H.M Wolfe, author of best-selling dark dystopian romance Daggermouth says she would like to see Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson playing two of her lead characters Callum and Shadera.

Her wish list also includes Citadel actor Richard Madden playing Greyson. Fans of Daggermouth will approve of this proposed dream casting. Published earlier this summer, Daggermouth has taken BookTok by storm, with reviews praising the book’s rich character development, intricate world-building and exciting plot twists.

If you haven’t read it yet, you might be wondering what Daggermouth is all about? In summary, Daggermouth is set in New Found Haven, a city with razor-sharp divisions of privilege and poverty. A masked elite rule with an iron fist, subjugating the poverty-stricken masses with their brutal laws. Greyson Serel is the heir apparent to the elite rulers of New Found Haven and performs his ruthless executioner duties under the watchful eye of his father, the President.

Shadera Kael, aka Shade, is his nemesis. Raised from childhood to be a mercenary raised to kill, her destiny changes when a bullet she fired, meant to end Greyson misses its mark. The two protagonists are then forcefully bound to one another in a political marriage. Theirs is no love story, but rather a battlefield where the line between passion and hate becomes blurred and secrets and loyalties are tested at every point. With simmering heat and a rich cast of well-developed characters, Daggermouth will pull you, happily, into its world.

Daggermouth author H.M Wolfe, whose real name is Hallah Mikaela Wolfe, is rather unique in that she is a Black author who has written a novel with a Black main character (Shadera) within the dystopian genre.

In our interview, Wolfe talks about her favourite authors, what she wants readers to take away from Daggermouth. She also reveals who she would cast in a film adaptation of the book and the quiet strength of her female characters and why the book is a love letter to women.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer? 

I have written for as long as I can remember, and it has just always been a part of my creative outlet in some form or another. In my teenage years and into college, it shifted more into songwriting, and I actually started college as a music major. I think writing music and lyrics taught me a lot about packing an emotional punch into a few words. I carried what I learned from that side of writing, into writing novels. I never thought I would ever publish because I thought you had to have degrees in English and Literature to even be considered by a publishing house to be picked up. But, but then my sister introduced me to self-publishing. She was like, “you know you can just publish this on your own right?” And that changed everything for me. When I realised that, I fully committed to it and decided I was going to give it a shot.

Who are three authors (alive and dead) that you admire and why?

Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors. My favourite genre to read is crime and mystery and she is a legend in her craft. Amber V. Nicole is a legend in her own right. If you haven’t read the Gods and Monsters series, you should. It’s epic. The way she can keep you invested in characters book after book and just continue to deepen each one and pull back layers is incredible. Her world building, and character development expertise is something so many authors like me can learn from. My third pick is an author duo; Nelle Nikole and Mikayla D. Hornedo. They are the authors of the Kuxtal Academy series. There is something extremely beautiful and lyrical about their writing, both separately and together. I really admire how they manage to weave so much culture into their stories. I am a firm believer that publishing needs more authors like them.

Daggermouth is notable for having a Black female main character. Why was this important to you?

I grew up not seeing myself on screen or on pages. And when I did see women that looked like me in these art forms, they were side characters whose purpose was to push the main characters’ arc forward. I think Brandy playing Cinderella was the first time I truly saw someone that looked like me on screen. That was incredibly formative for my early years because it can make you feel like you do not belong when you can’t see yourself reflected in the media you partake in. I want Black and brown women to be able to pick up my books and see themselves not as side characters, but as fully fleshed out main characters with purpose, with emotions and fears and anger and love. I think seeing ourselves in art should be the norm, so if I can help move that needle, I will.

Is there a main message of the book that you want readers to pick up on? 

For me, this book is a call to action. It’s a call to action to get into your communities and help each other. To start having hard conversations about the real world we live in. I hope that by bringing people together for the love of a book, it can be the starting point of bigger conversations that need to be had in a safe and respectful place. I also think a big message is that those that society deems as weak and less than, especially women, are often the strongest among us and the ones that end up changing history for the better.

Which character do you identify with the most and why?  

Shadera is who I connect with the most because of her anger and fear of letting people in. I was in a very angry and scared place when I wrote this book, because of the state of our world. And I think Shade embodies that. She really let me process my own grief as I wrote her.

In a movie adaptation, which well-known actors would you like to play Shadera, Jameson, Greyson and Callum? 

Honestly, I have not been able to pinpoint someone for Jameson, he is a bit of an enigma. No one has popped out at me like, that’s him, like the others have. But for Callum, I think Michael B. Jordan would do an incredible job playing him. For Greyson, Richard Madden I think would do really well. When I watched the show Citadel, there was one part in the second season when I was like, oh my god, its him! And for our girl Shade, Tessa Thompson hands down. I don’t know if you have seen her play the Valkyrie in The Avengers, but when I rewatched it a few months ago, I knew she was meant to play Shadera.

The women (Shadera, Elara and Lila) endured the most violence to their bodies in the book. What is the significance of this for you? 

I think this is the sad reality that reflects our real world. Women are expected to endure horrors and endure them with grace. I wanted the book to reflect that honestly. I think the beauty of the book is that they did break. They broke each in their own way and rebuilt stronger and ready to fight for themselves and their right to be safe in the world. I think the significance of that for me, is that these women, who endure so much psychological and physical pain, at the end of the day are the ones that are strong enough to keep going. To keep pushing forward despite everything. For me, this book is a love letter to women.

Are your characters fully formed before you start writing or is it a journey? 

My writing process itself is pretty fleshed out because I have a certain routine that I stick to when I do sit down to write. But I am a panster, so I do not have play by play outlines set before I write a book. I follow story beats, meaning I know that a specific thing has to happen within every few chapters to move the plot forward, and I make sure that I hit every one of those. But outside of that, once I build the world and the characters are fully fleshed out people, I let them guide my writing. The more time I put into building the characters, the more trust I have in the story I tell. These characters are like wrangling toddlers. There are so many things I wanted them to do originally that they simply refused to get on board with.

What can you tell us about Python (the Daggermouth sequel dropping in 2027)? 

I can tell you that you will get more history of the city and more lore. This world gets bigger, and I feel like that brings more hope inside the story.

What are some of your interests outside of writing best-selling books?

I have three dogs that I spend the majority of my time with when I am relaxing at home. But I still love to create music for me, and travel when I have the time. I also really love playing softball and I am hoping once life settles down a bit again, I can get back into playing.

Will you be visiting London to promote the book? 

I hope so! I know my UK readers have been really vocal about wanting me to come and I would absolutely love to be able to meet and talk with all of them. So right now, my fingers are crossed, and we will see what happens!

Daggermouth by H.M Wolfe is now available.

Buy the book here: Amazon

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