What Inspired Isaac Carillo?

Isaac Carillo is a foul-mouthed Werewolf biker with a heart of gold. He's a hulking man who towers over most people and creates an intimidating figure with his salt-and-pepper beard and broad shoulders. So, what inspired one of our favorite Werewolves?

A very large part of Isaac's personality was taken from a dear friend of mine who has become like a sibling to me. He and I have squabbled like siblings in the past, and we have been through a lot together. Isaac's protective nature, friendly attitude and interactions with people were all based on my friend from Miami. Like my friend, Isaac also has Cuban-American heritage.

However, his looks were based on another friend of mine. I had a friend from El Salvador who fit Isaac's look very well. He was tall with broad shoulders and a broad chest. Thanks to a childhood accident, he had a scar on his face that gave him a rather intimidating look. As we all got older, he got gray hair as early as I did. (I started getting gray in my 20s.) Fitting his looks together with Isaac's personality worked out well.

Then there was the tough side of Isaac. Now, my previously mentioned friend has a side of him I do not want to be on. But Isaac had that side multiplied by about a thousand. He was a rough character who was quick to get into a fight and had a hot temper. A large part of that came directly from my head.

I've been a biker for many years, and I've run around countless bike nights and bike events with my husband. I thought back on every biker I have met with short fuses and uneven knuckles. It didn't take me long to think of a few of them and put that together with my friend's personality to create Isaac Carillo.