Alastair Chisholm

About Author

Alastair Chisholm's new science fiction novel I Am Wolf (Nosy Crow) is the first in an exciting new trilogy!

When Alastair Chisholm was a kid, he wanted to be a computer programmer, an author, and an astronaut. So far he's achieved two out of three and still hoping NASA will call... In the meantime, he writes picture books, chapter books about dragons, and science fiction for older kids. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and family and a cat named Maudie, and his hobbies include writing and playing games on his phone when he should be writing.

You can find Alastair on Instagram @alastairchisholm and on X (formerly Twitter) @alastair_ch

Interview

I Am Wolf (Nosy Crow)

May 2024

In this spectacular science fiction adventure, enter a world where giant constructs range across the landscape; living things powered by their crew, fighting other constructs for their territory and survival.

Read a Chapter from I Am Wolf.

Author Alastair Chisholm tells ReadingZone what inspired I Am Wolf, why he writes science fiction adventures, the themes of tribalism and difference that he explores in I Am Wolf - and what else he has planned for the crew of Wolf!

Q&A with Alastair Chisholm - Exploring the Themes in I Am Wolf

"I love adventure stories, with explosions, action, and death-defying moments! But I think the good stories - the ones that
live inside us long after the book - are always about people."

1. Hello Alastair, Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone. Can you tell us what brought you into writing for young people - and what you did before becoming an author?

Hello, and thanks for inviting me! I've always enjoyed writing, but I particularly love writing for young people. When I look back at the books that changed my life and how I saw the world, it's the ones when I was young that stand out. And it's fun! These readers are smart, and they fundamentally get stories - they understand what's real, but they're happy to step off into fantasy or sci-fi or adventure.

These days, I split my time between writing and my other job as a software developer. I'm very lucky to be able to follow both my creative and more 'geeky' obsessions! As a kid I remember wanting to be an author, a computer programmer, and an astronaut. Perhaps there's still time…

2. What kinds of stories do you enjoy telling, and what draws you to writing science fiction - what does it allow you to explore as a writer?

I love adventure stories, with explosions, action, and death-defying moments! But I think the good stories - the ones that live inside us long after the book - are always about people. Who they are, what they care about, and how they find themselves. Science fiction lets me play with both sides of this - I can take characters I love, drop them into frankly ludicrous situations, and see how they get on!

And science fiction covers so much, it's incredibly flexible. Robot adventures, space mysteries, dystopian thrillers, high-tech capers… All the Marvel films are pretty much science fiction. I love it because it starts in a world just like ours, and says: "Hey, what if…?"

3. What is your new book, I Am Wolf, about?

I Am Wolf takes place in a world where huge steel mechanical animals called Constructs roam the land, fighting each other for territory. Coll lives aboard Wolf, one of these Constructs, but he becomes stranded after a battle. Now he has to survive on the ground and make his way back in order to save Wolf from a terrible new enemy...

"I knew that it was about tribalism, about how we desperately need to feel we belong to something."

4. What was the spark of the idea for this story?

The spark was actually the title itself - 'I Am Wolf'. It popped into my head one day, and I could even see a book cover of a boy staring out at me, very intense. It gnawed at me - what did it mean? Who was Wolf? I knew that it was about tribalism, about how we desperately need to feel we belong to something. Then I realised that 'Wolf' was an actual, 30-metre-high mechanical beast … and then I had to write it!

5. How did you go about creating the setting for I Am Wolf, and this barren landscape of struggling settlements and giant, territorial animal 'constructs'?

The first thing I had to do was work out how they got into this state. The Constructs are advanced technology, but the crews are quite barbaric. What happened to cause this? How are these Constructs maintained - who provides the food, the parts?

Once I understood, other ideas crept in, like how the Constructs are actually powered by the faith of their crew, and the humans who live on the ground (the 'Worms'), and the weird Ant creatures…

"Everyone deserves representation, and should be able to see themselves as the hero of any book.
This isn't the story of 'Coll the boy with one arm'. It's the story of Coll."

6. The main character is Coll, a boy who has prosthetic limbs. Why did you feel it was important that he has this limb difference and how important is representation in stories for you as an author? How do you get it right, especially if you're not familiar with the experiences you're writing about?

Coll is many things - he's tall, strong, always up for a fight, maybe not the brightest but very loyal and brave. And he has a limb difference; he uses a prosthetic arm and leg. He arrived in my head pretty much ready to go, and I knew he would be perfect. He loves Wolf and is desperate to belong, but the other crew treat him differently because of his prosthetics.

So his limb difference affects him, of course - but it was important to me that it didn't define him. Everyone deserves representation, and should be able to see themselves as the hero of any book. This isn't the story of 'Coll the boy with one arm'. It's the story of Coll.

But of course, if I was going to presume to write about Coll, he had to feel authentic to people who'd lived his experience. And luckily, my publishers (Nosy Crow) completely agreed. They contacted groups who represent kids with limb differences, such as Limbbo, and the folk there were brilliant. They read through the draft, pointing out where I'd got things wrong, and suggesting details of Coll's day-to-day experience. I also got to chat with many of the kids directly, to hear their stories and see how they used their own prosthetics. It was an essential experience, and I'm very grateful to them.

7. Do you have a favourite moment in I Am Wolf, and why do you choose that particular part?

I Am Wolf was a blast to write, and it's hard to pick just one scene! But there's a point near the end where Coll has become trapped underground, in mortal danger, and realises something about himself - and that was my 'punching the air' moment. It was everything I wanted for Coll!

"I Am Wolf is an action story, but it's also about tribalism. It's about how good it feels to belong,
and how that affects how we see others."

8. Other than a fabulous adventure story, what would you like your readers to take from Coll's journey through I Am Wolf?

I Am Wolf is an action story, but it's also about tribalism. It's about how good it feels to belong, and how that affects how we see others. It's so easy to see the world as right/wrong, friends/enemies, goodies/baddies, but the truth is always more complex. And in the end, it's about finding your own crew and being accepted for who you are.

9. There are a lot of questions remaining at the end of the book - so what else do you have planned for Coll in book 2? Will there be more books?

Wolf is a trilogy, and book two is with the publisher right now! In book two we learn a bit about how the world came to be like this, see some fantastic new Constructs, and meet the Big Villain. And book two is also the story of Brann, the girl from the destroyed Raven Construct, who is holding a secret that might destroy her. If book one is about belonging, then book two is about fear…

10. Which of the constructs, or mechanical animals, that we meet in I Am Wolf would you want to travel in - or would you prefer to create your own? Where do you go in real life to escape your desk, and to look for inspiration?

I loved all the Constructs, but my favourite was probably Beetle - it's so cute! I think my own Construct wouldn't be very fierce. It would probably be a big friendly dog who just goes around wagging its tail and thinking everyone is awesome.

In real life, I get a lot of ideas while I'm walking about, or sometimes just when I'm staring into space! I keep a notebook with me all the time and write down random thoughts. Sometimes, if I'm really lucky, they connect to other thoughts, and a bit of a story emerges…

The Consequence Girl (Nosy Crow)

Find out about Alastair Chisholm's earlier novel, The Consequence Girl, including what inspired him to write the book, why he enjoys writing science fiction novels - and who he'd like to play the main characters in a film of the book!

The Consequence Girl is a gripping and thought-provoking science fiction story about a girl who is on the run. Her story explores what happens when things go wrong and the abuse of power, but it's also about family and how individuals can change things for the better by doing the right thing. Read a chapter from The Consequence Girl

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