Werewolves and Stuff

So, I recently watched Blood and Chocolate, a pretty good werewolf flick based on a young adult novel by the same name. Teenage girls keep telling me I have to read the book; funny, few guys seem to even know it exists. I love to read--I'm a writer; how could I not?--but I'm not compelled, in this instance, to go get the book in order to compare it to the film.

The same goes for The 13th Warrior, any of the Harry Potter movies, or Ludlum's Bourne series. I'm probably one of the few in the world who actually likes The 13th Warrior, but would rather not read The Eaters of the Dead, on which it is based. And, because I enjoy the current films, I don't feel the push to read the Bourne books. There may be no logic in this, but I have no one to please but myself.

Although I own two sets of The Lord of the Rings books, I wasn't terribly bothered by Peter Jackson's changes to the story, and I bought the special extended editions of all three films (far superior to the theatrical releases, in my opinion). Yeah, there were a few things I wish he'd done differently, but I enjoy the trio as a whole.

However, as much as I liked the book Timeline by Michael Crichton, I was disappointed in the film version (though I do own the DVD). It was made during a relatively small gap in a larger schedule, so I can appreciate how much was accomplished in so short a time and on a modest budget. Still, I wish more of the story--as it appeared in the book--could have been presented, and with greater depth.

Anyway, back to werewolves: Blood and Chocolate got me thinking again about a short story that I wrote a couple of years ago, concerning wolves. It needs expanding, and greater depth to the characters, and better (though brief) explanation of the backstory that leads to the twist at the end. I like the characters, but I need to make the pair of villains even nastier. After all, how impressive or interesting is a hero/heroine if there's not much chance to be heroic?

Parting thought...
Vivian, Blood and Chocolate:
"What we are not is what we are taught to fear."