Horror has been existing throughout human history, however, the first recorded horror novel was 1823’s Frankenstein by 18-year-old Mary Shelley. Throughout the invention of novel making, there has never been anyone to break the record of the world’s youngest horror author, until now. My name is Natalia Rose Wolfman and I am the author of The Woods, publishing to Amazon on November 17th, making me the world’s youngest horror author, but you may be wondering about a few things. What’s my life like as the world’s youngest horror author, what’s my book about, but I’m here to explain everything behind my novel and my life.
What is your schedule like?
My schedule was always crazy. I started writing in 2013 but I juggle a lot of things along with my book work. For one, I still go to school just like everyone else, I’m on multiple sports and academic teams, I do a bunch of extracurriculars like my work for TeenView, so it definitely gets crazy. Luckily, when I don’t have any or little homework, my writing life gets a lot more cleared up, meaning a lot more time for editing.
How long does it take you to write a book?
It depends, another series I’m working on took about three months to finish the first novel and with my Wattpad series, it’d take me a couple of months, however, the Woods took a long time, since it was written in 2013 but changed over and over and over, meaning there was a lot of changes that had to go into the woods.
Where did you get the idea for The Woods?
Well it started in 2013 when my cousin and I played a prank on our sisters, claiming there was a ghost girl in the woods behind our grandma’s house. I thought it’d be a great idea and so I wrote the short story version of the Woods. In 2014, I came back to it and changed the monster to a two-headed snake, like the Hydra from Greek Mythology, making it the Hydren, this is also when our male protagonists were added into the novel. In 2018, with the influences of Alien and other horror movies, the book was modernized and made into what it is now, so it was just a collection of things.
Did you ever talk to other authors?
Yeah, I am close friends with a children’s author, Karla Oceanak, so I talk to her all the time. She was the one who inspired me to self-publish in the first place and I’m grateful for her advice.
What does your family think of you being a horror author?
It depends really, Momma and C.K. Wolfman are completely fine with it, sure it creeps them out sometimes but what can you do? C.K.’s side of the family is a bit unnerved with it but still supportive all the way while Momma’s side of the family is super religious, so they are a bit weirded out by it. I think overall they’re really supportive of my work though.
What was it like getting rejected?
Hard, The Woods got rejected a little over 30 times before I finally decided to say screw it and self publish. It was worth it though, I could make my own schedule and I didn’t have to rely on someone else to pitch to a house and publish two years later. However, I remember when I got my first rejection I was crushed, but I mean, it ended positively for me so I’m not judging.
What is your book about?
My book is the first in a teen horror novel trilogy and follows the story of a girl named Lexi, who visits her grandma in Hecate, Texas along with her sister, Amara. However, when her family goes hiking in the woods and Amara is kidnapped, it’s up to Lexi, her cousin Journey, and her friends Chris, Michael, and Tyler to find Amara’s killer and kill him. However, he’s not what he seems and be careful, because bonds will be broken.
What can we expect from the characters?
A lot of character building which will lead up to their actions in the other novels. There’s a lot of bonding, a lot of fighting, and just a lot of actions you wouldn’t expect. I really think you’ll enjoy the novel if you love relatable characters and tension.
Why did you make the characters how they are?
All the characters have weaknesses because that’s just how teens are. You have Lexi who has a normal life until Amara disappears. You have Chris who is struggling with poor parenting and alcohol abuse from his father. You have Tyler whose mother is never home, whose gay, lives in a homphobic household, and fights with his older siblings and then you have Michael, who has ended up in his abusive mom’s custody and who has dyslexia. These are all issues teens are struggling with and I feel like seeing their struggle, teens in these situations can find characters to relate towards and feel inspired by.
Does it have any “choice” moments?
There is a lot of profanity and gore, along with mentions of alcohol abuse which comes with Chris’ storyline. However there is no drugs or no sex between the characters which keeps the story PG-13.
Any last remarks?
The Woods will be released on November 17th for $1.99 on Amazon Kindle and will be available for digital download. For more information on my novel or on my upcoming work, you can find me on Instagram at nr_wolfman. Please go support my novel and I hope you enjoyed learning about my life or gained some inspiration from my story.
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