First of all, is
Erren Grey Wolf really your name, or is it a pen name?
I legally changed my name to Erren Grey Wolf. My original name was so
popular that there were two of us with the same first and last name at the
walk-in clinic I used to go to, which made me worried if they ever got our
files mixed up! I wanted to have a unique name. Erren is an old word for
Ireland, and Grey Wolf is my Totem.
Tell us a little about yourself.
Personally? I have Bipolar Disorder, which I think has made me more
creative, but at the same time, it’s a nightmare. I would not be able to
function without medicine.
What made you want to
become a writer?
I did not at first want to become a writer. I wanted to be
an artist, but after my second breakdown in 2004-5, I had to take Lithium,
which made my hands shake. This forced me to quit art school. That was a very
painful decision, and I mourned the loss of my artistic talent. However, my
creativity demanded an outlet, and I set down to writing the stories I have had
in my head since I was a teenager. Once I began writing seriously, my
imagination exploded and what started as one paragraph has now become a series
of at least 10 books!
Your novel Long-Lost Brother contains poetry
between chapters, can you tell us your inspiration for writing it that way?
I wrote about some sorrowful things and poems just sprang
naturally from them to describe situations in a different way. My stories
inspired my poems. It gives me another way to express my creativity.
You make a lot of
references to Norse Mythology in your book. Can you talk about that and how it
impacts the novel?
I love mythology. I was quite the nerd in high school and
used to spend lunch hours in the library studying mythology. My books have both
Celtic and Norse mythology within them. For example: Sean’s disintegrator rifle
is called a Gwynn 10 millimetre. Gwynn ap Nudd is the Welsh leader of the Wild
Hunt. In the first book, The Lost Boy, Sean has a dream about the Stagman taking
him along on the Wild Hunt when he was searching for his brother in the forest.
Within the second book, I use the stag as a symbol for Sean, the hunter, as if
he were the leader of the Wild Hunt himself. When the enemy captures Erren in
the fourth book, Wolfboy, Sean again
plays the hunter as he searches for his missing brother.
As yet, I only have the first two books published, but as
you can see, I have the series all planned out. Most of it is already written
and just needs polishing. I hope to have the third book out by the end of this
year.
Your novel contains a
mixture of science fiction and fantasy. Can you talk about that blend and what
drew you to write in a mixed genre?
I never intended to write in any particular genre at all. I
wrote the stories in my head, and they just came out that way. I love science
fiction and fantasy stories, so I guess their influence merged into a crossover
genre.
You named one of your
main characters after yourself. Is this because you saw yourself in him? Or is
there some other reason?
When I was a teenager, I had many problems with my Bipolar
Disorder, which was at that point undiagnosed. My concentration grew worse in
my high school years, and I often could not stay focused on my homework. I ended
up many times retreating into a corner behind my desk and just sat there
daydreaming about being another person in another place. I daydreamt about the
two brothers, Sean and Erren. Erren was always getting into trouble or getting
wounded, and Sean was always there to rescue and heal him. Perhaps some part of
me wished someone would rescue and heal me. I identified with Erren so
completely that I later took his name for my own. When I changed my name, I
never realized at the time that I would actually write these stories. Now that
I am writing them, it’s kind of weird that one of the characters has the same
name as myself, but I wouldn’t change his name to anything else. He is my alter
ego.
What other
inspirations lie behind your book?
I believe my stories welled up from my subconscious and
presented my problems to me in a symbolic way. There’s a lot of truth in my
stories, if you read between the lines. My whole life is in this series.
There’s a lot of sorrow and trauma that has been put together in a symbolic and
creative way.
Are your characters
based off real people, or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
Erren, of course, is my alter ego. Sean … I don’t know where
he came from. Perhaps he is my wiser, Higher Self? Perhaps he is that part of
me that is trying to heal me?
Of all the characters
you have created, which is your favorite and why?
Sean is my favourite. He is the loving brother I never had.
My own brother is a real asshole.
What is the biggest
surprise that you experienced after becoming a writer?
That I would write such a huge
saga of at least 10 books! I started with a single chapter in an autobiography!
That chapter grew so big that I stopped working on my autobiography to work
solely on my science fiction/fantasy stories.
Is there any
particular author or book that influenced you either growing up or as an adult?
I love J.R.R. Tolkien and Isaac Asimov. I love the Lord of
the Rings. That is also based on a mythological story.
Do you have a day job
in addition to being a writer? If so,
what do you do during the day?
I write all day, almost every day.
What is your favorite
writing tip or quote?
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is
imprisoned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we
value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's
our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!” J. R.
R. Tolkien
Tell us a little
about your plans for the future. Do you
have any other books in the works?
My future is to publish all the books in my saga. As I have mentioned, I have about 10 books so far.
Where can we find you
online?
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