Werewolf Wednesday #19

Welcome to Werewolf Wednesday where the moon is always full and I am howling. Every single Wednesday I will be profiling a new werewolf from books, TV or movies. I might also mix it up a bit some weeks and throw in some other furry fun!! Please feel free to join and howl along with me every week!

This week for werewolf wednesday I am bringing you a new werewolf release, an interview with the author and a good time!!! Start howling!!

This book just came out May 11, 2012 so let’s get to the goods!

 

Would you stop a cold-blooded murder if you could? What if it put your life in danger?

     These are the questions that Jon finds himself suddenly faced with. In the brief seconds where he is forced into action, he will learn another hard lesson.

     One decision may save a life, but a single death can start a war.

     The vampires and werewolves have lived in a strained co-existence with one another for centuries. They have their territories. They know their boundaries. All this comes to an abrupt end when one reckless vampire ignores the rules that have been followed for ages.

     No one, not even Jon, could guess the carnage that would follow his decision to save an innocent man and end the vampire’s life. The world is thrown into chaos. This murder catches the attention of the All-Father, and Jon’s clan is being held responsible. The body count is rising, and the werewolves are on the losing end.

     It falls to Jon and a surprising set of allies to try to hold back the raging fury the All-Father has unleashed against them. The End of Days is approaching, but can a werewolf and his small group of unknown heroes find it in themselves to summon their courage and fight to the death to save the earth from the shadows?

Looks great doesn’t it?? Let’s learn a little bit about the author of this book, Frank Smith.

 You are a brand new author of a fabulous werewolf book, fill in the blanks for us would you please?

Title: Wolf Song

Genre: Paranormal/Action

Main character’s name: Jon

Describe your book in one sentence: Summer blockbuster action meets high literature characters.

 Now tell us a little about yourself by filling in these blanks:

Name: Frank W. Smith and yes that IS my real name.

Genre ( That’s right every person has one, what is yours? LOL): For reading, fantasy.

Favorite color: Green, always loved that color.  Emerald is also my birthstone, so didn’t that just fit into a nice neat package?

(note: It’s my birthstone too! LOL)

Day job (if you have one besides writing): Yes I do have one, I am an exterminator, you know like you see on all the TV shows lately. Now do you know why I want to be a writer?

Favorite food: Like most of us, it switches. Right now I am into Indian food. Lamb Kofta in a cashew sauce, and yes I can cook that!

Coffee or Beer: Don’t like coffee and I can’t drink beer. I think I am allergic to hops, so I’ll go with bourbon.

Cupcake or donut: Cupcake. Give me lots of frosting and I’m happy.

Are you secretly a werewolf? I WISH!!! But I am just not hairy enough.

Celebrity Crush: This will may sound odd, I always wanted to go on a date with Alanis Morrisette.  Her face is so wonderfully expressive. I am just afraid if we broke up, it would end up in another album for her. (Yes I am old and I said album)

 Now let’s move on to the good stuff. The werewolves!! LOL.

Do you think that werewolves are real or just something that us writers like to write about?

For me it was always a part of wishing there was something larger than life out there. Some mystery, that went beyond what we know.  Sometimes with all our technology, it seems most of the mystery is gone from the world. So it is fun to imagine a world where there are somethings left to discover.

 Tell us a little about your book, Wolf Song.

First off, I think Wolf Song is a book that will appeal to most people even though it is a Werewolf/Vampire novel. I am a firm believer that a good story should appeal to a broader base than just niche readers. The story is about a werewolf who has to make a decision; either sit idly by and watch an innocent person get murdered at the hands of a vampire or act and do what’s right even though there will be consequences. Unfortunately those consequences end up being much higher than anyone could have anticipated.  Jon and his clan are targeted by the Vampire All-Father. As they run for their lives, they are desperately trying to figure out why this reaction is so over the top, it has them panicked and questioning its severity. Along the way Jon, and his friend and mentor Aldus, meet other great characters like Dr. Beaumont and Father Anthony McTeague who are caught up in the same web of deception as they are. It’s a race for their lives as the whole group tries to end the Vampire Lord’s black plans and live to see another day.

     Another thing that was important to me was for ‘Wolf Song’ to make sense. Yes a Werewolf/Vampire story can make sense. I wanted there to be real consistent rules and the plot could not be changed or hinge on, “Well he turned into a werewolf and saved the day.” That’s just cheating, lol. And lastly I wanted the characters to be real. Yes I love action, but I could never figure out why in the movies, the bad guy chases the good guy. They fly through the city streets, cars are damaged, innocent people are injured and yet no one bats an eyelash.  The good guy never turns around and says, ‘Wow, I almost feel bad for those poor schmucks, going about their daily lives when Wham! A 1982 Cadillac Deville comes flying over the hill chased by blacked out Escalade and they get crippled. Kinda sucks to be them, huh?”

‘Wolf Song’ has the action, has the titanic fight scenes and yet has rules, consistency and a humanity and characterization mostly lacking in paranormal or action books.

 What inspired you to write about werewolves?

I wanted to write something with larger than life characters. Characters that could rip down walls, lop off limbs and destroy vehicles with their bare hands yet still be human and have a story and fears and dreams. Werewolves seemed to be the perfect medium for that. To me it was a way of writing stories like mythology, with great characters like demi-gods and beasts.

 How long did it take you to write this book?

 It took me four months to actually write the first draft, then another four months re-writing and editing.

 What was the most challenging thing for you during the process of writing and publishing this book?

OMG, why can’t we just be story tellers? I don’t want to be an accountant, a publicist, a marketing firm and a travelling side show while working a full time job and trying to have a life. This is not a complaint, just a wish for something as simple as the time to just tell a great story.

 You submitted to many publishing houses with your book. In the end you decided to go Indie. Why?

If I may be frank, I love that pun, I did want to go to a small publishing house. I sent out my story dutifully and with much anticipation, I ran home every day to check my status only to find out that most places are not professional enough to even acknowledge the receipt of your query or manuscript. That is if they are not downright hostile. Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of angry little people in the world. Then one day I got a nibble. I got excited and I went over to the publisher’s site and saw something that gave me a little pause. Right on their page they acknowledged that their internal house was in disorder. Three of the four founders were leaving, while one was going to stick around and try and salvage things. It was not worded like this of course, but that was the gist.

     The next day I read a post from someone who had a similar situation. They signed all the contracts and then the people walked away from their business. She was left in a contractual hell, still being tied to them for a year as her story languished and she fought to get it back, while the story was still fresh.

     Then it hit me, as much as a small publishing house is taking a chance on us, so are we, on them. The truth is that over 80% of small businesses fail.  That experience was an eye opener for me. Yes, I could have went back to step one and started over again, but truthfully, it had become a pride thing and as you know even though a small publishing house can help, many of the same jobs fall to you, as if you were doing it Indie anyway. So I just figured to go this route this time. Pride hurt? A bit. Scared it was the wrong decision, yep. But I would feel the same way if I went with one. There is a lot of trust you need on both ends of that relationship and I am not sure I have it right now.

 Is this book part of a series? If so when do you think the next book will be ready for publishing?

Yes it is, I am planning on a trilogy. (If you think of an ending let me know, okay?)  If things go well I am anticipating about 6 months after I am done with promoting Wolf Song full time.

 What is your favorite thing about werewolves?

The dichotomy. All the rage and pain kept in check (Mostly) beneath the thin veneer of our humanity.

(ooohhhh, I like this answer) 🙂

 What is your least favorite thing about writing?

Other than what I have stated before, it was my lack of preparation.  I should have kept better notes from the beginning. Instead I had to go back and take copious amounts. It was again, ignorance. I know better now and will not repeat the same mistake.

 Tell us something about yourself that we don’t know.

Wow, there is lot’s. Let’s stick with the fact that I think I have one of the most screwed up resumes in history. I’ve been a soldier, a missionary, an exterminator, I’ve cleaned cages when I volunteered at an animal shelter (That’s a poop shoveler) and now I am an author.

 Tell us something about your book we don’t know.

If you get away from the fact that the book is a Werewolf/Vampire novel, you will find the real story is about getting hurt. You know, that time in your life when you get hit hard. The time that person in a white lab coat comes to tell you some bad news, or you find your marriage or relationship is not what you thought it was or something like that. It’s about when life hits you hard and then how you react to it. Some curl up and refuse to believe the truth, others get so angry it blinds them, but most of us just struggle for that little bit of air and try to keep our heads above water and the next wave as we muddle through and try to get our footing back.  Take away the dress up and that’s what you will find in ‘Wolf Song’.

 Please tell us where we can find your book and you (social media, etc.).

Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Song-Frank-W-Smith/dp/1475239939/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336289953&sr=8-2

CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/3858250

Facebook Author page: (Check it out for some awesome contests) https://www.facebook.com/wolfsongtrilogy

Blog: http://wolfsongtrilogy.blogspot.com/

 

And that is WW this week! Go buy this great book!!! 😉