2021 DireWolf Publishing Launch: a letter from the editor

A Letter from the Editor

2021 has been the official launch of DireWolf Publishing. As we brave the literary seas in a skiff made of paper, Jennifer and I had little to no idea how the Dire Wolf Dog world and beyond would respond to anything we put in print.

Almost daily, Jenn and I talk about our works, each of us writing, editing, or working the marketing. Throughout this past year, our conversations revolve more around writing and publishing than around dog breeding.

I cannot express well enough how pleased I am with the talent we are seeing at this early juncture in the youngest branch of the Dire Wolf Project. Whenever Jennifer shares with me a sampling of a chapter she is working on, I am wowed at her knack for expression.

The beauty of nature can be wondrous and awe-inspiring. A breathtaking golden sunset where the clouds turn from bright oranges and pinks, reflecting the sun’s remaining glow to soft blues and pale yellows of the full moon’s rising brilliance, can entrance our senses and enrapture our minds. The tenderness of a sleeping newborn baby as its chest expands in rhythm with each peaceful involuntary draw of invisible yet life-sustaining air, can commandeer our hearts and expand our own sense of self. –Jennifer Stoeckl, Dire Wolf Guardians Philosophy

As many of you know, I am heavily involved with the Gabriel Paulson Jacob Lake trilogy. The reviews so far have been glorious. Here is the first review for Pursuit of the Keepers.

“I have not read a book so fast in a long time! I could literally not put it down. I was drawn into the quest immediately, starting on page one. Not only can we identify with the characters, but the story encourages us to look inside, at our own life’s quest, at where we stand, and the right path to follow, no matter the obstacles or the difficulties. We all have our compass right in our heart!” --Yasmina Schwab

Here is an excerpt from Book II: Pursuit of the Petras:

Directly in front of Shoebottom was a forest that he had beforehand passed unnoticed. The thick timberland of winter-bare oak and maple trees did not show a pathway. The only thing the chess master had come close to getting right was that a hanging figure of a human skeleton guarded the grove. A thin and frayed noose still wrapped itself around its distorted neck.

Shoebottom walked up to the collection of bones whose arms dangled loosely and swayed back and forth in a wind that disturbed the cadaver and nothing else. Its mouth hung permanently open from the gasps it would have made in the throes of death. It held in its expression the incessant smile characteristic of all human skulls as if something about its death held a humorous irony. Its hollow eye sockets gazed at nothing.

The goal of most publishing companies is to sell their products. Jennifer and I have found a more important purpose. Following our newly ordained theme, Fill the Emptiness, we see our works as a way of complementing the experience you all will have, filling the emptiness, with a good philosophy book or an engaging novel.

--Jay Stoeckl, Editor