Coffee with a canine: Dorothy Hearst & Jude

Today's featured duo at Coffee with a Canine: Dorothy Hearst and Jude.

Hearst is the author of Promise of the Wolves and Secrets of the Wolves, the first two novels in a trilogy about how the wolf became the dog from the wolf's point of view. The author, on the greatest challenge presented by telling the story from the wolf's point-of-view in the novels:

The biggest challenge became the biggest opportunity. I struggled, at first, to describe the world from a wolf's perspective. If I had been completely accurate about how a wolf perceives the world, it would have been difficult for my human readers to understand the world, but I didn't want to make the wolves seem like humans in wolf suits. I spent a great deal of time on this, and in the end, it was what shaped the entire world of the book and much of the action.

I had to think not just about how a wolf perceives things, but about what is most important to a wolf. What does she care most about and how is that different from what a human would care about? It also kept me from using clichés. I couldn't say there was a blanket of leaves on the ground because...[read on]

About Secrets of the Wolves, from the publisher:

Years of research into the world of wolves combines with mythical tale-telling to present a fantastical adventure set in a world filled with lore. The rules of the Wide Valley wolves were clear: Never consort with humans; never kill a human unprovoked; never allow a mixed-blood wolf to live. But they were rules destined to be broken.

Now, in the second riveting installment of The Wolf Chronicles the stakes are higher than ever. Young Kaala of the Swift River pack shattered the rules of the valley and exposed the lies hidden beneath them. Now, responsibility for the consequences rests with her. Along with her young packmates and the humans they have befriended, she must find a way for the wolves and humans of the Wide Valley to live in harmony. If they succeed, Kaala will finally prove herself worthy of her pack. But if she fails, the Greatwolves who rule wolf-kind will kill every wolf and human in the valley.

Told from the wolf 's point-of-view and set 14,000 years ago in a time when the cultures of wolves and humans were not so different, Secrets of the Wolves transports us to a world where instincts are our only compass and cooperation between potential enemies could mean the difference between life and death.

Visit Dorothy Hearst's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: Promise of the Wolves.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Dorothy Hearst & Jude.

--Marshal Zeringue