Carroll student Mark Rabenhorst recently published a book called The Wolves of the White Mountains—The Fight for Life. He participated in the Ninth Annual Random House Book Fair on November 12, 2005 as a local author. Rabenhorst was one of 32 participating local authors at the Book Fair. He was interviewed by Sylvia Blair.

When was your book published? The book was published in June 2005.

What is it about? The first few chapters are about Kivak, the main character, trying to find his way. He spent a year alone because his pack had been attacked and killed by another pack of wolves. Being accepted into a pack was vital for his survival, as he was next to death. The later parts of the early chapters are about how the pack worked, once he was granted the right to stay for a while.

The second part and end part are about a larger plot to the story. As it turns out, Kivak’s pack and past come back into the story, and cause several large problems for him and his pack. Kivak turns out to be the final spark in the tension between his new pack and their bordering pack. After a betrayal and “wolf napping” of the alpha’s daughter, battle erupts between the two packs from which only one pack emerges victorious.

Mostly, this story is composed of the adventure Kivak faced joining a new pack, and living among one, with the addition of surprises to him and to the reader. To make the story a bit more exciting and even more suspenseful, there is a tiny bit of romance involved.

How did you come up with the idea? I wish I knew! I always disliked English and writing with the utmost passion. But one day, prompted by reading a short story, I began to write. There was something that struck me when I read the story that I can’t really explain. But whatever it was, it allowed me to write this whole story without any outline at all. All of the thoughts and storylines came into my head, so all I had to do was write.

How long did it take to write the book? My first version, which was completely hand-written, was completed within a week after I began. It was roughly 60 pages in length.

The following summer I decided to re-write the whole story and type it up. The second version was created mostly during two weeks in Colorado. The following year was a year of revisions by a vast number of people, with countless parts being torn out and put in.

Another year after that, a teacher from the Bible Study I attended helped me with some of the revisions, trying to refine the story to make it flow more smoothly. After even more revisions, the book was finally ready to be published.

Altogether, the book took roughly two and a half years from start to finish, beginning September 2002 and finishing June 2005.

Who published the book? The book was published by a really nice company called Authorhouse. I have only good things to say about them. They were very friendly and I’ve never regretted working with them.

How do you feel about being an author at your age? This is definitely the most frequent question I get. I don’t see myself as any more special then anyone else. Yes, I put out a book, but I think a lot of good stories are out there that are unpublished. I was just given the ability and the people, especially parents, to take me seriously and help me with the publishing process. As for my age, it does not strike me as so surprising. Just as important is having the ability to graduate with my A.A.S. degree. I think of my book as just one more thing I did ahead of my time. I was just so honored and blessed to have the ability to do these things and have parents and friends to guide me.

Mark Rabenhors

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