Book Blurb & Info
At The Wolf's Door
When Brady Bridges was twelve, he set out to solve the disappearance of little Melanie Grace. What he found that fall and winter has haunted him ever since. Police had quickly given up on Melanie, a Kindergartner who lived on the next street over and seemed to have vanished without a trace. With the help of his best friend, Brady searched the neighborhood, looking for clues. He soon found a likely suspect in Chet Plumber, an odd man who lived alone, kept to himself, and just may have been a werewolf. The ensuing cat and mouse game revealed a darkness in the world previously unknown to Brady, a darkness in his neighbors, and, worst of all, a darkness within himself. As Brady’s childhood came to an abrupt end, and with the lives of his family at stake, Brady may have done more than sacrifice his own soul to win the battle against evil: he may have sacrificed the souls of others.
Buy Links
Goodreads / Amazon
WADE JOSEPH LE FEVRE is a life-long movie lover and an avid reader. He first fell in love with movies as a child during what he refers to as the heyday of genre filmmaking, the 1980’s. A periodic reader at best, he discovered a similar love for the printed word in high school after reading the post-apocalyptic nuclear holocaust novel Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien. He holds both mediums in high esteem, listing filmmaker John Carpenter and author Richard Matheson equally as artistic inspirations. Born and raised in Southern California, he currently resides in Rancho Cucamonga, where he can usually be found with his nose in a book, waiting for the next showing of a film to start.
Interview
Hi Wade,
Thank you so much for sitting down with Toot's for an interview. If you don't mind, I have some questions for you about your new book, At The Wolf’s Door and your process for our budding authors as well as fans.
So first off, At The Wolf’s Door Questions.......
In your own words, what is At The Wolf’s Door about?
It is about two preteenagers in an age before playstation, and cell phones, and tablets, when kids still had big imaginations. A little girl disappears down the street from them and, in their innocent naivety, think they’re going to solve the case. They quickly come up with a suspect and decide that he is a werewolf, because that would explain everything!
How did you come up with the title of the book and can you tell us its significance?
My brother came up with the title, actually. I was telling him about it when I finished the first draft of the book because I was so excited, and he just off hand said, “You should call it At The Wolf’s Door.” It’s significant because the boys are spying on this man, pretty much peeking through his windows. And he is a wolf. Not necessarily the kind they think he is, but a wolf none the less. So, throughout the book, they are At The Wolf’s Door, tempting fate.
Is At The Wolf’s Door a standalone book or will it be part of a series?
It’s a standalone. All of my books are standalones, but there is some cross over. They all take place in the fictional town of Carpenter, California. A character from a previous book makes an appearance in one chapter and two of the supporting characters will have their own books down the line.
What genre would you say At The Wolf’s Door is and what sets your book apart for fans of the genre?
I would say it was more of a mystery/thriller. The main character is trying to be a detective, although with very limited resources and a curfew. I would say what sets it apart from other mysteries is what makes it so familiar. It’s a very typical type of coming of age story with a budding detective tale, but with a sharp, serious twist that brings the main characters out of their imaginations and into adulthood.
What are some of the elements of the world you created?
I talk about old movies quite a bit. There’s a pretty nasty bully and an even nastier group of neighbors. There is the creepy old man down the block and the man who might be a werewolf. I tried to make it a classic story about my neighborhood growing up. At that age there was always someone or something happening in my neighborhood that my best friend and I would embellish and turn into something bigger and more fun than it actually was. I put these two kids into a world where they could imagine something out of a movie, but the danger was actually something a bit less threatening, but even worse than anything they’d seen in a movie.
If you had to pick one thing, what is your favorite thing about the world you’ve created?
I love the kids. All of the kids. And the fun they’re having. It was so much fun to write this story because I got to go back to my childhood. Things were so different back then. Maybe it was just for me, but it was great to relive those times and have a scary situation like in the movies for them to get caught up in, which is something I always wanted when I was that age.
What was your favorite scene to write in At The Wolf’s Door?
I don’t think there was a scene I didn’t enjoy writing, but if I had to pick a favorite I would have to say the first chapter. It’s set at Halloween when the kids get to dress up and go from house to house. I used to look forward to that all year! I knew the book was going to start there, but the moment I started writing everything just flowed perfectly. I wrote like I was possessed! It was the greatest feeling in the world and I think it was because of that one chapter.
What was the hardest scene to write?
The hardest scene was probably the prologue. The story is bookended by the main character getting into a car accident in the prologue and surviving it in the epilogue. I must have rewritten, trimmed, moved, and edited that few short paragraphs over and over and over again. It was a real challenge to foreshadow the whole book without giving anything away. I wound up having to make the prologue very short instead of informative. Just enough hopefully to pique your interest.
What's your favorite line or quote from At The Wolf’s Door?
“Like all twelve year old boys, Brady had many seeds planted in his mind. Some of them would grow into small plants, others would become as tall as redwoods and as strong as oaks. Some seeds would just stay seeds, buried and forgotten deep in the soil of his brain. Melanie Grace would eventually become a forest, one that he would get lost in and never fully find his way out of.”
I felt like this was the best paragraph I’ve ever written!
Writing.......
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated and what made you decide to pursue it as a career?
I’ve always enjoyed writing and making up stories. I think it was Pulp Fiction though where I decided I wanted to make movies for my career. But how do you do that when you’re thirteen or fourteen? Well, you write. So I started writing carbon copies of other movies I liked and eventually started writing my own stuff. It was the only thing I ever really wanted to do.
What inspires you to put the pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard?
It’s usually one odd element in the story I want to write. I’ll develop the story and the characters and it’ll be all ready to go, but if I feel like it’s missing something I can’t write it. But then I’ll think of something, sometimes just one little detail that doesn’t come up until almost the end of the book. That one little detail will make the story, in my mind, wholly original. And I’ll write the entire story as a build up to the one moment or reveal.
What are some of the elements in/of your writing process?
I have a very messy writing process. I try to write in the mornings before I do anything else. Maybe have a walk first, but then it’s straight to work. And there is where the order ends. I like to write a first draft of a book between editing and releasing the previous one. So At the Wolf’s Door I wrote, then revised and released Covenant and then wrote the first draft of The Colonies, which is the next book. When that draft was done I went back to work on Wolf’s Door through to the release.
Are you a Plotter or a Panster?
To be fair I don’t know what a Panster is. I’m assuming it’s someone who makes it up as they go. If so then I’m a little bit of both. When I start I usually know the broad strokes of the story. This will happen and it’ll happen before this. But then there’s a gap in the story that I’ll make up as I go to connect the dots. But for the most part I am a plotter.
Have you released anything under a different pen name, and if so, is there any difference between them?
I have not, but I have a pen name sitting there ready to go if I ever decide to use it!
What's next for you?
I am going to start writing my first science fiction story, a time travel idea I’ve had forever! Then I’m going to revise and release The Colonies, which should be out by next summer or fall.
Is there anything you’d like to add or say to your fans?
I love you all!
Personal questions......
As a horror author, what scares you most?
Demonic possession. There is no protection from that. You can fight vampires with garlic, shoot zombies in the head, but there is nothing you can do to stop being possessed. Not even religion! In most tales and lore, the more religious you are, the more susceptible you are to possession because it’s an affront to God! So the best way to protect yourself is also like a big kick me sign right on your back. I have not written a possession story, nor do I plan to, because I would freak myself out spending so much time in that world.
What’s your favorite horror movie?
That’s tough. I don’t think I have any one favorite. I prefer the classics like Halloween, An American Werewolf in London, The Exorcist. There are a few modern ones that are fantastic like A Stir of Echoes, Trick ‘r Treat, Let the Right One In, but for the most part I like the old ones, the ones I grew up with. They don’t have the same power now that they used to. Everything’s been kind of done and there aren’t really any new voices in film, except for James Wan who did the first Saw, The Conjuring and Insidious. He seems to be the strongest modern voice in horror.
Who’s your favorite villain?
Another tough question! I really like Magneto in the X-Men films. He’s so interesting. When he was a boy the Jews were persecuted and shoved into concentration camps. His powers were undeveloped so his parents were killed and he was experimented on, so when mutants started being persecuted he was the first one to the rescue, seeing it immediately for the war it was to become. But, at the same time, he’s the first one to throw another person in the line of fire because he’s so selfish he won’t sacrifice himself for the greater good. Amazing! But, villains should be feared and Magneto doesn’t scare me. Amy Dunne from Gone Girl, she scares me! I don’t think any villain in any book or movie has ever scared me the way she did. She rightfully deserves a place on the wall right between Freddy Kruger and Michael Myers.
Lastly, What 5 things do fans not know about you and 5 they don't know about the book?
The five they don’t know about me:
Thank you so much for sitting down with Toot's for an interview. If you don't mind, I have some questions for you about your new book, At The Wolf’s Door and your process for our budding authors as well as fans.
So first off, At The Wolf’s Door Questions.......
In your own words, what is At The Wolf’s Door about?
It is about two preteenagers in an age before playstation, and cell phones, and tablets, when kids still had big imaginations. A little girl disappears down the street from them and, in their innocent naivety, think they’re going to solve the case. They quickly come up with a suspect and decide that he is a werewolf, because that would explain everything!
How did you come up with the title of the book and can you tell us its significance?
My brother came up with the title, actually. I was telling him about it when I finished the first draft of the book because I was so excited, and he just off hand said, “You should call it At The Wolf’s Door.” It’s significant because the boys are spying on this man, pretty much peeking through his windows. And he is a wolf. Not necessarily the kind they think he is, but a wolf none the less. So, throughout the book, they are At The Wolf’s Door, tempting fate.
Is At The Wolf’s Door a standalone book or will it be part of a series?
It’s a standalone. All of my books are standalones, but there is some cross over. They all take place in the fictional town of Carpenter, California. A character from a previous book makes an appearance in one chapter and two of the supporting characters will have their own books down the line.
What genre would you say At The Wolf’s Door is and what sets your book apart for fans of the genre?
I would say it was more of a mystery/thriller. The main character is trying to be a detective, although with very limited resources and a curfew. I would say what sets it apart from other mysteries is what makes it so familiar. It’s a very typical type of coming of age story with a budding detective tale, but with a sharp, serious twist that brings the main characters out of their imaginations and into adulthood.
What are some of the elements of the world you created?
I talk about old movies quite a bit. There’s a pretty nasty bully and an even nastier group of neighbors. There is the creepy old man down the block and the man who might be a werewolf. I tried to make it a classic story about my neighborhood growing up. At that age there was always someone or something happening in my neighborhood that my best friend and I would embellish and turn into something bigger and more fun than it actually was. I put these two kids into a world where they could imagine something out of a movie, but the danger was actually something a bit less threatening, but even worse than anything they’d seen in a movie.
If you had to pick one thing, what is your favorite thing about the world you’ve created?
I love the kids. All of the kids. And the fun they’re having. It was so much fun to write this story because I got to go back to my childhood. Things were so different back then. Maybe it was just for me, but it was great to relive those times and have a scary situation like in the movies for them to get caught up in, which is something I always wanted when I was that age.
What was your favorite scene to write in At The Wolf’s Door?
I don’t think there was a scene I didn’t enjoy writing, but if I had to pick a favorite I would have to say the first chapter. It’s set at Halloween when the kids get to dress up and go from house to house. I used to look forward to that all year! I knew the book was going to start there, but the moment I started writing everything just flowed perfectly. I wrote like I was possessed! It was the greatest feeling in the world and I think it was because of that one chapter.
What was the hardest scene to write?
The hardest scene was probably the prologue. The story is bookended by the main character getting into a car accident in the prologue and surviving it in the epilogue. I must have rewritten, trimmed, moved, and edited that few short paragraphs over and over and over again. It was a real challenge to foreshadow the whole book without giving anything away. I wound up having to make the prologue very short instead of informative. Just enough hopefully to pique your interest.
What's your favorite line or quote from At The Wolf’s Door?
“Like all twelve year old boys, Brady had many seeds planted in his mind. Some of them would grow into small plants, others would become as tall as redwoods and as strong as oaks. Some seeds would just stay seeds, buried and forgotten deep in the soil of his brain. Melanie Grace would eventually become a forest, one that he would get lost in and never fully find his way out of.”
I felt like this was the best paragraph I’ve ever written!
Writing.......
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated and what made you decide to pursue it as a career?
I’ve always enjoyed writing and making up stories. I think it was Pulp Fiction though where I decided I wanted to make movies for my career. But how do you do that when you’re thirteen or fourteen? Well, you write. So I started writing carbon copies of other movies I liked and eventually started writing my own stuff. It was the only thing I ever really wanted to do.
What inspires you to put the pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard?
It’s usually one odd element in the story I want to write. I’ll develop the story and the characters and it’ll be all ready to go, but if I feel like it’s missing something I can’t write it. But then I’ll think of something, sometimes just one little detail that doesn’t come up until almost the end of the book. That one little detail will make the story, in my mind, wholly original. And I’ll write the entire story as a build up to the one moment or reveal.
What are some of the elements in/of your writing process?
I have a very messy writing process. I try to write in the mornings before I do anything else. Maybe have a walk first, but then it’s straight to work. And there is where the order ends. I like to write a first draft of a book between editing and releasing the previous one. So At the Wolf’s Door I wrote, then revised and released Covenant and then wrote the first draft of The Colonies, which is the next book. When that draft was done I went back to work on Wolf’s Door through to the release.
Are you a Plotter or a Panster?
To be fair I don’t know what a Panster is. I’m assuming it’s someone who makes it up as they go. If so then I’m a little bit of both. When I start I usually know the broad strokes of the story. This will happen and it’ll happen before this. But then there’s a gap in the story that I’ll make up as I go to connect the dots. But for the most part I am a plotter.
Have you released anything under a different pen name, and if so, is there any difference between them?
I have not, but I have a pen name sitting there ready to go if I ever decide to use it!
What's next for you?
I am going to start writing my first science fiction story, a time travel idea I’ve had forever! Then I’m going to revise and release The Colonies, which should be out by next summer or fall.
Is there anything you’d like to add or say to your fans?
I love you all!
Personal questions......
As a horror author, what scares you most?
Demonic possession. There is no protection from that. You can fight vampires with garlic, shoot zombies in the head, but there is nothing you can do to stop being possessed. Not even religion! In most tales and lore, the more religious you are, the more susceptible you are to possession because it’s an affront to God! So the best way to protect yourself is also like a big kick me sign right on your back. I have not written a possession story, nor do I plan to, because I would freak myself out spending so much time in that world.
What’s your favorite horror movie?
That’s tough. I don’t think I have any one favorite. I prefer the classics like Halloween, An American Werewolf in London, The Exorcist. There are a few modern ones that are fantastic like A Stir of Echoes, Trick ‘r Treat, Let the Right One In, but for the most part I like the old ones, the ones I grew up with. They don’t have the same power now that they used to. Everything’s been kind of done and there aren’t really any new voices in film, except for James Wan who did the first Saw, The Conjuring and Insidious. He seems to be the strongest modern voice in horror.
Who’s your favorite villain?
Another tough question! I really like Magneto in the X-Men films. He’s so interesting. When he was a boy the Jews were persecuted and shoved into concentration camps. His powers were undeveloped so his parents were killed and he was experimented on, so when mutants started being persecuted he was the first one to the rescue, seeing it immediately for the war it was to become. But, at the same time, he’s the first one to throw another person in the line of fire because he’s so selfish he won’t sacrifice himself for the greater good. Amazing! But, villains should be feared and Magneto doesn’t scare me. Amy Dunne from Gone Girl, she scares me! I don’t think any villain in any book or movie has ever scared me the way she did. She rightfully deserves a place on the wall right between Freddy Kruger and Michael Myers.
Lastly, What 5 things do fans not know about you and 5 they don't know about the book?
The five they don’t know about me:
1) I have not read many Stephan King books. I’m much more acquainted with the movie versions. I have read a couple and they’re good, but I am a much bigger fan of his son, Joe Hill.
2) I love reading histories. I have recently read a book about Thurgood Marshall defending a trio of wrongfully accused black men in a rape case in the South, another one about Grover Cleveland and how he spent most of his presidency dying from a bullet wound and infection, and just recently started Columbine by Dave Cullen.
3) Every year I take the day off to watch the Oscars. Friends have referred to them as my Super Bowl.
4) I love spy movies. Whether they be James Bond, Mission: Impossible, or Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy I love a good espionage movie. I dig the whole cloak and dagger thing, the intrigue of it all. I eat that up.
5) I am not very smart with technology. I’m a very analogue guy. I’m getting better little by little, but for the most part I don’t care. I prefer a book in my hand and a disc in my Bluray player.
The five they don’t know about the book:
The five they don’t know about the book:
1) The brother and sister in the book are modeled after my best friend’s kids who I dedicated the book to.
2) The very first title when I started conceiving of the book was Melanie is Missing.
3) The working title of the book, which I’m not going to share, I plan to use if and when I write my memoirs, which would be about my adventures as an indie writer.
4) With the exception of the kid sister, the missing little girl, the villain, and the eventual resolution, this was my childhood. My best friend lived right next door and we went to all of the locations in the book to hang out and do pretty much the same things. Even some of the side characters were real, like the old lady who would yell at us for playing at the basketball court.
5) For the villain, Chet Plumber, I pictured actor Jon Gries from Fright Night 2. If you see a picture of him in that movie, you will have an idea of what I imagined Chet to look like. Jon also was the werewolf in Monster Squad. If they ever made a movie out of Wolf’s Door I would want him to play the part to round out his trilogy.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for taking time to answer some questions. Congratulations on the new book and I can't wait for everyone to read it! – Toot’s
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for taking time to answer some questions. Congratulations on the new book and I can't wait for everyone to read it! – Toot’s
Author Info
You can find Wade on Facebook
And check out his other books on Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7249657.Wade_Joseph_Le_Fevre
No comments:
Post a Comment