Interview By
K.G Bethlehem

WILLIAM LJ GALAINI
DYSTOPIAN ~ SCI-FI AUTHOR

William Galaini grew up in Pennsylvania and Florida. His mother gave him an early love of reading, especially when it came to the great classics of science fiction. He is also a history buff and fascinated by mythology and folklore. His various vocational pursuits include being a singer in a professional high school choir, manager of the call center at a luxury resort, U.S. Army medic, prison guard, and middle school English teacher. As such, he is perfectly suited to breech a solid metal door, humanely restrain the enemy within, and politely correct their grammar all while humming Handel’s Messiah and drinking a lovely cuppa tea.

He currently hangs his hat, rucksack, and tweed smoking jacket in Northern Virginia.

K.G/S.U.M: What made you become a writer? What were the principles that were important to you to make such a decision?

William: I honestly don’t know how to answer the questions, but not because of a failing in the inquiry, but because of a failing in me: I just do not feel like a writer. Odd as it sounds, I only suffer through the act of writing to get to a story in which I convey ideas. Perhaps there’s a distinction between ‘writer’ and ‘storyteller’ that is worthy of debate, but I’ll leave that to better minds.

In short, the reason why I engage and practice the art of ‘writing’ is because it is the best method to sculpt the stories I wish to tell. If I had tens of millions of dollars and visual acumen, I would use film. If I had acting chops, I’d be a one man show. If I was a mute and illiterate, I’d use interpretive dance. Nothing is stopping these stories from getting out of me.

K.G/S.U.M: What genre(s) do you write and why so? Continuing on this what genre would you like to write about that you have not done so already?

William: Science Fiction and what some call ‘Speculative Fiction’ are where I lean. I have freedom to create specific worlds in which I can spout all kinds of fun narratives and thematic arcs. I grew up reading Asimov and Clark, so my mind still approaches settings that are fantastical but concrete.

K.G/S.U.M: What are your favorite books and why?

William: Holy crap. Okay. Many of the previously mentioned authors provided my favorites; Shogun, Glasshouse, Leaving Atlanta, The Far Pavilions, The Pillars of the Earth, Lord Jim, Handmaid’s Tale, etc etc… but as cheesy as this sounds, my favorite books are mine. I love them. I love my books. I’ve never written a novel I didn’t love (I’m working on number four) but I suspect if I did write a novel I didn’t love, I’d never bother publishing it out of embarrassment.

K.G/S.U.M: If you were a character in any story, no matter if it was written by you or another writer who would it be and why so?

William: I’d be a Marvel superhero. Even if I died, I’d come back. And there might be a movie of me.

K.G/S.U.M: If your book, lets say, “The Line,” was made into a movie who would do it’s musical score or what existing album/soundtrack would be feature with it? Let’s also say if “The Line” could have one song listed as it overall theme of the book which song would it be and why?

William: Oh man. I wrote that book while listening to a plethora of different tunes, but ‘Wheel of Fortune’ by Kay Starr was the main them in some ways. I kept going back tot that song. The novel was about time traveling historians turning on each other when they figure out one of their future selves was altering history. There was a lot of violent moments in the novel such as the Tulsa Race Riots and Leo Frank’s Lynching and for some reason that particular song stuck in my head.

As for a composer, James Newton Howard would be my first choice. Have you heard his soundtrack to Signs? CHILLS. The Village is marvelous, as well.

K.G/S.U.M: What current projects are you working on? That includes, but isn’t limited to writing?

William: Oh, nice question.  A lot of authors have projects and workshops. First off, I’m working on novel number four and it’s a sequel to “Trampling in the Land of Woe.”  The series is basically a Steampunk Dante’s Inferno, and this novel is about Boudica facing off against a Roman Legion led by Maximinum Thrax, while he sieges the City of New Dis in the afterlife. Euclid, Jules Verne, and a few other historical figures are sprinkled throughout but the focus is Boudica facing her failures on Earth as the queen of the Iceni. It’s about redemption and (shocker!) confronting failure.

The project I’m involved in is called The Cerulean Project. It’s a writer’s thinktank led by Ally Bishop and it includes several independent and traditionally published authors. We meet online via Blab weekly to discuss craft, publishing, and methodology. Catch us on Blab!

K.G/S.U.M: If you could go back in time and become a historical figure for one month, who would it be and why?

William: Pope Innocent III. I’d do my best to redeem his evil while I possessed him. As best I could, I’d undo the Inquisition and I’d secure an ethical and capable predecessor (Popes did that back then, trust me). Right before the month was up, I’d arrange my death so it wouldn’t appear as a suicide.

K.G/S.U.M: Final questions… What moves you to write and why? What are the roadblocks to becoming a successful writer and what is your definition of success.  What advice would you give new and up and coming writers?

William: Yikes. Alright, I am move to write because I want my stories being permanent. Be it in print or digitally, I want my stories to be preserved shared well beyond my scope of existence. As for roadblocks, just being read. As an author, you are demanding 8-11 hours of the reader’s focused life, and that is a TALL order that you expect them to PAY for. So the biggest roadblock is not only obtaining that level of quality and worth, but THEN you have to convince the readership that your work is valuable enough for them to forsake the work of others.