Spiritwood by G. J. Wise is an exciting new novel of the supernatural which
has already garnered praise for "(taking its) readers to the
woodshed"
I had the chance to interview Wise recently but before we get to
that, some more words about the novel.
Sculptor
Jed Guiness has a gift -- he can actually see his sculptures in the wood
before he ever brings them out. Jed buys property in Spiritwood, moving
there from Chicago. He finds seven massive oaks that contained Indian braves
that were more amazing than anything he’d ever seen in wood before.
The trees grow in a circle around
the base of a mound deep in a valley at the back edge of his property. Contact
with the mound causes queasiness, feelings that something is searching his mind
and body, dreams of running into the woods with an axe, and ultimately a
realization a sinister power rages within, driving him to cut down one of the
trees… to bring it down and free whatever was in the mound.
Jed
learns from some residents he befriends about the seven tribes of the Ojibwa
and their struggle with dark clan of Red Eagle, who they come to suspect has
somehow escaped the mound where he was buried when the town soon becomes
chaotic.
Will
Jed and the others be able to successfully hold Red Eagle’s spirit in check or
will Red Eagle’s spirit, embodied in another Spiritwood resident, prevail and
destroy those who mean to imprison him? As a horror anthology editor, I have had the pleasure to work with Wise. As I have stated before, he is a true fabulist in the tradition of Richard Matheson or Harlan Ellison. In his stories, startling fantasy characters co-exist with humans in an often cold dark reality of the world he creates.
Spiritwood continues these trends, in a logical progression from the short story format to first novel. While Wise has created something all his own here, this novel brought to mind Stephen King in the way Wise sets up a cast of characters and then once the action gets going, he cross-cuts among all of them at a swift pace. Though Spiritwood has a great plot, it was all about characters first, another echo of King and Matheson.
When asked about this, Wise responded:
I'm honored that Spiritwood brought to mind these
writers. I feel that the greatest influences in my writing have been from
Stephen, King, Peter Straub, Dean Koontz, and Robert McCammon. I should
mention Richard Matheson and Harlan Ellison as well, but I feel my list is
getting long. The truth is I could mention dozens more writers
who influence my writing. My writing is a product of what I
read and I read mostly horror novels, although I don't only read
horror. It is a product of many other things also, but what I read
and who I read has greatly inspired, entertained and taught me how to write.
Thanks for taking the time to chat today. I noticed a heavy dosage
of abusive relationships in the novel. Was this a conscience decision on your
part, that it would be a noticeable theme?
Well, I think it helps to bring some
terrifying reality to an supernatural story. Unfortunately, spouse and
child abuse are real tragedies in our world today and it is something readers
can easily identify as a realistic evil.
I thought there was also a kind of Brian James Freeman feel to your
masterful use of vivid imagery, particularly from nature, the darkness of the
woods and such, and the way you then use this to reflect back on the characters
and events. The Wisconsin setting works great for that. Your biography mentions
you live in Wisconsin. Have you always? Is Spiritwood in part or at all based
on a real town, or its characters on people you know?
I have lived in Wisconsin all my
adult life. Spiritwood isn't based on a real town, per se, but I did
envision a town form my childhood as I wrote it. The characters in
the story were completely developed from my mind. Neither the good or bad
characters remind me of people I know, but I think some elements of their
personalities, reflect aspects of my own.
Was the folklore you used your own invention? Or the product of
research?
The folklore is entirely made
up. I did hear a story once of how the Ojibwa came to live in Wisconsin and
Minnesota and wrote that as how I thought a teenager would remember
it. I also found some information about some Native American tribes believing
that the spirits of their ancestors lived in trees, but my interpretation is
entirely fictional and does not resemble what I read. Like most of my
writing, I take information I've learned and manipulate it to suite my
purposes. It is entirely unfair to the real folklore, but this is a
work of fiction and I trust the readers will understand that this is no
reflections on the real history of the Native American people.
You chose to have Red Eagle appear to characters in many
dreams in the first half of the book? I like dream sequences, some people hate
them. One of my editors despised them and tried to get me to lose all of mine.
Tell me about your thought process there.
I
personally love dream sequences. I think it is another way to help with
the suspension of disbelief. Dreams are another common occurrence we all
as human beings share. We as normal rational individuals get to
experience the supernatural every night when we sleep. Dreams are often
(for me at least) limitless. We can experience everything without the
constraints of rationality, so the impossible becomes possible.
Fortunately, both my publisher and editor thought the dream sequences added to
the story and helped to convey a sense of foreboding and insanity that would
later play out in the action.
Thanks for chatting with me here and good luck with this excellent first novel.
Check out this wonderful
new novel for yourself. There are several buy links below in any format
imaginable so what are you waiting for?
DAMNATION BOOKS:
AMAZON:
BARNES AND NOBLES
ALIBIIS:
G.J.Wise
lives with his wife in Silver Lake, Wisconsin. He’s been writing for many
years, seriously for the last few and has short stories published in both print
and electronic anthologies and periodicals. His debut novel, Spiritwood,
was released December 1st. G.J. Wise is currently at work on his next
book length dark offering as well as many more short stories. If you want
more information about current or upcoming works, please visit his author page
on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GJWise2) or Amazon or
feel free to contact via e-mail at GJWisehorror@yahoo.com.
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