I Lived for the Trees: An Exclusive Guest Post from TJ Klune, Author of Wolfsong
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The first of four B&N Exclusives for the Green Creek series, this romantic fantasy kicks off the series with a story of family, loyalty, betrayal and tragedy. When the Bennett family moves next door to sixteen-year-old Ox, he’s immediately drawn to them and their secret — they’re a family of shapeshifters that can change into wolves at will. TJ Klune brings his signature warmth to this series, and Wolfsong will spark you to preorder the next book in the series, Ravensong, as soon as you finish it. Keep reading for a guest post from TJ Klune telling readers about the story behind Wolfsong and its setting.
The first of four B&N Exclusives for the Green Creek series, this romantic fantasy kicks off the series with a story of family, loyalty, betrayal and tragedy. When the Bennett family moves next door to sixteen-year-old Ox, he’s immediately drawn to them and their secret — they’re a family of shapeshifters that can change into wolves at will. TJ Klune brings his signature warmth to this series, and Wolfsong will spark you to preorder the next book in the series, Ravensong, as soon as you finish it. Keep reading for a guest post from TJ Klune telling readers about the story behind Wolfsong and its setting.
When I was a kid, I roamed the forests of Oregon to escape a home life that seemed to enjoy taking things away that brought happiness. I wasn’t physically abused, not really, but the psychological abuse always felt like a blow from a closed fist. My love of reading and writing — hell, my entire existence — brought out anger in people who should’ve known better.
But for all the pain childhood brought me, I lived for the trees. To this day, there’s just something about the way wind blows through the pines, the smell of the needles and leaves and flowers that feels as familiar to me as my own reflection in the mirror.
There is magic in forests, undeniable magic if only one knows where to look for it. I found that magic in a stick that I pretended was a sword. I found that magic in the gnarled tree that looked like an Orc. I found that magic when I jumped across creek beds filled with lava or acidic water that would burn my flesh to the bone. I found the magic because I needed it so desperately.
It seemed fitting, then, when one day — almost ten years ago now — I decided I wanted to write a novel set in that place. A place of joy, a place of pain, a place filled with deep magic that leaked from the earth.
Wolfsong became that book. I didn’t know when I started writing the novel that it wouldn’t be the only story I told in the fictional mountain town of Green Creek, Oregon. In fact, I would spend more time in that world than almost any other I’ve written. But those early days of writing Wolfsong weren’t spent thinking about the three novels that followed. For months, I lived in the forest with a boy named Ox, a boy who didn’t know his self-worth, though through no fault of his own. I watched as he grew up, fought for what he believed in, loved and lost, became a man, a leader.
I think part of me lives in Ox. I know what it feels like to lose over and over again, only to find I had just a little bit of strength left to keep going. I know what it feels like to discover joy and love in people who aren’t related to me by blood. I know what it feels like to find a home in the impossible, knowing that the magic of the forest is always there, waiting for someone to notice it.
These characters in this funny little pack of mine aren’t real. But I’ve walked with them through the woods. I’ve breathed and laughed and cried with them. I’ve watched as they fought for each other and themselves. No, these characters aren’t real.
But they are real to me.
Those fuckin’ werewolves.
I can’t wait for you to see my former home through my eyes.
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