Walking Wolf Road (Wolf Road Chronicles Book 1) (42 page)

When
I started writing
Walking Wolf Road
in October, 2005, I honestly had no idea where it was going to go. WWR started off as a highly fictionalized autobiography, and evolved its own existence separate from me over time. There is still a lot of me in there for those who know where to look. A lot of the impossible things were real events in my life, and a lot of the mundane events never occurred.

Which is which
though is my little secret.

This story marked a period of war in my life, as I discovered the challenges of ADD, and forced myself to develop
ways around it. Music was of monumental importance, and helped me overcome my distraction and mental flightiness when I found a piece that perfectly embodied a certain scene or emotion. On the following page is an abbreviated 'soundtrack' for WWR.

I also had a lot of fun with symbolism
, and if you reread the book with a critical eye; it’s like an Easter egg hunt (Here’s a freebee: Bo’s last name is Tyrson, as in the Norse god Tyr, whose hand was bitten off by the wolf Fenrir; think about that when reading the last chapter).

One of the things that made this book diffic
ult was that it is actually two storylines intermeshed. One storyline is a paranormal mystery, chronicling Jimmy’s transformation (both paranormal and mundane) and his evolution tied intrinsically with that of his antagonists. The other storyline is a coming of age struggle, confronting some of the biggest challenges and taboos my friends and I faced growing up. From parental conflict and separation, to love, sexuality, suicide, depression, bullying, and collegiate expectations.

I refused to dumb down the material, because these
are real conflicts teens face, and pretending they don’t happen won’t make them go away. In particular, I have received a lot of criticism regarding Jimmy’s bisexuality. When I was in high school, only three of my friends did NOT identify themselves as LGBT; and the pain, struggle, denial, and rejection I witnessed deserves to be addressed. Additionally, I am neither anti-gun, nor anti-Christian. I am however pro-accountability.

I hope you enjoyed the story, and if you feel like contacting me, I
would love to hear from you! You can find my contact information on my website:
www.BrandonMHerbert.com
.

Howls!

             
~B


  
10 Years - Seasons to Cycles, Shoot It Out


  
Angeli Milli - Requiem, Sarah, The Field, Surgery


  
Apocalyptica - S.O.S. (Anything but Love), Sacra


  
Breaking Benjamin - Fade Away, Dear Agony,
Anthem of the Angels, So Cold, Breath, Hopeless


  
Chevelle - To Return, The Red, Panic Prone, The Clincher, To Return, Bend the Bracket, Breach Birth


  
Cold – Wasted Years, Black Sunday


  
Dianna Krall - Autumn Leaves


  
Disturbed – Darkness, Dehumanized, Devour, Awaken


  
Evanescence - Before the Dawn, Anything for You


  
Gurdjieff/Tsabropoulos - In Memory, Gift of Dreams,
Bayati, Trois Morceaux Apres de Hymnes Byzantins
(Three Pieces After Byzantine Hymns)


  
Howie Day - Numbness for Sound


  
James Newton Howard - Rituals, Noah Visits,
The Gravel Road


  
Leona Lewis – Run


  
Linkin Park - My December


  
Loreena McKennitt - Dante's Prayer, Full Circle,
The Mystic's Dream, All Souls Night, The Highwayman


  
Michael Andrews & Gary Jules - Mad World


  
Nine Inch Nails - Hurt


  
Placebo – Running up that Hill


  
Ra - Walking and Thinking, Sky


  
REM - The Sweetness Follows


  
Sacred Spirits - Ly-O-Lay Ale Loya


  
Sarah McLachlan - Angel


  
Slipknot - Circle, Snuff


  
Stabbingback - The Enemy Within, Graveyard Hill


  
Staind – Lost Along the Way, Take a Breath, Something to Remind You, Devil


  
V.A.S.T. - Lady of Dreams


  
Vertical Horizon - Footprints in the Snow


  
VolkoV – You Walk Alone, Memories in Snow, Requiem


  
Within Temptation - The Howling


  
Wolf's Rain OST - Leaving on Red Hill

Sadly, this is an abbreviated list...