 63 (800’s AD) 7. Luna’s 72 8. Birger’s 75 Interlude 4 86 (800’s AD) 9. Luna’s 100 10. Birger’s 105 Interlude 5 108 (800’s AD) 11. Luna’s (2000s) 113 12. 10th Century Birger’s Notes 117 Interlude 6 122 (800’s AD) 13. Luna’s - 2000s 140 14. Birger’s - 10th century 144 Interlude 7 146 (800’s AD) 15. 2000s - Luna 154 16. Birger’s - 10th century 164 Interlude 8 168 (800’s AD) Birger and Chago 17. Luna’s - 2000s 172 18. Birger’s — 10th century 179 Interlude 9 183 Birger (800’s AD ) 19. Luna’s - 2000s 186 20. Birger’s 188 Interlude 10 195 (800’s AD ) 21. Luna’s - 2000s 199 22. Birger’s - 10th century 205 Interlude 11 209 (800’s or 900’s AD ) 23. Luna’s - 2000s 212 24. Birger’s - 10th Century 217 Interlude 12 219 (800’s or 900’s AD ) 25. Luna’s 222 26. Birger’s - 10th Century 225 Interlude 13 230 (800’s or 900’s AD ) 27. Luna’s - 2000s 237 28. Birger’s - 10th Century 242 Interlude 14 246 (800’s or 900’s AD ) 29. Luna’s - 2000s 248 30. Birger’s - 10th Century 251 Interlude 15 253 (800’s or 900’s AD ) 31. Luna’s - 2000s 255 32. Birger’s - 10th Century 260 Interlude 16 262 (800’s or 900’s AD ) 33. 2000s 265 34. Birger’s - 10th Century 273 Interlude 17 275 (800’s or 900’s AD ) 35. Luna’s - 2000s 277 36. Birger’s 283 37. Luna 2000’s 285 Epilogue 294 Author Bio 295 Acknowledgments 297 About Running Wild Press 299

Editorial Reviews

"An exciting mythological adventure... I loved learning the history of the Birke along with Luna and unraveling her mysterious condition" —Stephanie's Book Reviews

"Lisa Kastner has a fast-paced, exciting voice and a talent for engrossing world-building. Her chilling universe is thoughtfully informed by trauma, folklore, and culture, and these two books – the first in what I hope will be an expanding oeuvre – are invigorated by her unique and timely perspective." —Old Style Tales

"This is one of the most unique and interesting takes I’ve read on the shapeshifter/werewolf genre. I just loved it!" — Escape Reality, Open a Book

“A study of otherness, identity, and belonging in the shape of a high-stakes supernatural adventure, Metis changes up the werewolf genre in a beguiling mix of medieval and modern. With a touch of romance and a good dose of danger, CURE eclipses expectations.” —Lee Murray, USA Today Bestselling Author and Bram Stoker Award® winner

"The stakes couldn't be higher for Luna. Love, health, safety, family, identity—they're all in play as she sets out on a journey that stretches across continents and centuries and finally into the mystical, a menacing world of secrets and myths and shapeshifters. In CURE, Kali Metis deftly weaves storylines of past and present that hurtle toward a breathtaking climax that make it impossible to put down this spellbinding tale." —Curtis Smith, author of The Magpie’s Return, named best of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews

“Kali Metis is an exciting and unique new voice in modern fantasy and a writer you need to pay attention to.” —Taylor Grant, Bram Stoker Award® Finalist and author of The Many Deaths of Cole Parker

From the Publisher

2024-07-17
In Metis’ paranormal fantasy sequel, a reluctant werewolf leader must navigate a centuries-old feud.

Having just survived a major battle to save humankind inCure(2022), Luna Auber,an inexperienced 20-something werewolf, is settling back into life at home in Camden, New Jersey. She spends her days working at Bizcocheria, a bakery she loves, spending her lunch hours with her newly lycanthropic boyfriend, Javier, and being mentored via Zoom by Birger, a librarian for The Lycanthrope Society (TLS), a group that “believes that humans and shapeshifters were meant to share the planet and allow one another to live in peace and harmony.” Weeks pass without incident until Luna wakes up one morning with torn clothing and no memory of the previous night. Fearful that her werewolf transformations are out of control, she heads to the TLS facilities inSweden to continue training with Birger in person; there, she’s shocked to discover that she has a power that sets her apart from the rest of lycanthropic society.Meanwhile, readers learn of a battle between TLS and an opposing lycanthrope sect, The Righteous Group, via historical accounts of European courts in the 8th century. TLS turns to Luna and her unique abilities in the hope that she’s a prophesized savior destined to unite the groups once again. Metis makes good use of multiple perspectives and timelines to reinvigorate well-known werewolf story traditions; specifically, she highlights her fictional universe’s deliciously bloody past involving power-hungry humans and nonhuman royals and their role in dividing the once-united lycanthropes. Whenever the novel jumps to present-day conflicts and Luna’s point of view, the story stalls a bit, due in part to unsatisfying characterization. The contrast between Luna’s scrappiness and Birger’s sage wisdom is humorous, and her relationship with her adoptive parents is sweet. However, Luna’s emotions feel oversimplified and somewhat disconnected from the plot, leading to a climax that’s somehow both perplexing and predictable.

An unevenly executed novel that’s enlivened by fresh lycanthrope lore and gratifying royal-court intrigue.

Kirkus Reviews