WHEN I SEE THE WOLF RIDE - INSIDE THE CHAPTERS -HOSTED BY MICHELE JACO An author friend of Jeff's told him people never get the symbolism in a book. So Jeff and Michele Jaco created the Inside the Chapters podcast, in which they discuss the symbolism and story elements Jeff used in writing the chapters. In this episode, they explore what drove Jeff to write the book and they share some of the true stories and events in his own life that made it into the final version of the first chapter.
Here's one of the issues we discuss:
In the story, my main character is critical of the cities of Van Alstyne, Texas and Sherman, Texas. He doesn't like the church, the people, or even the members of his family that lived there. I want to emphasize this is part of his character development. Remember, the year is 1971. He's dealing with grief and the feeling that death is not only always around him, but actually seems to be chasing him. When his mother died, he lost virtually all of their possessions to pay bills. Then he immediately left to go to the army. So his PERCEPTION of these places is really negative. I still have family that lives in this area, and it's always fun to go back and see how Sherman and Van Alstyne have grown into wonderful little towns, each with interesting histories and people that make them great places to visit and to live.