I was challenged by my sharp-eyed editor to reconsider how vampires and werewolves describe themselves and their world. It would be more intriguing, she said, if the werewolves and vampires have their own lingo such that it takes the reader to catch on to exactly who the creatures are and what they’re up to. So using the terms “vampire” and “werewolf” straight off the bat kind of spoils the mystery and makes things a bit too clinical.

There is an additional challenge in the fantasy world I’ve created: not all the characters have the same mother tongue. Caleb and Bela (from Only the Moon Howls) have certain phrases and words that they use in Romanian, but not in English. Caleb’s first language is English, but he didn’t grow up around American werewolves, although he’s translated “Sweet Selene” into English. Caleb won’t use much slang when speaking English, but Bela will pick up some of the slang after hanging out with the American werewolf pack, the Hellhounds.

Cuza, a Romanian vampire only recently arrived in America, has vampire lingo in Romanian, but not yet in English. The Bar Harbor vampires (Agatha, Guy, and Mickey) use lingo that is heavily influenced by the English aristocracy, although Mickey’s lingo has influences from the other vampires who were at Lilac House in the 1930s and 1940s. Vito and Donnie’s slang reflects a New York City gangster culture. Nina Patel doesn’t use a lot of lingo as yet, having only recently become a vampire. Neither does Frenchie, although he avoids using the b-word.

If this sounds confusing, it is! But is should be sorted out.