Sorry this took so long to put up, I had to sort through finals and such this wee, but here is our interview with Aaron Galvin! And if you haven't read Salted yet, definitely go for it. But I've already talked about that. So without further adieu, go forth and read!
1. How did you get the idea to create a darker interpretation of undersea life, especially in contrast to the sunnier YA books that have recently become popular?
I’ve always been drawn to darker storylines. That’s probably due in part to being raised in the 80’s. There were so many cool, dark tales back then. I grew up watching The Dark Crystal, Legend, The Neverending Story, and Labyrinth almost daily.
Also, I don’t believe endings are always sunny and everyone lives happily ever after. That’s great for those who do, but what makes good fiction is struggle. Characters who we can identify with and watch some of them fail miserably while others do go on to achieve.
Harry Potter is one of my favorite series of all-time, but what’s the view from Ron’s angle? Why can’t we read The Hunger Games from Rue’s POV, or better, Cato’s? Those are the stories that intrigue me. The kind of story where you know the main character might not live at the end. It makes you fear for them even more and bonds you to them.
2. There's a pretty big ensemble cast of characters, are any of them inspired by real people?
Yes, and his name is me. All of them have some of me in them. Garrett is basically the guy I was in high school. I’ve become more like Lenny in recent years in that I don’t hold my tongue as much I should and I like to act tougher than I really am.
Chidi is more a collective spirit of the bravest and toughest individuals I’ve ever met. My wife’s passion is bringing awareness to sex trafficking in the hopes of slowing/stopping it. I had no idea that slavery still existed until I met her, yet it’s happening here and now throughout the world.
We went on a mission trip to Cambodia after I had already begun drafting Salted. Naturally, I was nervous these girls (and I do mean girls, some of them being only 3 years old), would be afraid of me. You have to remember these girls have seen the worst in men: beaten, raped, and sold into prostitution-sometimes by their own families. As a man, my natural instinct was to protect them, to find the perpetrators and beat them to death with my bare hands.
My error was thinking of the girls as victims instead of survivors.
Upon meeting them, I quickly learned my earlier fears couldn’t have been further from the truth. They were just kids who wanted to play games. Run around. Laugh. They’ve been through a hell that would break most grown men’s spirits, myself included. That kind of resiliency is awe-inspiring.
I couldn’t get Chidi out of my head after returning from that trip. I try my best to emulate their collective spirit through her.
3. If Salted were to be made into a movie (and one can only hope), who would you cast?
The great thing about Salted is I feel like it would be a great opportunity to find hidden talent for two of the main roles. I can’t think of a teenaged little person actor to play Lenny, no more than I can a teen actor with vitiligo to play Garrett. I love the idea of using virtually unknown actors because then the audience can’t picture them as anything but that character.
However, I understand the importance of bolstering a cast with recognizable faces as well. So for those cases, I would love to see Lupita Nyong’o play either Chidi or Marisa Bourgeois. She’s amazing. For Henry, I think Gustaf Skarsgård, (Floki from the History Channel’s show Vikings) would be brilliant. Kellen I picture similar to Alexander Ludwig (also on Vikings, or more commonly known as Cato in The Hunger Games).
4. Was there any particular inspiration for setting so many of your scenes in aquariums (besides the proximity of water)?
It seemed fitting to use both the Indianapolis Zoo and Shedd Aquarium as backdrops because I grew up near Indianapolis and lived in Chicago for a few years. There’s also a key reason for the Midwest setting, but I can’t divulge that yet. It’s a spoiler. ;)
5. So in your little author's bio, it says you've done movies as well! What is the biggest difference between writing a script and writing a book, and did one help the other?
Huge differences. With screenplays, you have to account for budgeting. The Salt series as a whole would require a massive film budget moving forward due to all the required special effects. As an author, there’s no limitation in that regard.
Brevity is another example. With screenplays, you plan for about a minute of screen time per page, which means you’re often shooting for a final page count of less than 120 pages, (under 2 hours). Again, budgetary constraints are a big reason for that, as well as time one feasibly expects an audience to sit through the film.
I think writing screenplays first was highly beneficial. One of the things I’ve read in comments about Salted is the fast pacing of the story. That all goes back to screenwriting where you don’t have the time or money to waste. Every shot, every page, every word has to count.
6. While we're on the subject of movies, what do you think of Sofia Coppola's upcoming retelling of the Little Mermaid?
First, I think Disney’s recent interest in mermaids, (Pirates of the Caribbean, Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly, and now this adaptation), proves the view mermaids as trending.
That said, I find the choice of Coppola for the director chair a bit odd. To me, her films don’t reflect Disney’s most recent adaptations of classic animated films to live-action, (Maleficent, and Snow White & The Huntsman). Both films contain a lot of action sequences and special effects to cross-promote/intrigue male audiences. They did this with Rapunzel as well—changing the title to Tangled and adding more action sequences via Flynn Rider.
It’ll be interesting to see how it all pans out. I’m a bit skeptical, but keeping my fingers crossed because it’s such a fantastic story.
7. Last question: What's next for these characters?
Things are about to become even darker. I don’t want to give away spoilers for those who haven’t read the book yet, but I will say fans should be nervous for these characters. Some are venturing into uncharted waters (forgive the pun) while others know what awaits them and will need to scramble if they hope to survive.
I can also promise you answers teased in the first book are coming and that the sequel occurs almost exclusively in the Salt. I’m about a third of the way through and hope to release the sequel before the end of this year. I can’t wait to continue this story with all of you! J
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