Interview with Marshall Ross, author of The Kalelah Series

If you woke in the world of The Kalelah Series, what is the first thing you’d do?

The story takes place on Earth, in what seems vaguely like current times. There’s been a revelation that threatens everything we think we know about who we are and what we believe. It also forewarns of a cataclysmic attack. So, my first move would be to bury something as deeply in the ground as I could. And that something would be some small proof that my family and I existed. It’s a self-absorbed response I guess. The right thing to do, of course, would be to help the people around me with their panic. But in the world of Lost Arrow, people don’t usually do the right thing.

If The Kalelah Series is turned into a movie, who would you pick to play the main characters?

I remember when the film adaptation of Interview with a Vampire came out and Anne Rice was despondent over the casting, particularly in the choice of having Tom Cruise playing Lestat. But as a reader and viewer, I thought the film was quite good. So, writers and producers and directors and audiences don’t always see things the same way. But since we’re fantasizing here, I’ll pretend a) that the screen version of this story is something that actually happens and b) that my thoughts on the subject matter.

For Hanta Laird, the story’s self-righteous antagonist, Lena Headey would be hard to beat. Except by maybe Charlize Theron. Both have the chilling ability to make doing the terrible thing seem perfectly appropriate.

Jan Argen, Captain of the Kalelah, I think needs a young Idris Elba. He played Stringer Bell on The Wire. He’s someone who can do strong, principled, and seriously troubled at the same time.

Trin is super brainy and too young for his job aboard the Kalelah and his role in trying to set things right. I think Jovan Adepo who played Cory in the film production of Fences has the right amount of grit and innocence.

Sarah Long, the most important for last. This is her story and her journey from someone emotionally and almost literally lost at sea to someone who must shoulder the task of saving the world. Mia Wasikowska would be amazing. Her work in Alice in Wonderland was incredible.

Which book from your childhood or teenage years has stuck with you as an adult?

J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.  I read it first in high school and I still pull it off the shelf every few years.  I’ve insisted both my kids read it.  To me, it’s the most compelling portrait of human longing I’ve ever read. The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is drawn with such remarkably enduring characteristics, it’s hard to imagine him ever losing his relevance.

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

Ray Bradbury, Cormac McCarthy and the aforementioned J.D. Salinger.  All three are on my Writer Hero list. I read their books slowly, hoping to actually understand how they managed what they did. I never do, of course. That’s the way of heroes.

What’s on your writing desk?

A giant teakwood palm that holds paper, a clay jar my daughter made for me that holds black pens and pencils, and a laptop.  It’s very sparse and neat. Things have to be in order before I can work.

BAM. You’re a superhero. What’s your superpower?

I think today you’d want coding superpowers, right?  I mean all the big, bad things seem to be happening in the digital space. Cyberwar, financial hacking, Twitter. A hero who could hack through all that crap would be the next Superman. No, it’s not very cinematic. And it’s certainly no Thor, from a Make the Ladies Swoon standpoint. But sometimes a hammer isn’t your best option.

What book in The Kalelah Series was your favorite to write?

Three, Jagged Arrow, was the hardest and for me the most satisfying. Even though I’m a dedicated plotter who writes to a plan, making everything come together at the end in some sort of elegant and satisfying way is always the biggest challenge. And I think it’s the thing people really remember. If they hate the ending, that’s pretty much the last taste in their mouths. So, for me, getting the third book right was everything. I was also better by then. I knew the characters better by book three. I could think like them more naturally. That new-found facility didn’t help with the challenges of threading the plot needles, but it helped with the writing.

Marshall Ross is the author of the new book The Kalelah Series. 

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