Online for Authors Episode 11-19-24

​Unmasked: An FBI Agent’s Hunt for a Shapeshifter with Author D Werkmeister

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is D Werkmeister, author of the book Volk. Born and raised in Nebraska, Darin Werkmeister now lives outside of Philadelphia PA, where he was an FBI street agent for 21 years. During that time, he investigated White Collar Crime, Organized Crime, Money Laundering, and Domestic Terrorism. While in Philadelphia, he was an eight-year member of the FBI SWAT team. Prior to the FBI he was a Marine Corps officer. VOLK is his first novel.

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As a writer, my favorite part of any book is watching the characters come to life on the page. There's nothing quite like that "aha!" moment when a character's voice clicks and their story starts to unfold organically. So I was thrilled to chat with debut author D Werkmeister about his writing process and the inspiration behind his gripping new supernatural thriller, Volk.

Darin is a former FBI agent who spent 35 years working organized crime cases. While on a late-night surveillance op, his partner's shadow cast an eerily Sasquatch-like silhouette that sparked Darin's imagination: What would happen if FBI agents saw something truly inexplicable?

That tiny seed of an idea eventually blossomed into Volk, a genre-bending tale about veteran agent Terri Watson pursuing a killer she soon suspects may not be human. Grounded in Darin's real-world experience in the FBI, the story follows a by-the-book agent forced to question everything when the supernatural creeps into her meticulously ordered world.

"I wanted a book that had very strong female characters," Darin told me. "I don't think [female FBI agents] get enough credit. They usually show FBI police-type female agents dressed in very tight clothes and wearing high heel shoes... that's not going to fly."

Instead, Terri is portrayed as a competent professional - one of many details Darin got right, thanks to his decades in the Bureau. The investigative steps, squad interactions, even office politics rang true to his own experience. (Well, minus the werewolves!)

As a character-driven fiction author myself, I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this book despite it being pretty far outside my usual genre. Darin's knack for breathing life into compelling characters, combined with a perfectly-proportioned dash of the paranormal, makes for a truly unique and engrossing read.

Volk is the first in a planned series, with Book 2 (Skinwalkers) already complete. I, for one, can't wait to see what Terry gets up to next - no outline required!

P.S. Want to win a copy of Volk on audiobook? Head over to the Facebook group, Novels N Latte, and leave a comment on the post about today's podcast. I'll be doing a drawing for one lucky winner!

Purchase Volk on Amazon:
Paperback: https://amzn.to/3TJR1or
eBook: https://amzn.to/47KoDrY
​Audible: https://amzn.to/3TJR1or

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.