Wolf in the Sanctuary, my Louisiana Gothic novel about a popular romance novelist seeking a career pivot into gothic fiction, features a lot of expected and unexpected inspiration. Given that there is a Rougarou, many would expect the old Cajun legends surrounding this werewolf-like creature to have been inspiration, and they were. The same goes for Louisiana’s own brand of Catholicism, the local culture, and the landscape of southern Louisiana. All of those inspired me as well. As a Southern Gothic novel, the sins of the past that continue to haunt the present were also inspirational.
Guilt Over Missed Funerals and Weddings
Wolf in the Sanctuary is a story of a woman’s guilt over not being there for her father when needed her. Guilt is something I understand all too well, but for Wolf, there was a very personal type of guilt. When I came out of the closet to my parents, they kept me in the dark about all family funerals and weddings, telling me these events happened only after the event was over. At those events, my parents excused my absence by telling family I was “very sick and not getting better.” This led to many unexpected phone calls by worried family members, forcing me to basically come out to them in an awkward way.
I know none of this was my fault, but growing up in a hyper-religious family that gave me both Catholic guilt and Southern Baptist guilt, I felt guilty. I felt like I let my family down by not being there with them in those moments. Even with therapy, I still struggle with that guilt, and as readers learn early on in the story, Celeste feels guilty for not being there for her father when he needed her to be with him.
Anxiety over a Career Change
Celeste Valois is a best-selling historical romance novelist, but her desire has always been to write gothic tales in the style of the old 18th and 19th century novels. That is a big change in career trajectory, and that’s something I know all-too-well. I spent the better part of two decades teaching and researching at the university level, and then I changed to being a research consultant and a freelance editor (3 slots open!). And I was in my mid-40s when I made that change. It was a huge change that filled me with anxiety, and that anxiety manifests in concerns over Celeste not only making this shift in her career but in how she goes about it with a self-imposed retreat in a small, isolated town. And those anxieties come to the fore when she starts realizing she’s in over her head, and anyone who has made a major life change knows the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Seeing a Barter Economy in a Small Town
After Hurricane Katrina, I ended up at LSU pursuing a 2nd Master of Arts degree, this time in Anthropology. Part of the requirements for the Introduction to Graduate Studies class was a week-long field trip to the small town of Cocodrie on the coast. While there, we got to see a town that in the 21st century still operated on a barter system. Yes, people could exchange money for goods and services, but many—even lawyers and doctors—accepted trade of service for service or food/butchered livestock/fish/deer meat from hunting/etc. in exchange for their services. This became the basis for a town that hadn’t changed from the “old ways” of doing things. I don’t want to say much more, because that will give away plot points.
These are three bits of personal lore that inspired my Louisiana gothic novel Wolf in the Sanctuary. If these intrigued you in any way, please consider picking up a copy of either the eBook or the paperback. Both are available across the web, but you can score paperbacks directly from my website at $3 below list price!
-Robin
cursingravenbooks.com 