{"id":363670,"date":"2026-08-05T19:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T19:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/363670\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T19:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T19:54:12","slug":"interview-florida-author-of-booktok-hit-daggermouth-finds-hope-in-dark-dystopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/363670\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Florida author of BookTok hit \u2018Daggermouth\u2019 finds hope in dark dystopia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AH.M. Wolfe Credit: H.M. Wolfe<\/a><\/p>\n

Like many authors right before their book takes off, H.M. Wolfe <\/a>didn\u2019t expect \u201cDaggermouth\u201d to become a social media darling.<\/p>\n

The dark, dystopian story was a palate cleanser for Wolfe, who had been writing mostly fantasy worlds and magic systems. \u201cDaggermouth\u201d was her \u201clast-ditch effort\u201d to make full-time writing work before returning to the corporate world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was also really enraged at the world, and I needed a way to get that out of my body, so I wrote \u2018Daggermouth\u2019 in a crazy short amount of time,\u201d Wolfe told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. \u201cI had to get words on a page, and then it kind of just took off from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally from California and having lived in Utah and New York, Wolfe and her husband have lived in Central Florida for the past three years. She gives some credit for \u201cDaggermouth\u2019s\u201d success to other local authors and reader communities she met in the Sunshine State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have more love in my life and in my heart that it kind of transcends into the way that I create, and I don\u2019t think that I would have found that without finding my community and my friends here in Florida,\u201d she said, noting her neighbor is the artist behind the original cover of \u201cDaggermouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Indie-published in December 2025, \u201cDaggermouth\u201d is set in a gritty, near-future surveillance state controlled by the Heart\u2014the rich, masked elite and their sadistic president. Despite being snuffed out time and again, a rebellion keeps sparking to life in the Boundary where the poorest and most neglected live. With an ensemble cast and a romance subplot, \u201cDaggermouth\u201d is a thrilling story of rage-fueled rebellion and willingness to sacrifice everything for a chance at a better future for others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an angry book; there are a lot of middle fingers to society, not just in America, but across the world,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cIt\u2019s a mirror to our reality. This might be a little bit too heavy and too dystopian for a lot of people\u2019s comfort, but at the same time, I needed it out of my body.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that reading fiction is good for our brains. That\u2019s especially true for genres like fantasy, science fiction, and dystopian, which can be therapeutic to our information-overloaded minds. For creatives like Wolfe, writing fictional worlds was a way for her to process deep emotions on the page.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDaggermouth\u201d is dark and violent, full of terrible things happening to people who are just trying to survive. The world is fueled by a cycle of desperation and brutality. And yet, there is still hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it was so angry, and there was so much female rage\u2026I still get to dictate how that ends,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cI\u2019m a Black queer woman in American society right now, and that is a hard place to be, and so being able to speak to that and put that on the page, while also knowing that I control the outcome\u2026I think it was a really healthy way for me to process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the too-real horrors and violence, reading a story like \u201cDaggermouth\u201d is cathartic and inspiring. The most thrilling scenes are the ones where all the odds are stacked against our heroes, and yet they persist with a hope and a prayer that their actions will be enough to make even the smallest difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the scene that stands out to me the most, that stayed with me the longest, is the prison scene at the beginning with Shade,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cThat one showed the power of the people; no matter how oppressed they are, most communities aren\u2019t willing to give up. They are willing to fight to the bitter end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another scene near the end features Lyra, a member of the Elite who finally puts the last piece of her rebellious plan in place to expose the president, also her father. Where Shade\u2019s fighting power is fueled by anger and aggression, Lyra\u2019s is a quiet power that\u2019s severely underestimated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just those two moments of women standing up and protecting what they believe in and putting their lives at risk\u2026these two women coming to the forefront and showing their different strengths,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cI\u2019m a firm believer that a lot of things that are going to get done in our world are going to be done by a woman paving the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billed as a true enemies-to-lovers romance, \u201cDaggermouth\u201d delivers on that promise in a way that doesn\u2019t diminish the incredibly high stakes. Wolfe didn\u2019t want to \u201csoften a dystopian world by saying everything\u2019s OK because they\u2019re in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a world so cruel and suffocating, two dangerous, \u201cmorally black\u201d characters can and do find love and respect for one another\u2026even if they\u2019re constantly threatening each other with violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe romance in this book is more so that love brings hope\u2026we needed that vein of hope,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cBringing (Greyson) and (Shade) together with their backstories was kind of the ignition of this rebellion; they are the catalyst. But it\u2019s also very much what happens when you put two people on opposite sides and they see themselves in each other\u2014what does that look like?\u201d<\/p>\n

The book has plenty of steam and spice, but love fuels the rebellion\u2019s Hail Mary moves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vein of this story is, what are you willing to do for the people you love?\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cAt the end of the day, love does conquer all; love for your country, love for your people, love for your community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concluding on an epic cliffhanger, readers won\u2019t have to wait long for \u201cDaggermouth\u2019s\u201d sequel, titled \u201cPython,\u201d which arrives in March of next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I can say is I never, in any of my books, write submissive-type women. They may be quiet, but they\u2019re lethal. They may be emotional, which is fantastic, but they get shit done,\u201d Wolfe said.<\/p>\n

The Scarlett Press edition of \u201cDaggermouth\u201d<\/a> is on shelves now as a deluxe hardcover with sprayed and stenciled edges, new cover art by Tomasz Majewski, and a new bonus chapter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wolfe goes on a book tour next week, including several stops in Florida<\/a> and the Tampa Bay area in early August. <\/p>\n

She\u2019s also attending Tampa Bay Comic Con<\/a> on Sept. 4-6 in Tampa.<\/p>\n

Tickets to see H.M. Wolfe at Oxford Exchange in Tampa on Wednesday, Aug. 12 are still available for $39.41.<\/a><\/p>\n

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us:\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0BlueSky<\/a><\/p>\n

This article appears in Aug. 06-12, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

\t