BookView Review

Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.

Recently, we interviewed Joseph Stone about his writing and his latest novel, The Wolf Esprit, dark, atmospheric, and gripping third installment in The Lykanos Chronicles. (Read the review here.)

What inspired the premise of your book?

A key theme in my wolf novels has been overcoming adversity and fear.  Setting out on this next adventure, I handed the wolf’s powers over to a young, 18th-century gay man named Esprit Lenoir.  He is an artist who travels the French countryside with his family, performing in minstrel shows.  As the story begins, his troupe arrives in the small town of Saulieu, and he encounters prejudice for being a traveler.  When attacked by a band of townsfolk, his mysterious wolf nature emerges.

This is the third novel in your Lykanos Chronicles.  May we expect characters from previous stories to appear as they did in the last story?

Absolutely!  While these chronicles are memoirs that may be read independently, this is Esprit’s journey, and he is grounded in the life stories of many previous characters.  Readers can expect to see more from each of their favorite heroes and villains alike, including Gabrielle Roussade, the narrator of Wolf Omega. These novels are about characters who live long stretches of time, and while readers will find each adventure richer if they read all the chronicles, these stories do not rely on each other.  I’ve had many readers tell me they’re glad they read them out of sequence because of the unique experiences their choices resulted in compared with linear readers.

How challenging was it to create this new character?

Even though these are werewolves, and so much of their fantasy worlds are open to my interpretation and whim, the research necessary is exhausting because I set these characters in genuine histories.  Learning everything about 18^th-century France, and 19^th-century New York was no small order because history documents well the experiences of the wealthy and famous—not the lower classes.  Seeing the world through Esprit’s lens, especially when he walks through chateaus and palazzos, required me to understand everything that would stand out to such a young man and affect him.  I loved doing the work, but this one took far longer than expected to get right.

What makes this book important right now?

Prejudice and hatred still thrive in many places worldwide for LGBTQ+ people.  At the same time, it disappears more and more each day in the major cities of the West.  Many young queer kids where I live now enter a world where they share none of Esprit’s concerns about hiding the truth of his identity.  I see this novel’s importance being a vehicle for queer kids in Mississippi to dream about the social justice they deserve and should create for themselves.  But I also see it as a window into the darkness of inequality that I’d like queer kids in California to know about, since they have fewer and fewer ways to see into the past struggles of their extended families.

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

More than anything, I want readers to take away another perspective on life in this world—one they may never have another chance to know about.  While these stories are about werewolves, supernatural fantasy is merely a device to tell unique stories about human joys and heartaches.  I hope people come to love and respect Esprit, who is as flawed and fascinated by the world as I am.

After the writing’s finished, how do you judge the quality of your work?

I judge my work based on my satisfaction with the story once I get to hear the audiobook.  There’s something about reading with my ears, listening to a vocal interpretation of the words I wrote, that seals my opinion on how strongly I feel about a book.  I just finished recording the audiobook for Esprit this week, and listening back to the final proofs, I couldn’t sit still.  It’s my favorite story by far.

What’s next for you?

I have just begun an untitled sequel to last year’s A Perfect Night, which will continue my Haunted Women series. It is the story of a young girl who discovers she comes from a bloodline of women who possess the ability to see spirits.  The tale will take Fran, the central character, well into adulthood as she faces the truth of what her lineage has in store for her.  I expect the novel to be out in the fall of next year.

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