We chat with author James Wade about Hollow Out The Dark, which is a gothic adventure set against a Depression-era landscape where a whiskey war threatens to decimate a small Texas town.
Hi, James! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, Nerd Daily! What do y’all wanna know? I’m a liberal-leaning cowboy from Texas who loves his wife and two kids, a good pair of boots, and long walks in the woods. I’m a mental-health advocate and a conservationist. I can go from struggling with the existential weight of the inevitable void to marveling at the beauty of the natural world in about 2.5 seconds, and then switch back just as quick. The only religion I believe in is love for the earth and grace for the people on it. My personal philosophy begins and ends with humility. And I’m a proud supporter of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the named heir and rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I imagine the stories bit came around the time I discovered object permanence. As for the writing, I remember being four years old and ‘writing’ a book about the Alamo. Then later there was some Indiana Jones fan-fiction, my own version of the Scream franchise, and a nature-guide book that was only applicable to my backyard. By the time I was in high school the creative writing fell away and journalism took hold. That sustained me for more than a decade but eventually the fiction came calling again and has been with me ever since.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
Your latest novel, Hollow Out the Dark, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Southern gothic lyricism around morality
What can readers expect?
A historical fiction full of moral conundrums, naturalism, realism, and memorable characters. There’s adventure and forbidden romance and societal commentary, but all under the bleak skies of a Depression-era winter in a small East Texas town.
Where did the inspiration for Hollow Out the Dark come from?
I’ve written in previous novels about characters who undergo the classic coming-of-age or loss-of-innocence journey, but with Hollow Out the Dark we meet our protagonists after they’ve had their transformations. So I really wanted to ask the question, “Once we see that the world is not the wonderful place we thought it was as children, what do we do next? How do we cope? Can we rediscover those moments of pure bliss, or do we essentially know too much to ever go back? And if we are able to latch onto that previous joy, what would we be willing to sacrifice in order to keep it?
I also wanted to explore the question of what our moral responsibility is to our family versus the world at large. Having become a father twice-over in recent years, I’ve found my own sensibilities have shifted some. I wanted to dig deeper into that, but therapy is expensive and my insurance is shitty, so please enjoy the result of me working my issues out on the page.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I love a good side-character. In books that deal with heavy thematic shit, it’s important to have some levity. In this novel there are a few of those comedic relief characters, my favorite being Moss, an eccentric old man who names his pet hogs after celebrities and notable figures of the time period (think Albert Swinestein).
What’s next for you?
I’m currently mired in revisions for my next novel, Narrow the Road, which I hope will be out by the end of next year.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
There have been so many tremendous novels already this year! Rednecks by Taylor Brown really stood out to me. Amanda Churchill’s debut, The Turtle House, was lovely. State of Paradise, the incredible collection by Laura van den Berg. The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz. I don’t know, there are too many!
