If Lineage was Toni Luello’s awakening, then Covenant is her reckoning. With new allies, old wounds, and a rising threat that tests the very core of her identity, Toni Luello is no longer the girl caught between worlds—she’s learning to command them.
In this Q&A, author Lisa Lacriola unpacks Toni’s evolution from uncertain outsider to self-defined force, the mythic threads that bind Lilith, Aradia, and wolf lore, and the very real activism that fuels her storytelling.
- Toni’s journey feels more introspective in this sequel—she’s navigating dual identities, grief, and desire while still coming into her power. How did your understanding of Toni evolve between Lineage and Covenant?
In Lineage, Toni’s journey was all about discovering who she was becoming and how to reconcile this new part of her against who she was before, often being reactive to the forces around her rather than proactive. She had very few positive role models in her younger life to prepare her for navigating this new existence. In Covenant, Toni comes into her own power because she has accepted who she is instead of hiding her truth or being afraid of it. She is no longer trying to uncover her heritage but to embrace it. Lineage was all about belonging and fitting in, but in Covenant, it’s about defining who she is in her own terms and finding her balance, thus reclaiming her power.
- Covenant expands the Species Chronicles mythology—from Lilith and Aradia to the modern-day Covenant organization. What inspired this blending of biblical myth, Italian witchcraft, and wolf lore?
I’ve always been fascinated by the way mythologies and religions vary from culture to culture. In some stories, religion is born out of mythology because our ancestors did not have the words to describe what was beyond their comprehension. I wanted Lilith to be a champion, not someone who was to be ignored, mistreated, or misunderstood, as this is one representation of her in some cultures as well as religion. In my story, she represents the individual rights of all, not just a select few. Aradia and Italian witchcraft bring in a legacy of resistance and matrilineal power, and the wolf lore ties everything back to instinct, lineage, and belonging. Blending of all of these elements reveals how the sacred and the animal, the divine and the human, are all part of the same continuum.
- You dedicate the book to the LGBTQ community and the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. How do activism and empathy inform your creative process?
When I write, my goal is to engage the reader and bring them into my world, to bear witness. I want the reader to become, in essence, an activist as well as empathetic toward the plight of the wolves who have been mistreated and misunderstood, which is not all that different from how the LGBTQ community has felt for years. I want my audience to feel and relate to what it means to be human—or, in Toni’s case, something more than human. Both the LGBTQ community and the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary represent resilience, authenticity, and the courage to live freely, even when the world resists that freedom or tries to take it from you. I want my readers to feel empowered at the end of the story.
- Toni often questions whether her transformations are a curse or an evolution. What does shapeshifting symbolize for you personally—as an author and as a human navigating change?
I view shapeshifting as another word for growth. Through the years, as we age, our priorities shift, and we adapt if necessary, or when these adjustments do not fall within our normal routines, some things we can control, but not everything. The trick is figuring out what one is willing to compromise to shift into that change, or if one needs to re-examine his or her convictions and perceptions. But we also need to be mindful of how our choices affect others, and most importantly, to ensure that our compromise does not deny who we were before or are presently.
- Without giving away spoilers, where will The Species Chronicles go next? Are there threads you’re excited to pull deeper—perhaps the Covenant’s reach or Toni’s prophecy?
I knew there would be at least 3 books. In Book Two, Toni made a promise to Elena to ensure the Blessed did not die out; so, Book Three takes the reader into the future, some years, and we learn how Toni fulfills this promise; however, Toni faces new challenges from the newly formed MRDC that threaten her lineage, once again. She must also defeat a destructive, supernatural entity that’s killing young witches. A new character soon emerges, becoming the catalyst between the world of the living and the dead, guiding Toni through this dark time as she tries to mend years of mistrust between the Covenant and the Order of the Wolf. Her goal is that with their support, she can disrupt the MRDC’s new mission.
Need a refresh? Listen to Book One: Covenant Available on Audible and Spotify
About Lisa Lacriola:
Lisa Lacriola is a writer in the Chicagoland area. She started writing in grade school and majored in English at Northeastern University, graduating with a BA in 2010. Lacriola’s work has been featured in numerous publications, such as Leather Views, Minerva Rising and the Illinois Eagle, and she has received two awards of merit from National Louis University’s journal, Mosaic, for her non-fiction essays.
After completing National Louis University’s M.S. program in Written Communications, Lacriola began working on The Order of the Wolf.
