Ryan Graudin
About Author
Ryan Graudin was born in Charleston, South Carolina with a severe case of wanderlust. When she's not travelling, she's busy photographing weddings, writing and spending time with her husband and wolf-dog.
Interview
WOLF BY WOLF
PUBLISHED BY INDIGO
NOVEMBER 2015
In this powerful story, now available in paperback,
Ryan Graudin takes us to an alternate 1956, one in which the Nazis won the war and the third Reich is, piece by painful piece, taking over the rest of the world.
The Resistance is determined to destroy Hitler but only Yael, a 17-year-old who survived the death camps, has the ability to get anywhere near him as a result of some cruel experiments she was subjected to as a child. First, however, Yael needs to win a terrifying motorbike race that will take her across half the world.
We spoke to author Ryan Graudin about this story of identity, power and loss and she answered the following questions for us:
Q: Why did you want to write a book set in an alternate past? Is it the world-building that attracts you, or delving into our very real past?
A: World War Two has always been a point I've gravitated towards, both in terms of fiction and historical studies. There's something incredibly magnetic and extreme about the era, this time in history when humanity showed what it was capable of on both sides of the moral scale.
As a writer, I'm always up for a challenge, looking for new genres to tackle. I knew, at the earliest stages of Wolf by Wolf that I wanted to try my hand at alternate history, especially since the genre was so sparse in YA at the time. In a sense, it was both the real world history of World War Two and the 'what ifs' of alternate history that drew me into the story.
Q: How well did you feel you needed to understand the real events of WWII before you developed the setting in Wolf by Wolf?
A: As I said before, I'd been researching WWII long before I ever thought to approach it through an alternate history lens. It's just as important to understand the real history behind the story your writing, even if you're consciously changing that history. Especially if you're changing it. You need to know your subject matter to the core in order to craft a convincing alternate version of it.
I did an extensive amount of reading (and re-reading) in order to immerse myself in the rise and fall of the Third Reich. One thing I wasn't prepared for when I started this series was what an emotional toll the subject matter would take. Creating a world where the Axis Powers won, and wading through it day after day, was incredibly distressing. Other authors who've worked in the period will tell you the same thing... it's really soul draining.
There were certainly times where the book felt beyond my ability to write it, a fear that was only compounded by the very real history behind it. If I listened to my fears, however, I wouldn't have any books on the shelves.
Q: How did Yael develop as you wrote her and why did you decide to make wolves Yael's motif?
A: I knew, straightaway, that Yael had five wolf tattoos on her arm and that these tattoos each represented a person who shaped her life in some way. I love wolves (and I own a sweet, giant wolamute!), but the main reason I chose them as a symbol for Yael was their duality. Culture loves to display wolves as cunning, evil and predatory... they were actually Adolf Hitler's favorite animal for this very reason. But wolves are also highly loyal, loving creatures, especially to their pack mates. The wolf inside you can go two ways... and I wanted to explore that very conscious moral divide that all of us face.
I didn't know the full stories behind the five wolves when I started writing the first draft of Wolf by Wolf. These came to me as I was writing, and with each new revelation of Yael's past, I began to get a better understanding of her as a character. This method worked out well though, since Yael is also, in a way, rediscovering herself throughout the novel.
Q: Through your shapeshifting main character, you explore issues around identity and what makes us who we are. Do you feel a large part of our teenaged years is focused on understanding who we are?
A: Teenager-hood is the first time in your life when you really start to explore your identity apart from your parents. Many times, this can be tumultuous for both parties. My own teenager-hood wasn't particularly catastrophic, though there was a fair amount of angst involving boys. The usual growing pains. So yes, I'd say I enjoyed it, but I enjoy being an independent adult much more.
Q: Why did you decide to embark on a motorbike race, the Axis Tour, as such a significant part of this story? Do you have a favourite road trip you used to develop it?
A: Setting is really important to me when I write. I like to try to treat it as a character in its own right. The Axis Tour was an effective way for me to explore the global changes that an Axis victory would have brought about. It was also an excuse to write lots of unique settings: Rome, the Sahara, New Delhi, Hanoi, the Li River in southeast China, Tokyo...
I love travelling, and I loved capturing the fresh sense of place in each of Wolf by Wolf's scenes. While I've never done a road trip that was quite as epic as the one written in this book, I would love to do one. Maybe the Trans-Siberian railway?
Q: Why choose motorbikes as the vehicles in this race, and how much did you know about bikes before / after writing this?
A: I got the initial idea of the cross-continental motorcycle race from watching Long Way Round, where Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman ride their motocycles from London to New York via the Road of Bones in Siberia. I knew absolutely nothing about motorcycles when I went into this project. Fortunately, one of my good friends is a WW2 weapons and motorcycle buff, so he lent me tons of advice and research books.
My husband also surprised me with a dirt bike date at a course here in South Carolina. I learned to operate a motorbike through woods, mud and all sorts of terrain. I think the most frustrating part of the Axis Tour would have been the desert portion, especially after the sandstorm.
Q: Was the process of writing Wolf by Wolf different from your earlier books?
Writing Wolf by Wolf differed from my earlier books in that I had a pretty thorough outline of the project before I started (it sold to my editor on proposal). I wrote both All That Glows and The Walled City very organically (ie. no outline). As a result, I think the plot of Wolf by Wolf was paced more tightly from the get-go, and the difference shows.
Still, there will always be organic moments or unplanned things that appear in the plot. These usually turn out to be my favorite. One completely unplanned thing was the cohesion of the Valkyrie and Yael's wolf tattoos as symbols. When I discovered that the earliest versions of Valkyrie actually rode wolves to war, I knew I had to tie the two together, which resulted in my absolute favorite lines of the book: "These were the names she whispered in the dark. These were the pieces she brought back into place. These were the wolves she rode to war".
Q: Will there be a sequel and if so, can you give us a glimpse into the first part of book two?
A There is a sequel. I can't reveal much about it yet, except that the series is a duology, so this will be the final book. I can also tell you that the scope of book two is much, much wider than the first! Not much, I know. Sorry!
Q: Do you watch much film and which favourites would you recommend for our teenaged members?
A: Lately I've been more of a television watcher (Jessica Jones! BBC Sherlock! Doctor Who! The 100!), but I do appreciate a well-written epically cinematic film. One of my absolute favorite directors is Christopher Nolan, and I'll always recommend both Inception and Interstellar.
Q: Your books take you on a lot of travels - have you spent much time travelling to the places you write about, including Europe and Japan?
A: Despite living in South Korea for a year, I've still never been to Japan. It's definitely high on my list of countries to visit (It's my dream to go on a food tour. Also, to visit the Kowloon Walled City arcade replica in Tokyo).
Out of all of Yael's travels in Wolf By Wolf, the only places I've physically been are Rome and the Li River. The rest was the result of research/Google Earth. I do wish I could visit every place I write about! Teleportation would definitely be my superpower of choice.
Q: Where is your favourite place to write, and what's your favourite escape from writing?
A: I usually write in my home office, but sometimes I put in writing hours at my local coffee shop to cure cabin fever.
When writing gets too overwhelming, I like to go to the beach, or settle in front of Netflix, or go grab a beer with a friend!
Sometimes, longer breaks are necessary. Last August my husband and I went with some friends on a three week trip to Iceland. I didn't bring my laptop, and I had very sparse Internet access. It was so soul-filling, being with friends and beautiful scenery. The whole thing really cleared my head.
Q: What's the best thing about being an author?
A: Holding a finished book in my hands never ceases to amaze me. In my previous jobs as a waitress and a barista, I always became really frustrated that all of the sweat I poured into my work never manifested into something tangible (other than a paycheck, of course).
After working thousands of hours, it's so, so rewarding to be able to look at a book and say: 'This is the result of all of my hard work!' It's also amazing to see readers' reactions, to know that you're a part of something much larger than just your imagination.
Thank you so much for your help with these questions for ReadingZone!
Thanks for having me!
Wolf by Wolf: A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice: Book 1
