A forest, besieged. A queen, unyielding. Fans of Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black will devour this deliciously dark Eastern Europeaninspired YA fantasy debut.
We chat to debut author Aleksandra Ross about her upcoming release, Don’t Call The Wolf. She talks about the inspiration behind her novel, along with the challenges she faced and the creation of the stunning cover, as well as her publishing journey and book recommendations!
Hi Aleksandra! Can you tell our readers a little about yourself?
Hi! Thanks for having me at The Nerd Daily – I’m so excited to chat! My name is Aleksandra, and I’m a Canadian author. When I’m not writing, I spend most of my free time with my family and our cat, a thirty-pound black Norwegian Forest Cat named Mr. C.
Your debut novel, Don’t Call The Wolf, releases on April 28th! If you could only use five words to describe your novel, what would they be?
Bloody, bewitching, monstrous, romantic, and Polish.
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect?
Don’t Call the Wolf is a fast-paced fantasy rooted in Polish folklore. The main character is a shapeshifting forest Queen, fighting to defend her kingdom from encroaching monsters. She teams up with a once-famous, down-on-his-luck Dragon Slayer. Together, they form a rocky alliance – mostly because they keep almost killing each other – and journey across haunted forests and enchanted mountains to hunt down the greatest monster of all: the Golden Dragon.
Where did the inspiration for your novel come from?
This book was inspired by grandmother, who was Polish. When she passed away, I found myself learning more about my heritage as a way of remembering her. Early on, I came across a description of the Baba Jaga (pronounced BAH-bah YAH-gah), and it triggered a memory of my grandmother telling me about her as a kid. It was almost as if the memory had just been waiting for me to find it again. After that, I became fascinated with Polish and Slavic monsters, and Don’t Call the Wolf began to take shape.
Did you face any difficulties while writing? If so, how did you overcome them?
Don’t Call the Wolf is the first book I ever finished writing – as you can imagine, there were a lot of challenges! Being an author was my dream, but I’d been too shy to share it with anyone else. I quickly realized that I knew nothing about how to write a book. I’d never revised, pitched to agents properly, or gone through any kind of editorial process. I hadn’t even shown my book to anyone else. Everything that followed was a steep learning curve, from querying agents to submitting to editors. It took a lot of self-motivation and help from others to bring Don’t Call the Wolf over the finish line.
All in all, I am just so grateful to everyone who has supported this book along the way. First, my agent, Brent Taylor – he works harder than anyone I know, and is always incredibly patient with my ignorance. And of course, my editor, Stephanie Stein at HarperTeen. She put so many hours into this story, and I will be forever grateful to her for all her hard work.
Don’t Call The Wolf has a gorgeous cover! Can you tell us about the design process if you were involved at all?
Thank you so much! I am absolutely obsessed with the cover! The team at HarperTeen, especially Stephanie, were amazing when it came to the design. Stephanie invited me to submit my own illustrations and concepts for the cover meeting, and we settled on a stark, folkloric, Wycinanki-inspired cover (Wycinanki is a beautiful Polish paper-cutting technique – it reminds me of the books I used to read as a kid!). Then the team at Charles & Thorne took HarperTeen’s suggestions and created something that exceeds my wildest dreams. I got the preliminary sketch about twenty minutes before my final exams – I remember being so excited that I raced through my exam just so that I could admire it all over again!
Was there a favourite part of the novel, whether it be a character, scene, or creature, that you really enjoyed creating and writing?
Definitely the monsters! There are monsters everywhere in this book. There are vampiric zombie-hobgoblins, throat-throttling spiders, human-flaying mermaids, and of course, dragons. But there are lovely creatures as well: talking animals, gentle house spirits, and a charmingly insane little forest god. Also, a Baba Jaga – my personal favourite.
I also loved getting to write about Poland. During an early draft, I visited Poland for the first time, and real places inspired many of the settings in Don’t Call the Wolf. There’s a city based on Krakow, including a nod to my favourite pierogi window in the city. Other settings are based on the picturesque Tatry Mountains and a gorgeous port city called Gdansk. The real-life Wielizcka Salt Mine also has a special cameo later in the book. I had so much fun reinterpreting these places through the lens of fantasy. I really hope that people who know Poland will recognize some these places – and if they haven’t visited yet, I hope it will bump Poland up on their list!
Every author’s road to becoming a published author is different! What has the journey been like for you?
In one word: a rollercoaster. Publishing a book was a childhood dream, but I kept it a secret from almost everyone in my life. Don’t Call the Wolf was written between classes and on commutes, and I never told anyone what I was doing. By the time I was pitching it to agents, it was the first time anyone had read any of my attempts at fiction.
Luckily, despite my ignorance, I found myself constantly connected with people who believed in this story as much as I did. I really can’t articulate how grateful I am to everyone around me. This story means so much to me, and I just feel very lucky to be able to tell Ren and Lukasz’s story.
What’s your writing process like?
Chaotic, I think. Writing Don’t Call the Wolf while I was a student definitely tested my time management. Now that I have a regular job, it’s a lot easier to be organized. My ideal set up includes: a warm fire (no matter the season), a cup of coffee, my cat, and my laptop. Also, a good playlist. I probably spend more time making playlists than actually writing!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
Oh, too many to list! But I recently caught up on Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series, and I am so excited for the next instalment. I love how she blends Classical myth with pure fantasy – it reminds me so much of Mary Renault and Rosemary Sutcliffe, whose books I read as a kid. I’m also saving The King of Crows, the last book in Libba Bray’s Diviners series. The series is historical fantasy, set in 1920s America, and I am utterly obsessed. I love the sprawling, epic atmosphere – it’s one of those worlds I would love to visit!
ALEKSANDRA ROSS lives in Vancouver, BC, where she works as a physician. When she isn’t writing stories, she enjoys spending time with her family and learning about obscure folklore traditions. Inspired by her grandmother and her Polish heritage, Don’t Call the Wolf is her first novel.
