Wolf Golan spent the last three decades writing a one-of-a-kind sci-fi fantasy series. It began with recurring dreams back in 1995. Sparked by a seismic shift in the fantasy world, kindled by J. R. R. Tolkien’s first book in a series like no other.
“2001, when ‘Lord of the Rings' was a worldwide smash hit,” says Golan. “Basically a cultural shift, you know, not even just not just the movie, like cultural shift, like a ‘Star Wars’ in my time. How can it not inspire me?”
“Chandera,” Golan’s new epic, revisits that fantasy realm. Sprinting forward in time, “Chandera” focuses on two Indigenous characters in the year 2342. Chronicling travels to faraway kingdoms. Pulling inspiration from sci-fi classics, like “Willow”, “Star Wars”, “Lord of the Rings.”
Golan’s road has been long and, at times, tough, aspiring to produce more than a “Lord of the Rings” knock-off.
Golan initially held off on writing the books. After completing his English degree at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Acting on a fellow writer's advice, he sought adventures, broadening perspective and life experience.
“This is why I’m really happy my friend told me to shelve the book through most of my 20s, so I get life experience,” explains Golan. “Because if I had just rolled with it, it would just have just been a boring ‘Lord of the Rings’ knock off.”
“But now it's so unique. I incorporated Elder knowledge into it, like unique old Indigenous knowledge. I put a touch of that in the book. A lot of life experiences too, like what it means to be a modern Indigenous person in modern day and how it informs attitudes of the character. The book is way deeper now. It's way deeper and cooler now.”
He found that putting his soul into serving Elders improves his own writing. That revelation came through an old university gig. Preserving the multitude of Elders' stories, by translating them from Athabascan to English. That work eventually influenced Golan’s fictional tale, providing an overarching theme.
In 2010, recovering from personal heartbreak, Golan again shifted focus, pouring his heart into futuristic novels he had shelved for so long.
“Kairos we call it, English students, it's a Greek word. That means all the stars lining up, everything falling into place,” tells Golan. “And that's what happened. Like the kairos happened that summer and I just sat down and wrote the whole book out into the winter.”
“I love this story so much, I even traveled to Northern California to finish it down there. I wanted to be in the redwoods, because towards the end of the book he goes to the Trelindra
Kingdom where there's giant trees like the redwood trees. That's how bad I wanted to make the book good and it paid off.
For the next three years, Golan worked on the three books of “Chandera” while traveling and living in various parts of the United States.
He released the first book to the public in 2015, but kept revising the next two books, even as he plunged into writing number four and five. All the while, coping with jobs and family losses.
Golan made it back home to Alaska in 2020. Two years later, during a terrible snowstorm in Fairbanks, Golan badly injured himself. When he was finally back on his feet, he resolved to finish his trilogy.
“That near fatal accident lit a fire underneath me and I realized I don't have the time I think I do. We all don't have the time we think we do,” says Golan. “I decided that I'm only going to do ‘Chandara.’ I don't care how poor I get. I don't care how much I suffer. I don't care if I have health problems. do or die, do or die, it's do or die. I'm going to finish ‘Chandra’ no matter what. And that's what I did. And now I got all the books done and it worked. It worked.”
In Spring 2023, the trilogy was released to the public. Since then, Golan has been promoting the books to various Native audiences, all on his own.
“It's been a roller coaster and it was kind of a push and pull and just love and hate relationship I had,” says Golan. “I quit many times and I just wanted to be like a normal person and not be a writer. Then something would happen that would make be go back to it”
“I'm very proud of where I am, yeah. If I were to go back and change anything I wouldn't change anything. I like my life, I liked how this book came out. I'm a God believer, and I believe that God wanted this book out. And if this book is meant to come out, it's going to come out, you know.”
Golan drafted the fourth and fifth editions of his epic. He figures that justifies taking a break. After three decades, he believes he has accomplished an important mission: writing a sci-fi fantasy series enlivened by true and honorable representation of Native Alaskans and their culture.