WOLVES
Clan of the Wolfdogs transports adult 17+ readers into the raw, pre-historic period through the prophetic eyes and felt with the embracing heart of one relatable boy, to experience how we became modern humans, and dogs became our best allies.
Young Irik struggles to live up to his father’s expectations in a culture that demands he take a woman at fourteen winters and kill others (Neanderthals) at sixteen.
The boy’s preternatural ability to capture the spiritual connection between humans and animals by drawing them on cave walls, is lost when his clan chief father is killed by lions during a hunt. To redeem his honor, he tames and trains wolves to help slaughter whole herds of game and becomes a powerful clan chief.
He proves himself by bringing the clan through unheard of natural disasters, until a pact with a cannibalistic tribe, turns deadly. When his first mate, the clan’s territory and its mother wolf are taken in a second battle with the White Tribe, will he seek revenge?
Or will Arol, his childhood soulmate, come back into his life to find a better, more humanistic way? The author hopes the story will inspire the reader to consider his/her own beliefs about today’s tribal culture.
Learn About
The International Wolf Center
The Wolves of Isle Royale National Park and Tom’s early love of wildlife.
“As a young child I had a fascination with wild animals and read everything I could about them. One day, my estranged father came back home and offered to take me on a trip of my choosing, I jumped at the chance to see the wolves of Isle Royal. He agreed to take me camping on the most remote of the National Parks, a small island lying deep in northern Lake Superior. I had read that the wolves arrived there by crossing an ice bridge that formed between the island and the Canadian mainland during one particularly cold winter.
Before we set up our campsite, we heard a lecture from the park ranger who told us that the population of wolves has varied from a few dozen in 1950 to about 50 when we were there in 1955. He explained that the population variation was driven by the availability of its primary food source of older or injured moose, calves, and the spread of canine diseases to the island. Also, genetic inbreeding has led to physical deformities and has, at times, resulted in low productivity and survival.
What fascinated me most was the delicate balance between predator and prey; the wolves helping to stabilize the moose herd by preying on the old, young, injured and ill. Strong moose numbers allow for stable winter hunting for the wolves. I dreamt of catching even a faint glimpse of these magnificent, yet fearful pack animals, the ancient ancestors of my dog, Pal. Wandering the hiking trails as many and far as my dad would allow, we encountered, moose, porcupines, racoons, and herons, but only one muddy set of the wolves’ distinctive, four -toed, x-shaped middle pads.
On our last night in camp, dad allowed me to take a dip in the Washington river, where the moose had gathered for a drink. As I swam too close to a calve, it’s cow mother gave me a chase and from my father, I got a scolding. Even though I was never able to see a wolf there, what happened the next morning inspired me to write my first very short story, and ultimately led to the writing of my second novel, Clan of the Wolfdogs.”
Listen to a Wolf
Awakened to a misty, Isle Royale dawn, a blur of red pounced out of the gray. As its paws advanced, I saw its black eyes dotting a white chest. It was the animal I had only seen before in pictures. She made no sound tiptoeing along the gravel path to stop and paw for scraps around last night’s campfire. She turned toward me, I stifled a gasp, and for an instant, our eyes locked. Raising her white-tipped tail, she looked behind her, made a sharp bark and bolted way.
Was she talking to me? Angry that I had broken into her breakfast, or was she warning the kits following her to hide? I wanted to know what she was saying and thinking of me as I shivered inside feeling her beauty, stealth and shyness.
I had read of this animal’s intelligence and resourcefulness. As a child, I not only met but communicated with another canine relative and wanted to tell stories about them.
“Dad!” I poked the lump of sleeping bag next to me. “I just saw a red fox.”
Listen to a Fox
