Fremont Man with Autism Hopes to Inspire Young Readers

By Rachel M. Anderson, Contributing Writer

(Fremont, CA) - Ever since he was a little kid, 14-year-old Rilk Wulk knew he would one day follow in his beloved and respected grandfather’s footsteps. Manfield Wulk, the Elder of Earlmon Village, had always been Rilk’s hero.

When The Tale of the Wulks: The Journey to Maldon by Freemont, California author V.K. Green gets underway, readers learn that planet Earth is about to come under attack by the evil Dark Lord Vanko, and humans aren’t the only creatures in danger. So are the elves, dwarfs, and Wulks that share the planet.

Wulks are creatures with physical attributes that are similar to both humans and monkeys. They have fur covering their entire heads, and tails that begin emerging at the age of 18.

Turns out Rilk’s grandfather isn’t just the elder of the village, but one of the few creatures on the planet with the power to defeat the Dark Lord. When Manfield and his trusted friend, the Dragon Prince Englar, announce plans to leave the village for a while, Rilk knows something is up.

So, he decides to follow, and recruits several of his friends to accompany him. It isn’t long before the kids find themselves caught up in the adventure of a lifetime—an adventure that may just determine the fate of humanity and all other life on planet Earth. The fact that Rilk, like the author, is autistic, will play a key role in the outcome.

The Tale of the Wulks: The Journey to Maldon, published in June 2019, is the first in a series of books that will follow the adventures of Rilk, Manfield, Englar, and a troupe of teens, both human and Wulk, that end up working together to save the planet from certain doom.

The story begins in mountains near Fremont, California, which is in the San Francisco Bay Area. Author V.K. Green was born and raised in Fremont, and says he enjoyed writing about some of the most beautiful locales in the region.

He adds that the inspiration for the story itself came from watching the movie, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, when he was just 13. “After seeing the movie for the first time, I became so amazed by the world building and the characters, I wanted to write a fantasy novel of my own,” says Green.

The movie is of course based on the 1954 bestselling novel The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Green began work on his own epic adventure in the summer of 2009 after finishing 7th grade.

He spent the next several years working on the novel, and The Tale of the Wulks was published just before he turned 18 in 2013. Originally released as a 650-page novel, a few years later, Green decided to re-release the novel as three separate books.

“The reason I wanted to break it up, even though the primary content stayed the same, I figured it would be easier to comprehend the first novel in separate parts rather than to digest the entire 650-page book. Plus, I wanted there to be more artwork,” he says.

Green has also written a second novel set in the World of the Wulks. He is releasing it as books four through eight in the series. Each of the eight books will have a different cover. The story as a whole is aimed at elementary school-aged and middle school-aged readers.

Green hopes his story will one day be made into movies that star the actress Emma Watson. He says she would be perfect for the role of Mary Evans, who is actually described in the third book as looking just like the actress.

Foreword Reviews offers strong praise for the series. “With his extremely detailed descriptions, Green quickly draws the audience into the well-constructed world of Wulk Land by describing its geography, topography, currency, military, and modes of dress… Green is autistic, just like the story’s hero, which allows the audience to learn about the condition from an insider’s perspective.”

“The Tale of the Wulks represents a solid debut with thrilling adventure that fantasy readers young and old will find captivating,” said Jill Allen of The Clarion Review.

The book is available for purchase on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com.

About the Author

V.K. Green, 26, of Fremont, California, has been writing since he was a teenager. He began work on his debut novel, The Tale of the Wulks, after watching the movie, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, when he was in the 7th grade.

After graduating from high school, he enrolled as a student at the University of San Francisco and graduated in December 2019 with two majors. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.

He is currently attending graduate school at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

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