M. D. Wiselln

I was born and raised in Ohio. I’m not—so far as I know—actually a werewolf, though I do occasionally go online and pretend to be one. I’ve been involved in chatroom-based roleplaying since the late 1990s and still spend plenty of late nights at it. The Law of Teeth universe grew out of the characters I’ve played and the stories we’ve woven over the years.

When I’m not writing, roleplaying, or thinking about writing and roleplaying, I enjoy movies and musical theater. By trade, I’m a computer programmer and work for a major U.S. bank during the day.

These days, I live in Kansas with my amazing wife—whom I actually met in one of those chatrooms—and several cats.

I’ve been writing for almost as long as I’ve been reading—which takes me all the way back to primary school. Over the years, I’ve lost track of how many snippets and half-finished (not to mention half-baked) stories I’ve accumulated. Most of them are long gone, though I still have two random novels-in-progress buried somewhere on my computer.

The stories that finally stuck—and ultimately pushed me toward publication—actually began in an online roleplaying chatroom between 2010 and 2020. At first, I only played a handful of characters while a few friends took on others, and together we spun a sprawling storyline filled with dozens of characters, weaving it across years.

I was proud of many of those moments, and during the COVID lockdowns I decided to try adapting them into a full-length novel. Even then, I wasn’t sure about putting the story out into the world. On a whim, I shared what I had of Book 1 with a friend who hadn’t been part of the original roleplay. She responded so positively that I thought, If she sees potential in this, maybe I should go ahead and try to publish.

Here I am now, three years into that journey—with four books published, another in progress, and another five or six simmering on the back burner.

My main series is called Law of Teeth. It’s best described as Urban Fantasy, though it’s not quite as fantastical as some other books in the genre. The main characters are werewolves, led by Geoff Cooper. He’s older than your standard UF protagonist—pushing 40 when the series begins—and he’s got a gruff attitude paired with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. Every character in the pack has a fully developed personality, and their interactions are some of my favorite things to write.

The first book follows Geoff and his pack as they arrive in Washington, D.C., only to find themselves immediately entangled in a conspiracy that stretches back to the city’s founding in the 1700s. Each installment has a self-contained plot, but the series is ongoing, and the events of earlier books continue to have lasting consequences.

Alongside the main novels, I’ve also written Law of Teeth Stories—a set of shorter works that explore Geoff’s backstory, including his infection and the pivotal events that shaped his life.

My books are packed with action and plot twists, and they’re fairly low on the romance/spice factor. One of my biggest inspirations is Laurell K. Hamilton; her Anita Blake series was a huge influence on me.

• Law of Teeth #1: Sins of the Forefathers

• Law of Teeth #2: Bloody Justice

• Scars: A Law of Teeth Story

• Killing Business: A Law of Teeth Story

I’m about halfway through the first draft of Law of Teeth #3: Dark Mistress. This installment will bring vampires into the mix while also revealing why they haven’t been a factor up to this point.

After that, it will either be Law of Teeth #4: The Reckoning or Not Your Hero: A Law of Teeth Story—depending on where my muse decides to lead me.