Book of the Month

June 2023 | »Cries of a Wounded Soul« by @wdhenning

It is very exciting to have wdhenning with us to feature his book  »Cries of a Wounded Soul« as our first book of the month! Underneath you can find the first interview where we talked about the author and his story!

AUTHOR BIO

I am a retired chemical engineer whose previous writing experiences were research and technical reports. I live with my wife of almost forty-three years (Susan) in Oklahoma, USA, and we have two grown sons. Besides writing, I like hiking, biking, and kayaking to keep in some semblance of good physical shape, and woodworking as another creative outlet.

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PREMISE

To save the world, Mage Aria sacrificed herself, becoming trapped with the personification of Darkness within an impenetrable tomb of rock and magic. But she had not realized how much of a hell that would be.

Dreams of deep despair haunted Tomas, a blacksmith with no apparent magic, where a wounded soul cried out from her torment, begging for mercy. Heartbroken for the dreamer, he sets out on an uncertain quest to free her. But there were those in power who did not want the dreamer freed, lest it also released the Darkness. Further, the link between Tomas and the dreamer was a kind of Darkness itself, one that would make him a fugitive in his own land.

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TEASER

The dreams haunted me. At first vague and far away, like wolf howls from distant hills, they grew closer and more frequent over the years, stalking me in the night.

But the dreams were not my own.

While dreaming normally comprised of a visual kaleidoscope of shifting scenes drawn from random memories, these held no light but for the faintest of swirling blue lines. A wounded soul, rended by the deepest of despair to the verge of madness, cried out for mercy. And found none. My heart wept for her.

Darkness engulfed her as if in the deepest abyss; spiteful, vengeful, and malevolent. Tortured itself, the Darkness took glee in the pain of another.

Yet within the shreds of the dreamer's soul, a tiny light flickered true; cherished, sheltered from desolate winds like a candle within a glass lantern. Was it hope that sustained the light? No, for none existed there. Faith then. Faith as blind and irrational as the hell that trapped her. And from faith, hope rises.

If only I could communicate with her. Within the lucid margin between sleep and wakefulness, I focused, reaching out across the void. Then, for the first time, minds connected.

She pleaded to me in fractured whisper. Help me. Please.

How? I answered. I know not your name, nor how to help you.

I am... Aria. Find Obeus. Tell him... willow song.

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INTERVIEW

1. How did you start writing on Wattpad?

I began as a reader, having stumbled across Wattpad about five years ago, and was like, 'cool, free stories!' After awhile, I tried my hand at writing fiction, starting with a few sci-fi short story contests. My first story attempts were cringe-worthy, as I look back now, but the Wattpad community was supportive and I improved much over the years. I posted my first novel, "Dark Fall", beginning early 2019. The first draft was not very good, but it's been through two edits and it is currently my most read book. I generally write speculative fiction, both fantasy or science fiction.

2. What was the inspiration for your book "Cries of a Wounded Soul"? If you could describe your story in only three words, what would they be?

It started with a rather generic 2022 Open Novella Contest prompt: "Fine, make me your villain," which might fit with any genre, but I decided on fantasy. A classic fantasy plotline was the rise of a chosen hero who saved the realm from evil forces. A thought came to me — what if the savior of the realm then needed saving? Who would save the savior? I borrowed the existence of an anti-power from previous stories as a plot device (like in Dark Fall), in this case, anti-magic, which was a means to thrust an otherwise uninfluential protagonist into conflict. And what if that anti-magic threatened a corrupt leadership that required magic to stay in power? Then the protagonist would be labeled a villain, thus fulfilling the ONC prompt. From these and other scattered thoughts came "Cries of a Wounded Soul." Three words to describe the story might be: tortured soul rescue.

3. Which details or scenes in "Cries of a Wounded Soul" are most unique and interesting?

Hmm, I'll leave it to the reader to decide what is interesting, but two aspects that might be unique I mentioned in the previous question. First, it was the basic premise, to save the savior. Second was the Fury, an entity that consumed magic. It was this which gave the commoner protagonist, Tomas, a chance to succeed, if he could only tame it, but also made him an enemy of those in power. It took a fair effort to create the magic system and I believe some aspects of it are unique — such as how Darkness was inherent to the magic, and how it manifested itself through Oracles.

4. If you were a character in your story, which one would you be and why?

In general, I would not want to be any character in any of my stories, because I put them through too many hardships. But okay, for this story it would be the main protagonist Tomas, because who doesn't want to be the underdog hero?

5. Do you intend to write another book in the future? What advice would you give to other writers who wish to try writing as well?

I will continue to participate in some short story contests to improve my writing skill, but mainly because they are fun. Also, I am presently laying out the storyline (I am a hardcore planner) for a sci-fi novel, tentatively titled "Cyber Witch," which is an expansion of a short story with the same name. I have a rough premise for a sequel to "Cries of a Wounded Soul" scribbled in my notebook of story ideas, but I'm not sure if I will take it up.

As far as advice to those who wish to try writing, I would say just jump in and have fun. The water's good. Wattpad is an ideal platform for inexperienced writers because of a generally supportive community. A prompt-driven short story contest maybe a good place to test the waters. Just be mindful that your first attempts will probably suck, like flailing in the water, but you get better with experience.

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And we end our amazing interview with wdhenning here. Thank you for being with us this June. We all hope you all got to know the author like us and discovered some unique details about the story, »Cries of a Wounded Soul«. We will see you next month with another amazing story.