Monday, June 9, 2008

Dorothy Hearst

Dorothy Hearst is the author of Promise of the Wolves, a BookSense Pick for June 2008.

From a Q & A at the publisher's website:

Q: Can you describe your experiences with wolves in the course of researching and writing Promise of the Wolves?

A: They pretty much just walked into my apartment one day, and then wouldn't leave. Kept gnawing on my ankles until I agreed to write about them.

I've had the opportunity to see wolves both in the wild, in Yellowstone, and at wildlife sanctuaries. My first wolves were at the Cleveland Zoo. I was attending a conference for work and found out that there was a wolf habitat at the zoo, so I snuck away from the conference and hung out with the wolves pretty much until the zoo closed. The wolf expert there was nice enough to talk to me for a long time, and then directed me to a wolf-watching trip in Yellowstone. Seeing wolves in the wild was an unbelievable experience, because it's fascinating just to watch them move across a landscape and feed at a carcass -- just doing the things wolves do. I've been back to Yellowstone once since and will go again. The first time I got to meet wolves face-to-face was after I'd completed Promise. A photographer I'd met put me in touch with Never Cry Wolf Rescue, which takes in wolves and wolf hybrids that people have tried and failed to keep as pets. That's where I got the photo op with Dante, the arctic wolf hybrid in my author photo, and got to meet the other wolves there as well. I got to pet a three-month-old wolf puppy. I managed to restrain myself from smuggling her home in my car, but just barely.
Read the full Q & A.

The Page 69 Test: Promise of Wolves.

--Marshal Zeringue