Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.
As a final farewell to 2017, I’ve decided to interview Tatiana Lenusy this week. Tatiana is the eighteen-year-old protagonist in Star Touched by A. L. Kaplan. She survived the Cataclysm but life hasn’t been easy. Neither was tracking her down for this interview.
Wolf: Welcome to Wolf Notes, Tatiana. If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?
Tatiana: Thank you, Wolf. I’d love to be a bird. That way I could fly anywhere I wanted, feel the wind in my feathers as I soared through the air. I’d be free, with no worries.
Wolf: That sounds nice. Any particular kind of bird?
Tatiana: Swallows are pretty and graceful. I love the way they glide.
Wolf: Sweet. Swallows are cool to watch. Would you consider yourself a cat person or a dog person?
Tatiana: I love all animals, but I suppose I’m partial to dogs right now. Fifi is very important to me.
Wolf: You mean that tiny poodle you’re bonded to?
Tatiana: I’d rather not talk about her. Please ask a different question.
Wolf: Sure. While walking through the woods you come upon…
Tatiana: Wild blueberries, a whole field of them. There are also wild carrots, dandelions, cat tails, and all sorts of other yummy foods.
Wolf: That sounds more like a grocery store. What is the strangest food you ever had?
Tatiana: Food is food these days. Although I did see someone else eat, well… something I really don’t want to talk about. I mean I’ll eat almost anything, but not…that. I’d rather starve. Not that I would. I’m pretty good at finding food in the wild.
Wolf: I’m not sure you really answered that one. Let’s try another. What do you do for fun?
Tatiana: Surviving is very time consuming, so I don’t have much free time, but when I do, I love to read. Doesn’t matter what. Fiction, history, science… I just love books. When I read I can be anyone and go anywhere. It’s a wonderful escape and I learn things.
Wolf: I agree. Books are pretty awesome. You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.
Tatiana: That’s a tough one. I don’t like the idea of staying in one place. My roots would need to be movable. More like legs.
Wolf: A walking plant?
Tatiana: Yes. With a forest green stem and bright-green heart-shaped leaves with a splash of blue. They could be made into a tea that would cure any disease. I’d also grow clusters of tasty and nutritious berries. Each would be enough to fill your belly for a day.
Wolf: That sounds fantastic. Aren’t you worried people would hunt you down for those berries and leaves?
Tatiana: Oh. I didn’t think of that. Can I change my answer to a small inedible red flower with no useful purpose?
Wolf: Sorry. No take backs. There is a door at the end of a dark damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?
Tatiana: Open the door and try to fix whatever machine is malfunctioning.
Wolf: Are you a mechanic?
Tatiana: No, but I’ve read lots of books on fixing things.
Wolf: If you could choose any weapon, what would it be?
Tatiana: Knowledge. I don’t like weapons or fighting.
Wolf: If you could pick any super power, what would it be and why?
Tatiana: None!
Wolf: Really?
Tatiana: I don’t want ANY special powers. I just want to be a normal person. I need to go now.
Wolf: Wow, Tatiana ran out of here fast. If you want to know more about her, you’ll have to read Star Touched.
Steven Brust was born late in the Cenozoic Era at a place a mere 238,900 miles from the lonely, harsh desolation of the moon. From the moment of his birth, he launched a study of language, facial recognition, and tool using, while simultaneously beginning an intense regime of physical fitness. He fell into a life of crime under the influence of Tuli, the Evil Dog of Evilness, a life which continued for many years. At one point, aided by Captain Blondbeard the Space Pirate Kitty, he nearly succeeded in either taking over the world or destroying the universe, the record is unclear. The plot, which featured a machine (built by a mysterious parrot known only as “Doc”) that could predict the future, failed when the machine turned out to be only able to predict the plot of action movies. This led Brust to abandon his criminal activities and begin writing science fiction and fantasy novels. Only time will tell how much lower he’ll sink.
Born in Moldova in the former Soviet Union, Izolda Trakhtenberg grew up steeped in the rich heritage of Eastern Europe. After her family immigrated to the USA, she graduated from the University of Michigan with an English degree. Izolda followed her love of travel and education and worked for the National Geographic Society’s Educational Media division. She then worked as an environmental educator for NASA. While at NASA she traveled all over the world to conduct environmental education workshops.
Jennifer Della’Zanna is a freelance writer in Woodbine, MD. She has published more than 40 feature articles for magazines and websites on topics as diverse as firearms, movies, and healthcare. She wrote and teaches several online courses in the allied healthcare fields and is the associate editor for Plexus, a trade magazine for the medical transcription industry. She contributed six articles to the Encyclopedia of Sex, Love and Courtship in the Medieval World (Greenwood Publishing Group, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007). Jennifer completed a Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Her agent is currently shopping around her first novel, and she has had her short fiction published at 
A young African American husband and father of 3, Stephen graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University. His mother, an English teacher in Baltimore City for over 30 years, introduced him to literature at an early age. He read a book to his class in kindergarten and has had a passion for reading and writing ever since. Currently, he works for the Federal Government in the IT field and is a personal trainer. He spends his free time lifting heavy objects, listening to good music, watching super hero movies and organizing his sneaker collection.
Kenneth has been living and teaching in Baltimore City since 2010 with his wife, Sarah, and two daughters, Mirus and Amare. In that time he has taught 6-10th grade English in Baltimore, Maryland. Kenneth earned a masters degree in education from Johns Hopkins School of Education, the number one ranked school of education in the country. Since growing up and moving from Peoria, Illinois, he graduated from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 2008 with a dual degree in Political Science and English, he has written and published five novels. Those six novels are: Thoughts in Italics, a book of short stories that range from speculative to science fiction; Writing in the Margins, a novel that intertwines the characters of Jack Mueller and John Rubaker that makes the reader question what is reality and fiction; Sequence, a dystopian science fiction novel telling the story of Andrea Remus and Thomas Charon through each memory they are forced to relive as they are downloaded in a computer known as the Pandora Complex to save the human race; The Diary of Oliver Lee, the first in a young adult trilogy that tells the story of Oliver Lee, his ability to “stream” stories from the minds of those around him, and his search for the first couple he ever “streamed”; Love and Fear, book two in the Liturian trilogy which tells the story of Kevin and his continued search for Oliver Lee and answers to his possible future and fate; Raped Black Male: A Memoir which tells Kenneth’s story of what it means to be a male rape survivor, overcoming stereotypes of what it means to be black, and male, and that men can’t be raped; Heroes, Villains, and Healing: A Guide for Male Survivors Using DC Superheroes and Villains, which uses comic books and back research to help male survivors of child sexual abuse understand and heal from their childhood sexual trauma.
Grady is a science fiction author who is diagnosed with high functioning autism. He is a connoisseur of the science fiction, fantasy, and superhero genres. In addition, he is an autism ambassador, hoping to demonstrate the potential benefits one can gain from being autistic. As a writer, Grady P. Brown utilizes his autism to visualize the story taking place inside of his head like a movie. Also, he has a very strong memory, allowing him to store information about his characters and stories in his brain as though it were a computer hard-drive. He is also a passionate pit bull lover and owns a pair of sweet and loving pit bulls named Wally and Fitch.
This week I welcome DIANNE K. SALERNI. Dianne is the author of the Eighth Day MG fantasy series, described by Kirkus as “an exciting blend of Arthurian legend and organized crime.” The first book in the series, The Eighth Day, has been on state lists in Maine, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Minnesota, and Indiana. Dianne has also published two YA historical novels. The Caged Graves is a Junior Library Guild Selection and has been nominated for reader’s choice awards in Vermont, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. We Hear the Dead was the inspiration for a short film, The Spirit Game, which premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Alan Zendell spent more than forty years as a scientist, aerospace engineer, software consultant, database developer, and government analyst, writing really boring stuff like proposals, technical papers, reports, business letters, and policy memoranda. But trapped inside him all that time were stories that needed telling and ideas that needed expression, so with encouragement and cajoling from a loving baby sister he plunged into fiction.
A. L. Sirois is also a developmental editor, graphic artist and a performing musician. He has had fiction published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Fantastic, Amazing Stories, and Thema, and online at Electric Spec, Every Day Fiction and Flash Fiction Online, among other publications. His story In the Conservatory was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Other works include a children’s book, Dinosaur Dress Up (Tambourine Press / William Morrow). His graphic novel, THE ENDLESS INCIDENT, based on a video game, was published in February, 2016. Al has been playing drums for over fifty years in rock and jazz combos. As an artist, he has hundreds of drawings, paintings and illustrations to his credit. Al has contributed comic art for DC, Marvel, and Charlton, and has scripted for Warren Publications. He wrote and drew “Bugs in the System” for witzend #12, the famous comics fanzine started by for MAD artist Wally Wood. He lives in Rockingham County, North Carolina with his wife and occasional collaborator, author Grace Marcus. Together they are writing a Young Adult novel set in ancient Egypt.