 The series as a whole was first inspired by Jeff Eastin after he sent an email to Rice, who stated that "he had seen a special on werewolves and if I ever decided to tackle the subject he would certainly buy the book and for some reason he just said that at the right time".The dedication in "The Wolf Gift" to Eastin is due to this instigation.Rice stated that "The Wolf Gift" was originally meant to be a standalone book that had a full story.