Battle Creek, MI -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/09/2013 -- One of the classes fantasy novelist Tracy Falbe took at Central Michigan University in 1994 always stuck with her. The popular Religion 302 Witchcraft, Magic & the Occult was taught at the time by Professor Robert “Robin” Hough. His lessons about the European witch hunting craze fascinated Falbe and are now reflected in her new novel Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale.

This historical paranormal romance is set in 1561 Bohemia. The story revolves around the werewolf Thal and his hunt for the men who tortured and executed his witch mother. Thal distinguishes himself as a werewolf because he can control his transformations. He shifts into his beast self at will with his enchanted wolf fur.

Falbe chose Renaissance Europe for her paranormal adventure because it served as a complementary background to Thal’s werewolf power. He is in a society strained by transformations in religion, technology, and politics. His struggle to understand both the man and the beast within himself is mirrored by society’s deep conflict with its changing systems.

Sixteenth century Europe was a time of terrible turmoil. The Roman Catholic Church was losing control of much of the Holy Roman Empire as the Protestant Reformation rejected Roman authority. The print revolution spread political dissent and supported advances in technology and commerce. The growing economy led to new wealthy elites who waged war for political power.

When Falbe who hails from Mount Pleasant studied at Central Michigan University in the early 1990s, she learned how the witch hunting tied in with the strife of that time. Purging witches was part of the violent social cleansing performed by both Catholics and Protestants. The vicious torture and killing were aimed mostly at women and acted as a means for secular and religious authorities to intimidate people into obedience.

“The horrible concept of people being burned alive in town squares always stuck with me, and I wanted to write a novel to explore this evil,” Falbe said. The readings assigned by Professor Hough greatly illuminated the atrocities of the witch hunting era.

This fertile historical ground allowed Falbe to craft an exciting adventure that included Gypsies, mercenaries, monks, magistrates, nobles, and musicians.

Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale is available in paperback and ebook formats worldwide. People can read Chapter 1. Water and Blood at Brave Luck Books where the novel can also be purchased. Additionally the novel is sold at online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, Kobo, Sony, and Etsy. Werelord Thal is her ninth novel.

About Tracy Falbe
Falbe currently lives in Battle Creek, Michigan and has been publishing her novels since 2006. She began writing in 1997 and has produced two fantasy series The Rys Chronicles and Rys Rising. She is also the author of three nonfiction works.

She attended Central Michigan University for four years after high school, but eventually moved to California and transferred to California State University, Chico where she earned a journalism degree.