Jack Finn is the author of the new Wolves of Kalinin duology, which includes Prey Upon the Lambs and The Desolation of Hunters. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Q: What inspired you to write the Wolves of Kalinin duology?
A: I have always loved the concept of werewolves. They combine the strength, power, and instincts of an apex predator with a human’s boundless capacity for cruelty. Within the pantheon of traditional monsters, the werewolf has always intrigued me as a reader and an author.
For years, I have thought about writing a werewolf novel, but there are so many exceptional stories from Guy N. Smith, Stephen Graham Jones, Christopher Buehlman, and Whitley Strieber, to name just a few, that I did not want to put pen to paper until I felt I had something truly different to contribute to the genre.
About two years ago, I came across Maria Sibylla Merian’s scientific work on metamorphosis. She was a German artist and naturalist in the early 1700s who studied insect metamorphosis. Her work was groundbreaking, but because she was a woman it was discredited by the scientific community until well into the 20th century. Merian’s observations on metamorphosis became the foundation for how I transformed a human into a werewolf.
Q: How did you create the world in which the novels take place, and how did you create your cast of characters?
A: Life in late 19th century rural Russian villages was a tough, brutal existence. No doubt about it, life was hard for these people.
I did extensive research into village life to see what authority figures would be present and how historically those archetypes handled crises. I wanted to get a good feel for what the everyday life and struggles were like, what they believed, their cultural dynamic, and their prejudices.
Then I introduced a highly intelligent apex predator into their midst, one with an agenda of its own, and stepped back and “watched” how these people reacted to this situation.
I had my core group of characters in mind from the start, but the cast grew as I realized the wolf’s impact across the village and later in the story to parts of the Russian Empire.
Q: Did you know how the novels would end before you started writing them, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: It’s interesting, I started writing Wolves of Kalinin as a short story. It was largely just the story of Leo, Oksana and Alexei, and the wolf, but it became readily apparent that there was more to tell than I could fit into a short story, so it kind of sat for a while in limbo. Then I came across Merian’s work on metamorphosis and I developed a fully fleshed out concept of the werewolf. Everything kicked into high gear after that.
From the start, I knew the end state for each of the characters’ story arcs, but the journey from the beginning to end changed significantly in some cases. Alexei became more brooding in the final version and Galina took on a more central role.
A key aspect of the tale was always the main characters concurrently struggling against the wolf and a society that belittled them because of their gender, orientation, physical abilities, or religion. Nineteenth century Russia was as big a threat to these characters as the creature in the woods. By expanding the tale I was able to tell that aspect in a more impactful manner.
The greatest change was probably to the protagonists in the books; there became a clear distinction between characters who were protagonists and others who were truly villains in the tale. Leo’s father is such an unlikable person, I really enjoyed writing him.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the novels?
A: I spent over two decades in the military, a lot of it in inhospitable places, and during that time I saw some of the best and worst in people. I wanted these books to capture that essence encapsulated in the small village of Obrechen.
There is the core group of characters, and that drives the story, but the larger cast of characters is purpose-built to reflect how different people react to in dire times. Who pulls together, who divides, who points the finger of blame, and who sees the moment as an opportunity for personal gain?
I think all of those threads as a backdrop against the more central tale makes for an interesting tapestry.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I recently signed with Edge Weaver Books to publish my Book of Alice duology. It weaves together the stories of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan mixed with the nightmare landscape of The King in Yellow’s Carcosa. It’s a dark descent into betrayal, revenge, and madness.
We’re in the process of editing the first book of the duology, tentatively titled Red Queen, Yellow King, and I am in the process of completing the second book, We’re All Mad Here.
Aside from that, I have a media tie-in novella on deck and a Western horror novella that I am pretty excited about, so 2026 should be another busy year.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Velox Books released a collection of my folk horror short stories, They Come When You Sleep, on Aug. 29, and Anuci Press released the second book of the Wolves of Kalinin duology, The Desolation of Hunters, on Sept. 24.
I have two finished novellas. Wilson is about a serial killer ensconced in a traveling carnival who encounters an entity more dangerous than himself, and He Who Has Done Evil is an epistolary horror tale set in World War I. I think readers will really enjoy both stories and I look forward to hopefully releasing them in 2026 once I find them a good home!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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