Dissecting A.P. Nordhaug
Welcome back to the Black Hare Press Dissecting Author interviews, where we dissect an author to find out who they are, what they write, and what keeps their creative juices flowing.
Today, we slice open horror, fantasy, and science fiction writer, A.P. Nordhaug, to spill his writing secrets and learn more about his latest release, They Don't Howl at the Moon.
Welcome A.P.!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A.P. Nordhaug has a background in psychology and brings this perspective to both horror and science fiction.
A.P. has recently begun pursuing writing full-time with the support of his cat and an anxious imagination. Tortured by the need to create, he attempts to duck hurricanes and alligators in his native Florida while staying alive long enough to take readers on journeys both horrific and hopeful.
They Don’t Howl at the Moon is A.P.’s debut novella publication, with more to come at Black Hare Press.
Bibliography
Beyond the Borders, Symphonies of Imagination, 2025
They Don’t Howl at the Moon, Black Hare Press, 2026
Tell us about yourself. When did your passion for reading and writing start?
When I was a child, my mother was terminally ill and, as many people learn beside the bed of a sick loved one, or during whatever hard experience they have to grit through, books are magic. This is especially powerful in moments of need. A book is a portal that takes you away from whatever is happening around you and transports you to a distant vista, or fantasy land, or puts you in the shoes of someone very different than you so you can vicariously be something else. When the power of reading (for me, it was King Arthur stories and Piers Anthony novels) first shows its wonder to you, it's impossible not to be captivated. My mother was an artist and encouraged my imagination for as long as she could, so it was natural that discovering this magic made me want to create my own. I've wanted to write practically my entire life because of those early experiences finding refuge in a book.
What drew you to your preferred writing genres?
I love fantasy and science fiction because of the strange and unique worlds you can visit. There's something enthralling about seeing a place that bears little resemblance to our world (or maybe does in unexpected ways). I was drawn to the horror genre organically. Like many people, I find some special fun in the entertainment of horror movies - slashers, creature features, everything from the campy to the truly scary. Horror novels create an experience that's horrible, unsettling, morbid, or gory, and it's a type of reverse escapism. Unlike those enchanting fantasy stories, when you close a good horror novel and look around your life, everything can seem better in comparison. There's no serial killer stalking you, no primal creature lurking in the shadows - most of the time, death is further at bay. You can go to a boring job, or pay your bills, or view whatever mundane aspect of your life with a glimmer of appreciation for its safety. That, and horror is just fun, right? Being scared, seeing nightmares that can't hurt us, has an undeniable appeal! That's what hooked me.
How much of your writing is ‘write what you know’ or ‘researched to death’?
I don't think I view these as being opposed to each other, and in most cases, I think both are fairly necessary. You absolutely must write from some kernel of authenticity, from a place of experience or understanding. That can be in unexpected ways, though. I've never been on a spy mission, but I've been forced to lie before. I've had to hide aspects of myself. Those real feelings, of what you know, can become the basis for writing things that seem foreign but have an overlap with the human experience. That said, if I'm writing about a spy, I might need to know more about spy craft, code-writing, or some gadget. Reading CIA accounts and familiarizing myself with aspects of the story's theme I don't know as well. It helps create the world, and I find it's almost always needed. If I had to analyze my own writing, though, I'd say I try to stick to feelings, perspectives, and experiences I can somehow wrap my head around from my life or witnessing the world and those around me. I research any details or specifics outside of that sphere to help create the story wherever I feel justified.
Have you ever based a character on someone you know?
I don't base entire characters on people I know as a whole, but I absolutely draw inspiration from certain mannerisms or traits and use them to color in a personality. If a coworker is particularly stubborn, or my sister has an interesting affectation in her speech she's picked up, if someone I've known had a certain type of charisma, or was especially funny - the memories of these people and those characteristics will end up being fed into the character I'm creating. Usually, they're a Frankenstein monster of different aspects from people real and imagined and never a one-to-one replication of any person.
Do you have a furry friend writing assistant ie dog, cat, bird, Hellhound, and how do they help you achieve your writing goals?
My cat Rafi is definitely my writing partner. No matter how ridiculous my story, regardless of the time I'm writing, he decides to take part. I think the constant presence of a cat napping in all his glory serves to remind me I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing and I'm exactly where I should be. His contentment reminds me to stay grounded and appreciate my life - and when I'm writing to keep at it because if he's that comfortable being there, around me, I should find comfort in my purpose and push on creating.
What’s brewing? What are your next big writing goals?
I'm currently seeking a home for two novellas. One is a horror about a sushi chef in a dying mall who makes a roll that accidentally poisons a group of guests and a woman dies. Another is a sci-fi story about a prisoner who is put in confinement in a space-faring vessel to test its effects on the human mind. I also have several more novellas in the works for continuing the pack's story from They Don't Howl at the Moon. I've found the process of working with Black Hare Press motivating and fulfilling. The editing has been professional and thoughtful, and I trust the publisher thoroughly. I expect some of this might very well end up here (entirely at their discretion and with reader preference, of course!)
ABOUT THE BOOK
They Don't Howl at the Moon by A.P. Nordhaug
Launch Date: 11th July 2026
A dying addict is offered a second life—but the family that saves him feeds on something far more dangerous than blood.
Kole is already halfway to the grave when they find him—two strangers who don’t look away, don’t judge, and don’t offer empty promises. Instead, they give him something impossible: a second chance.
Butte and Selena aren’t saviours. They’re something older. Something bound together by instinct, hunger, and a connection that runs deeper than blood. When they bring Kole into their pack, his body heals, his senses sharpen, and for the first time in his life, he belongs.
But belonging comes with a cost.
The bond between them is intimate, overwhelming—blurring the lines between love, desire, and something far more primal. As Kole settles into this new life, he begins to understand the truth: they are not monsters because of what they are, but because of what they need.
And they are not alone.
When Kole is drawn to someone new—a broken soul like he once was—the pack grows. But so does the danger. Because out there, other packs exist. Packs that believe strength matters more than mercy.
And they’re coming.
BUY
WEBSITE
What sparked the idea for this story?
The foundation here is a werewolf story, plain and simple - a creature feature. My background is in psychology, though, and with the deep mythology already around lycanthropes, I definitely wanted to make a unique entry to the lore. It's not about physical transformation; it's about what it would feel like to have this new energy. What would be the experience of a person with a mystical "curse"? I knew immediately I wanted this to be character-driven and focus on the people in this story, that our glimpse into their pack was predicated on feeling like we were seeing these characters authentically. It still needed to be a werewolf story, but I gave it room to also be about the dynamics between people who have formed a unit together, and approach the concept from a slightly different angle.
Did you plot or pants this story, and would you change your process if you had to start again?
They Don't Howl at the Moon was one of those pieces where it flows very naturally, and it feels like you're just the receiver picking up the signal of a story that wants to be written. It was primarily a "pants" scenario where, outside of editing and some tweaking, the pack came to life while I watched, too. The characters had their own voices and strong personalities as soon as they arrived on the page. This isn't a common experience for me; every story is created differently, and I found it very fun to have so little conscious influence over their story. I just wrote it down, they told it to me. I wouldn't change it because it was so refreshing and different from other things I've written; it was a very worthwhile experience.
What elements from your real life creep into this story?
I've used some drugs in my day, but not like Kole. Still, the feeling of helplessness to altered states, to habits running away, is something I can relate to quite a bit. That, and the moment you find a group of friends that mesh with you, and each other, and this symbiotic entity forms - what people refer to as "found family" is something I've been fortunate enough to brush with. When connections form, and a stranger who becomes a friend morphs into something deeper and more permanent - that's real and is important to this story.
How much research did you do for this story?
I'm actually quite fortunate to be a curious person with eclectic interests. The concept of "alpha males" comes from a singular animal behaviorist's work, Rudolph Schenkel’s "Expressions Studies on Wolves", where Schenkel observed one pack of wolves and drew inferences from it. Years later, he realized his mistake, that the concept was faulty and packs were far more familial and less aggression-based than he'd suggested, but despite decrying the idea for the rest of his life, it stuck. I had already read his work, and when I began the story, I refreshed myself on his thoughts on pack dynamics as a basis for the psychology behind everything. I'd also taken a human-animal behavioural psychology course in university that I was able to fall back on.
How much did the story change from first draft to publication?
The core of They Don't Howl at the Moon remained intact throughout my writing, from first draft on. I tend to write, leave the story, return by rereading the last few pages, and edit those from a fresh perspective before continuing where I left off. In that sense, the story was still edited several times over while in creation, and a final pass tweaked things, too. Despite that and some great editorial input and assistance from Black Hare, the bulk of the story came out in those initial drafts and remained fairly complete. That's absolutely not always the case!
How did you come up with character names?
As I mentioned earlier, I knew going in this was a character-driven piece. Before the entire story was envisioned and the arcs were imagined, the characters presented themselves. Often, I agonize over names, or change them, but in this case, Butte, Selena, Derry, and Kole arrived fully formed and told me their names. It sounds hokey, but the process was so organic it really felt like many elements were recorded more than imagined, and the names were one of those.
How did you come up with the title?
Titles are hard! I think I've gotten better over time by letting it come to me. I used to sit there, blinking cursor on a blank page, and feel determined to start with the title, that it was a guide to the whole piece. I never got it right and never liked those titles. Now, I wait and allow it to rise from the story. In this case, it harkened back to some of that wolf pack research I had read, and when it entered the story, I knew it was the title instantly.
What’s your favourite scene? Why?
I think it's either the sexually charged scene between Selena and Kole where their canid olfaction is used in an amorous way (and there's some raw truth shared in that moment), or our introduction to Derry. I think Derry's dialogue and their perspective is a fun one to write, and I enjoyed the way they appeared on the page. These characters and scenes are both about the dynamics with Kole and serve to show how bonds form, and I liked getting to know these characters through those situations.
Is there a particular message that you hope readers will take from the story?
I think the way the story came out, it's about the hunger for human connection and how intense that can be. I fully intended it to be able to stand as just an entertaining little werewolf story, but layered with some depth if the reader wants to engage with it. Humans are social animals, and we strive for belonging - to be seen, and understood, and loved. I think seeing someone find the connection they need reveals our own feelings on our relationships, either needed or established.
THE STITCH UP
How do you celebrate when you finish a story?
I find celebrating hard because it's not the end.
If you could invite any three authors for dinner, whom would you invite?
George R.R. Martin, Cory Doctorow and Mariana Enriquez - awesome perspectives!
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark?
The envelope of a letter my wife wrote me.
What’s the oldest book on your bookshelf?
The Origin of Satan my father gave me - worrisome?
Hook me! Why should I read your book?
A character-driven werewolf story on the psychology of packs!
Thanks for chatting with us, A.P.! This interview is all stitched up.
Learn more about A.P. Nordhaug via the links provided, and remember to add They Don't Howl at the Moon to your TBR list.
Want more? Read all the Dissecting Author Interviews on the Black Hare Press website: blackharepress.com/blogs/author-interviews