Get ready to leave the path and dance beneath the full moon because Steve Wedel’s pack is back with a vengeance as his Werewolf Saga continues its reign with First Born. A former English teacher and machine shop operator, Wedel has written some of the most terrifying, bold, and unforgettable tales such as Amara’s Prayer, Light At The End, Mother, and several others. He also dabbles in the YA category, occasionally with New York Times best-selling author Carrie Jones. He’s also applied his writing chops to scribing westerns and even romance novels under an alias. Suffice it to say writing is not a choice for Steve Wedel, a fact his fans have no choice but to be grateful for.
I recently had a chance to corner Wedel while he was distracted at the altar, er, coffee station, and was able to pick his mind about things which howl at night. We discuss everything about how he all but reinvented the werewolf mythos, the importance of First Born, how one of his Saga companions was inspired by real life events, and more.
Get comfy as we settle down to answer the bark of the moon and learn why Wedel’s Werewolf Saga is a must-read experience for those seeking all the snarling, fang-gnashing terror they can handle.
(Interview conducted by Rick Hipson)
CEMETERY DANCE: Steve, considering it has been a whopping 10(!) years since Nadia’s Children was published, I think the first logical question to ask is: why did you decide to revisit your saga after all this time?
STEVE WEDEL: I missed the characters. The ones who lived and the ones who died. A big chunk of my life went into writing those books, knowing those people. I missed them. There’s also a financial aspect. People want to read series more than standalone novels, and obviously I had a series already out there. Why not expand on it?
When did you first realize your wolfpack wasn’t done with you yet, and that you had to write one more entry?
I think we’re looking at another trilogy, at least. I always knew there was more to tell. At the end of Nadia’s Children, Kelley finds Fenris’s journal. For years I thought that journal would be the next entry in the series. But then this other idea came along, and it was time for NaNoWriMo 2022, so I went with it.
What was the experience like for you to revisit a body of work which is not only what most readers know you for, but is one I understand has always been near and dear to your beastly heart?
It had been a while and I had forgotten some things. At first, I had Chris Woodman doing the things Thomas McGrath ended up doing in the opening chapters, but then your wonderful and perceptive wife recalled that poor Chris was no longer amongst the living. So, that prompted a return to the books. It was so much fun, though, to return to those characters. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that this book focuses primarily on Joey, Shara’s son. He’s a grown man now. I wanted to get to know who he is.
It is weird to me that most people still associate me with werewolves despite it being 10 years since the last novel. I’ve published so many other things since then, but like I said, people want to read series, and I’m lucky enough that this series has resonated with readers.
It still blows me away that this all started with an allegedly true story involving Katherine Cross who, as rumour has it, was murdered by human wolves, which also happens to be the name of the chapbook which launched your saga. What made this story stand out to you above any other tales of lycanthropy? Does it pop up in your mind still?
You’ve got the timeline a little wrong. The whole Werewolf Saga began with a short story called “Biological Clock,” which eventually became a chapter in Shara. Then I took a creative writing class and expanded on the character of Shara Wellington to the point I realized I had a novel, which I wrote, and it was eventually published by now-defunct 3F Publications. At the time, I was working for The Journal Record newspaper in Oklahoma City and was telling the photographer about my pending book publication and he asked if I knew about Katherine Cross. I did some quick research, visited the grave, and wrote Murdered by Human Wolves originally to be a free chapbook for people who bought Shara through Shocklines. But 3F Publications fell apart. Scrybe Press picked up the rights to my werewolves, and that’s when that original chapbook with artwork by GAK came out.
I guess what made Katherine’s story stand out was that, first, it was fairly local. There was almost no record of her death because the building where those were kept mysteriously burned down. All that exists is a very brief newspaper article saying the doctor who killed her was charged, and that there had been other girls killed. The paranormal investigator I interviewed about the case had EVPs from the doctor’s grave saying there are still “several” werewolves in Konawa. And I learned that there had been many grave markers with the “murdered by human wolves” or “human dogs” epitaph on them in that area. The whole thing just easily fit into the mythology I’d made for Shara, so I had to write it.
A lot can happen in a decade, as it has no doubt happened to you both personally and professionally. How do you feel that might shape First Born, and do you think we might notice a shift of tone and storyline as a result when compared to the previous books in the saga?
I’ve gone through a lot since Nadia was published. Divorce. Multiple job changes until I retired from teaching. My mom died. Yes, I think readers will see some changes. I’m a better writer. I think I’m more thoughtful. Over the past decade I’ve read more classic and mainstream literature than horror fiction and I think that shows in my writing.
That being said, I think the opening chapter of First Born is very much on par with what readers are used to. However, there was no talk of trigger warnings back in the day and I’ve already gotten negative feedback from a contest judge about the brutality in that chapter.
I’m sure a lot of folks might see First Born and wonder if they need to read the previous werewolf books first. What do you say them?
I may not be the best one to ask. Obviously, I want people to read all the books. Also, I’m not the kind of person who would ever jump into a series on Book 4. But First Born refers to a lot of people and events that happened earlier. In many cases, there is a little bit of explanation, but it’s more a reminder to the reader than a detailed synopsis.
With First Born still fresh on the shelves and, perhaps, with their paws still running rampant in your mind, do you feel they’ve told all their stories to you, or do you think the saga might continue yet?
It will definitely continue. First Born comes to a resolution, much like Shara did, but there’s obviously more that has to happen. Periphery characters have always been more tuned into events going on in the world of shapeshifters, but in this book, that starts to change. Shara hardly ever considered the bigger picture, and Ulrik always tried to shield her from it, really. That luxury kind of gets stripped away in this book.
When you say there will likely be another Saga trilogy, does that put First Born as book one of the second trilogy in the Saga?
Yes, though it’s labeled Book 4.
Do you already have any thoughts or outlines for how the next two books will go?
I have some definite ideas about Book 5. We’ll see some spiritual development in an important character as that person learns to use gifts given in First Born.
For a while now I have thought that if one classic horror figure deserved a comeback, it’s the werewolf. We might get one decent book or movie here and there and, of course, there was the Bitten tv series and a great gypsy werewolf in Hemlock Grove several years ago, but nothing close to what I would call a wave like we’ve seen with vampires and zombies. Between the fascinating, layered characters in your Saga, the almost constant action-packed plotlines weaving through the heart of each book, I always felt your books would be the perfect material for any streaming platform to pick up and run with. That said, what do you think separates your Saga from other lycanthropic tales that makes it a necessary must read when held up against other stories of its ilk?
As I’ve positioned myself to make a go of writing full time, this is something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately. The pros making $50k from 20 books preach about using tropes and writing to market. I haven’t really done those things with my werewolves. I’ve been asking myself what genre my Werewolf Saga really belongs in. They’re not horror books like, say, Gary Brandner’s Howling trilogy where the werewolves are just bloodthirsty monsters. And, while there’s always been a romantic subplot or two woven in, that’s never been the focus, so they’re not really urban fantasy. There is a huge focus on Pack politics, almost like a paranormal thriller. So, what separated my Saga? I guess it would be the fact that it doesn’t toe the line of any one genre but brings in elements of multiple genres.
I would love to see my Saga adapted for the screen, but I’d also be a little terrified to watch it. I had just a flicker of film interest in Murdered by Human Wolves several years ago. Coincidentally, I’ve written a screenplay for that one. Well, the producer wanted me to change it so that Katherine Cross is a tough female cop in modern-day Los Angeles. I refused to write that, and it didn’t go any further.
Not sure if I’ve asked you this before, but did you have any certain influences or even indirect references for the content and style your Werewolf Saga would explore as you wrote it?
Definitely! I started writing Shara in 1993. It took a long time because I went to college for my first degree and wrote another novel between that time and Shara’s eventual publication in 2003. My goal was to write the werewolf equivalent of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Of course, my writing isn’t nearly as ornate as Anne’s and we come from very different backgrounds, but that was my goal, to write the werewolf series that would revolutionize werewolves the way her vampire books did for that subgenre.
But keep in mind, that was the tail end of the 1980s horror boom and the splatterpunk movement, so I brought in those elements of violence and sex, too, especially in Shara. Not to the extreme of Skipp and Specter, but I did try to appeal to that audience.
I love that in First Born, it seems a lot of characters found out what they are truly made of, as others still end up leaving us with a few questions left unanswered. Obviously, the biggest arc belongs to Joey, the First Born, who’s fate has been protected by those who have been sacrificing everything they’ve got since book one. That said, after all these years getting to know your Saga characters, were there any surprises for you as you revisited them a decade later? And to add to that, what are you most anxious or excited to explore in the next book because you can’t wait to find out what happens next either?
I dove into First Born with almost no idea of where the story was going to go. I’m not an outliner, but I typically know what the big scenes will be and write from one to the next. With First Born, all I had was the bit about Thomas going rogue and Joey being forced to track him. That was all. It developed as a I wrote it. The biggest surprise for me is something that happens late in the book. If you want to look at it in The Hero’s Journey cycle, it’s Joey’s moment in the belly of the beast and how that developed. I had no idea. I was just banging away and it was like, “Oh shit, what did I just write? That changes so much!” I almost deleted it, but I had a good talk with my oldest son, Alex, about what I’d written and why it was so … alien to the mythology I had written up to that point. He helped me come up with a way to explain it that I think works.
Skandar and Cerdwyn are two of the most interesting characters to me. I hope readers are as happy to see them as a couple as I was. In the next book, they are going to be mentors to Joey. Cerdwyn, as you know, is basically the Pack’s witch or oracle. She has a lot to teach Joey about a world too reliant on technology, and I’m looking forward to getting into that. My werewolves have dipped their paws into paganism off and on throughout the series, but we’ll get a full dose of Cerdwyn’s philosophy, which will be rooted in my own reading and studying. And Skandar will be there to confirm her views because he watched it all develop. Joey will need that training for what’s coming.
I’m so pumped for the next book, which leaves me with only one last follow up question: Can you give us a hint of what it is Joey might have in store for him next that is going to demand even more from him and those closest to him?
Joey is in a position no other shapeshifter has been in. He has to learn to lead. He has to use ALL the gifts he is given in this book, even the ones he doesn’t like. He had to embrace the true nature of the beast and try to hold onto his humanity. He has to be a badass and not allow anyone to live who is a danger to his vision of the Pack. The opposing force was allowed to leave the battlefield at the end of Nadia’s Children. Joey has to kill them, even though Cerdwyn tries to teach him peace.
BONUS FEATURE
I originally conducted this conversation with Steve in preparation for a feature article I wrote for Rue Morgue Magazine. Steve, always the consummate professional, wanted to ensure I had all the info I might need to write a comprehensive piece on his beloved Saga. He provided me a lot of additional info in case I could use any of it, which I did. However, one only has so much space when one is writing under a tight word count, and I had to leave a lot of fascinating tidbits out of that article. Although the info Steve gave me was not within the context of a conversation, I want to include them here for those who enjoy a wider sense of what goes on behind the scenes of creating such a series over several years of this writer’s career.
Please enjoy these extra bits of information from Steve.
- “You may know that I’ve renumbered the books in the Saga so that Shara is #1 and First Born is #4. I spun Murdered by Human Wolves and Call to the Hunt off as another series, The Werewolf Saga: Apocrypha because while, yes, those stories are important, they aren’t part of the main timeline that picks up when the Mother of the Pack is discovered.”
- “I killed most of the primary characters in Nadia’s Children because I was in a dispute with my publisher, Scrybe Press. Despite the fact the publisher wasn’t paying me like he was supposed to (wasn’t paying at all!), I’d signed off on giving him the right to publish everything in The Werewolf Saga universe and was afraid I couldn’t get out of that. The conflict was resolved, and I got all my rights back before I finished the novel, but the course was already set.”
- “Shara was published by 3F Publications and then Scrybe Press. Murdered by Human Wolves was published by Scrybe Press, then had a brief life with Graveside Tales. Ulrik was published by Scrybe Press. None of these entities paid royalties or shared sales numbers, so I don’t have a clue how many copies of those books were published prior to me taking over the publication myself. Or how much money I lost.”
- “At one point in Shara, when she first meets Chris and they’re in his compound, they are visited by an older werewolf who is murdered on their porch. That dude was the Pack scholar and there are a couple of pieces now in Call to the Hunt (formerly free PDFs on my website) that he translated from a much earlier time about a Viking werewolf named Bjorn Halden. Bjorn is the male lead in my (Adri Amanti’s) historical romance novel Bold Bounty. Bjorn, all human at the time, has to kill a werewolf to win the girl. In events after that novel, Bjorn is bitten by a werebear and he creates a meeting place for lycanthropes. It’s totally a side story and isn’t even included as a Werewolf Saga: Apocrypha book, but it all weaves together. There’s another Adri Amanti historical/paranormal in which the heroine in colonial America falls in love with a very young Ulrik, who is still living with the Indians.”
- “The young adult novel In the Woods that I wrote with Carrie Jones also features a werewolf. Carrie included werewolves in her Need series. We had to create a new werewolf mythology for this novel to separate it from both our previous series.”
- “I love that Randall William Bragg made his way into First Born. He’s the protagonist in the short story “Okie Werewolf Seeks Love” in Call To the Hunt. He’s just a good ol’ redneck werewolf who wants to drink beer, have sex, and relax, but he owes Kelley a favor and she makes him help them out. There are a few chapters from his point of view. He’s a bit of comic relief, but I think he also gives us a different perspective on what’s happening.”
Rick Hipson is a Canadian genre journalist living in Kitchener Ontario with his partner in crime, young spawn and two cats who insist they aren’t vying for world domination. For over twenty years Rick has written for a variety of small press publications in print and online which no longer exist through, assumably, no fault of his own. He continues to share his love for dark culture entertainment through his film and book reviews, interviews and articles, which can be found through Rue Morgue Magazine, Cemetery Dance and Hell Notes.
