An Interview with 
Author J. Daniel Reed
Q: How did you get interested in fiction writing?
A: It had impetus from two sources. The first source was the story about two ancient wolves I made up on a long car ride to entertain my wife. It was entertaining enough that she suggested I jot down some notes, which lay dormant for several years. The second thing that stimulated my interest was hearing an interview with Dean Koontz. I was impressed by his keen view on life and his love of writing fiction. I then took the opportunity to read some of his books during commercial airline flights while traveling on business.
Q: What interesting facts did you learn about history, wolves, or other topics from your research for the book?
A:
- The history of the Lupa, the Capitoline Wolf, which dates back to 295 BC.
- Wolves’ sensory ability to smell while inhaling and exhaling.
- I was surprised by the approximate 10% genetic variation between wolf and dog; I thought the difference would be less.
- The geological dynamics of the subduction zone around The Bay of Naples.
Q: Where did you get the idea for this book?
A: The opening scene and the characters of Arn and Versa, including their names, came purely out of my imagination. A few years later a friend gave me an article that reported the earliest zooarchaeology evidence for the origin of wolves was from Italy. Once I matched my ancient wolf characters to Italy, adapting the legend of Romulus and Remus followed.
Q: Are any of the characters based on real people?
A: Yes and no. Other than the historical characters who are obvious, my anthropomorphized wolves are amalgamations of certain personality traits of people I have known, blended with the personalities of dogs I have had the honor to adopt.
Q: Which character(s) were the most fun to write about?
A: That is a very hard question to answer. I love all of the members of The First Wolf Pack. If I had to pick one, I’d pick two—Arn and Tria. They each had the most psychologically-complex personalities, especially their recoveries from selfishness and ignorance.
Q: What is the central message of this book?
A: The main message is the importance of humility to achieve courage and find fulfilment; plus the overall benefit of the immutable virtues of the Wolf Ways to maximize the success of family and community.
Q: What would you like readers to learn from this book?
A: I hope that readers might contemplate where and when they see God in nature. Also, wolves are intelligent, regal creatures with a highly-effective social structure. The characteristics they exhibit in the story encourage us all to work together in a cooperative mindset.
Q: Do you have any new books in the works?
A: Yes, I am focused on writing one book right now about prejudice and redemption in depression-era Chicago. I have another set of ideas on the drawing board, but it’s too soon to speak of it.