Wolfhearted: My Pandemic Project
Wolfhearted is a secondary-world fantasy story with magic, political intrigue, and steampunk contraptions featuring an unlikely team: a by-the-book, scientific young artillery officer and an intuitive, shapeshifting healer.
I first drafted the material on which this story is based seven or eight years ago. I received some discouraging feedback and abandoned Paulo and [insert female name here], only to go back to the tale several times for faint-hearted efforts to find solutions to its many faults. My epiphany came when I realized the story belonged to the wolf shifter woman whose clan survival is at stake, rather than the young prince, out for one last adventure before facing up to his pending politically-motivated marriage. Figuring out the shifter woman’s name also helped. She’s had at least three in the course of the many revisions. Read more details about Wolfhearted’s writing process here.
I had a solid draft of this story when the pandemic hit my area in March of 2019. While I did some other things, like sell a novel and work as a contract tracer, I really needed to publish something that year, my great barbaric yawp into the void. Setting to work, I revised and revised some more, added numerous bells, whistles, and flourishes that greatly extended the process, and managed to publish Wolfhearted in honor of the winter solstice, December 21, 2020. The audiobook came shortly thereafter in the spring of 2021. I worked with ACX to produce the audiobook, now available on Audible. Professional voice actor Savy Des-Etages is my Runa!
Praise for Wolfhearted
- “I found it hard to put down! I think you’ve got a real winner here.”—Beta Reader
- “Runa and Paolo both have toughness and softness that make them unique to traditional heroes.”—Beta Reader
- “I enjoy the light touch of wit.”—Beta Reader
- “Five stars.”—Beta Reader
Invite Wolfhearted to the Bookclub
Wolfhearted might be just right for your fantasy-oriented book club. Discussion questions and refreshment ideas can be found here.
Bells, Whistles, and Flourishes
