I’ve been asked many times: what exactly is Wulfgard? This can have a lot of answers, so I’ll give all of them at once so that, hopefully, there will be no more confusion…
What is Wulfgard in terms of a setting and products, what is it to me, and what is it in the context of hopes for the future?
The official, brief description of Wulfgard on my website is as follows:
Discover a new world, a land of monsters and magic, of werewolves, shape-shifters, and beast-men, of danger and deceit – a world where all legends are true, where every myth is real and every fight could be your last, where darkness lurks in every corner… a world where only the bravest of heroes rise to answer the call of battle – and the call of the hunt.
Discover the world of Wulfgard: the ancient-medieval dark fantasy universe where all legends are true.
The answer to the first question is that Wulfgard is a setting that could traditionally be referred to as dark fantasy, low fantasy, and other such monikers. However, being someone who dislikes the confining box that is the “fantasy genre,” I would say Wulfgard is almost more mythology and that it has much more focus on being whatever particular genre each story is. For example: adventure, horror, epic, etc.
Its purpose: to entertain. To tell fun, sincere, and dramatic stories about memorable characters, set in an oldschool fantasy world.
It is, as one might imagine, a world in which werewolves are particularly emphasized. However, that does not at all mean that it is a world exclusively about werewolves. It’s a vast universe with rich history and lore that is inspired and influenced by history and real-world myth but with a great deal of originality mixed in. It is not set in ‘our’/the real world, however, and it is indeed an original setting.
Wulfgard is an original world created entirely by myself (Maegan A. Stebbins) and my brother (Justin RR Stebbins).We have created elements of this world for as long as I can remember. Individually, we were creating various stories and characters and lore set in a fantasy world ever since childhood, but in 2005, we decided to combine our efforts and give it a name: Wulfgard.
Together with our brother, Ryan, we always created characters and stories and worlds when we were kids, including what would become the sci-fi universe of Nova Refuge and, especially as was the case for myself and Justin, Wulfgard (Ryan contributed the character of Nahyr to Wulfgard, though!). Justin and I think about, talk about, and work on Wulfgard in some capacity every single day of our lives. We always have.
In 2015, we ran our first Kickstarter and successfully funded publication of the first Wulfgard works. We have continued working since then on the world and bringing our stories and characters to life.
So, what does Wulfgard mean to me, exactly, and what does it mean in relation to my work?
Wulfgard is everything to me. That applies doubly to my main series, The Prophecy of the Six. To me, Prophecy is the most important thing I will ever write, and it is what matters to me the most of my works. It always will be.
As a whole, Wulfgard is basically my soul. I hope I will create many things in my life and write many books, fiction and nonfiction, but Wulfgard will always be a focus for me. It is not a hobby or a side project, it is not a fun experiment, and it is not a worldbuilding exercise or world just for my characters to play in; it is my life’s passion and my life’s goal to tell these character-driven stories set in this robust world. I work very hard on it, and I will always fully dedicate myself to this and creating it to be the best I possibly can make it. Every single one of my patrons helps allow me to follow my heart in this way.
As for the final question: where does Wulfgard go from here? What is it like moving forward? Hopefully, it’ll find more fans, more readers, and maybe even more success. My life’s dream is to turn Wulfgard into a multimedia entertainment setting with all kinds of things to offer! I know that’s very ambitious, of course, and naturally it sounds quite ridiculous – but that’s the dream, and it always has been. That will never change.
My current goals are to continue writing and publishing alongside my brother as he and I work on this world we have created together. I hope to start making audiobooks at some point in the future, too. I’d also love to expand beyond the medium of books, but doing so is quite difficult. Right now, creating my main series, The Prophecy of the Six, is extremely demanding. You can get started on that right now and join in on the action by picking up a copy of my book Knightfall, the first installment in the series.
And who knows what the future might bring? I’m always hopeful!
It is difficult to convey exactly what Wulfgard is and means to me and my brother. It is my life; it is my passion. It’s something I have worked on literally for as long as I can remember, and I will always be working on it as long as I am still alive. And in the middle of that, in the center of my heart, is my main Wulfgard series, The Prophecy of the Six.
Hopefully this was helpful to give you a better idea of that – and hopefully this has inspired you to give Wulfgard a try, if you haven’t already. Go check out my books. Pick up a free ebook of The Demon’s Fang or grab a copy of Knightfall – or whichever other work suits your fancy – and jump into this world. I promise you won’t regret it. And, don’t worry; I’m always working on more.
So what are you waiting for? Discover my true passion and enter the world of Wulfgard!
Until next time!