Beth Lewis

The Author of The Wolf Road on her debut, a post apocalyptic survival story set in canada

What can you tell us about the world of The Wolf Road?

The Wolf Road is set in the wilderness of post-apocalyptic British Columbia. I travelled through Canada in my twenties and fell in love with the landscape.

Tell us a little bit about Elka…

She’s been raised by a man she calls Trapper. He taught her everything she needs to survive, but he’s not what he seems. She flees in search of her parents, but Trapper isn’t letting her go easily…

What was the initial idea that sparked the novel?

There was a scene in a TV show featuring a girl who saw a woman her father had killed as a deer. That this girl could be so blind to what he had done made me question whether she was a victim as well, or if she was complicit. I wanted to explore that while still making the reader cheer for her.

You work as an editor. Has that fed into the book?

Yes. I work with licensed books, mainly TV, movie and videogame tie-ins. I love seeing how a game or a movie evolves from concept sketches. This visual focus has fed into my writing.

Who are your literary heroes?

So many. Clive Barker taught me that horrific can be beautiful, Emily Brontë taught me about making the landscape as vivid as the characters, and David Mitchell taught me that anything is possible.

The Wolf Road is out on 30 June from The Borough Press.