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Honor, Regret, and Loyalty
Dark Wolf’s Howl centers around a young woman holding an ancient secret who finds herself on the run after helping with a theft that goes terribly wrong. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
The idea for the novel was that I wanted to take the traditional epic quest and spin it a little differently. I love the tabletop role playing game Shadowrun, and some of the themes and ideas come from the adventures I had with a group I ran with years ago.
Many characters wrestle with honor, regret, and loyalty. Why were those themes so central to this story?
I wanted to write a story that didn’t necessarily follow the epic quest trope, where a group is out to save the world. While they are out to save the world, I wanted the book to center more on their personal journeys. Honor, regret, and loyalty are all things I feel like people can relate to, whether it is dealing with a bad decision or struggling with a friend or family member who made such a decision and now needs help.
Dark Wolf’s Howl mixes adventure with political intrigue and class tension. How did you balance those elements while keeping the story focused on the characters?
Varya is supposed to be a fantasy version of our own world, where things are more complex than just right or wrong. Sometimes, in our world, you aren’t sure who the bad guys are, and I wanted my story to have a similar feel. You might start with one assumption and then change how you feel as you learn more information, letting the reader journey with the characters, their own thoughts and feelings on Varya changing as the character’s views change.
Can you give us a peek inside the second installment of the Varya series? Where will it take readers?
Diadrilath Selda, book two in the Varya series, the war is over, and our heroes struggle to reclaim their lives. So much has happened that they can’t just go back to doing what they were doing before, and in the midst of their personal struggles, there is a new mystery. Something else is happening, and they have to navigate the new threat while also still dealing with the aftermath of the events of the first book. The readers get to see more of the history of Varya, as well as dive deeper into the characters.
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When a reckless heist goes terribly wrong, a young woman finds herself branded a traitor by her own government, hunted not for her crime, but for the ancient secret she’s stumbled into. A secret powerful enough to shatter the kingdom’s foundations.
Now, as a long-exiled enemy rises to unleash vengeance and civilization teeters on the brink of annihilation, she must join forces with a mysterious rogue agent and a thrill-seeking adventurer. Together, they’ll face conspiracies, betrayals, and the weight of history itself.
But can one unlikely heroine find the courage to undo her mistake before it unleashes the end of the world?
Called “an ambitious and heartfelt modern fantasy” by Independent Book Review, Dark Wolf’s Howl blends modern society with familiar fantasy themes in an action packed adventure story.
