Interview with Wilder Page
For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
I would say that the beauty of The Aria of Galvanize is that for readers to enjoy this post-apocalyptic adventure, no preparation or research is required! In fact, the way the book is written is meant to follow the main character, Incarnate Number Seven, a young cyborg, as she starts a wild journey knowing nothing about the strange and terrifying world she finds herself in. Through her journey, the reader gets to experience the emergence of new societies, environments, and monsters right along with Seven. Although Seven goes through some wild and terrifying experiences, it is through these situations that the themes, challenges, and failings of a collapsed and deranged society are revealed.
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I wanted to write a post-apocalyptic novel that dovetailed with cyberpunk themes, where Seven’s cybernetic abilities allowed her to interface with a destroyed world in ways that regular people couldn’t. I also wanted the book to be an immersive and absorbing experience where the world represented many unknown places that desperately needed exploration, some being fun, others dangerous. Rather than tell readers why the world collapsed, I also wanted readers to investigate this mystery right along with Seven.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
My primary goal was to create an immersive experience where readers come into the story just as Seven first wakes up, and then readers get to uncover mysteries and learn all about this devastated and dangerous world right along with her. My hope is that readers will be sucked into Seven’s journey, identifying with her bewilderment by a deranged world, being surprised when she is, and choosing to keep fighting right beside her even when things look bad. I can’t say that everyone will feel this way when they read the book, but I certainly do! If readers feel lost or like there are a lot of unknowns in the first chapters, I would encourage them to keep reading as answers begin to emerge throughout the book, often in fun and unexpected ways!
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I want to thank all of you for your support! I think that the only thing more important to me with the writing of this book is for it to come alive in the imaginations of my readers. I want them to wonder and speculate about the world and characters in the book and why the story is full of mysteries. I promise good answers to some of the biggest questions readers will have, but you might just have to wait until Seven gets some of those answers first!
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
Honestly, writing the whole book was a blast! I immediately fell in love with the characters and the setting the moment the idea popped into my mind, and I’ve been working my hardest to make them all come alive ever since! But if I really had to pick one part that’s the most fun, then I’d pick the “Jump Dream” segments, which are digital recordings of people’s memories from before the world collapsed. In these memories I can introduce a cast of new characters who are either lovable or devious, in addition to all of them being long since dead…
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
Although The Aria of Galvanize was written to be a self-contained novel, I knew that I would need to include another 2-3 sequels to bring the story to full completion. The next up is The Aria of Galvanize: Destiny, which will continue to follow Seven and her friends as they fight to survive in a series of post-apocalyptic war games. I am in the editing stage of the novel and expect to make it available in early 2021 to advance readers. I am also working on a spin off prequel novel following one of the characters from the book, Sorena, in her youth experiences as a Hired Gun mercenary trying to survive in the brutal Gateway. I hope to have this briefer novel, Berserk: Before Galvanize, available by the end of the year.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing ever since I was in middle school, when I used to write and read brief fiction stories with my friends. Now I’m a dad with two kids, so it feels like I’ve been writing most of my life! But I didn’t really get to be a strong writer (if I can be classified as such!) until I found an incredible writing mentor who taught me how to refine my skills. My advice to people who want to write: seek out good mentorship, and if a mentor shreds your work with red ink, be grateful for the incredible opportunity to learn and improve (even when constructive criticism stings!!).
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The Aria of Galvanize?
I’ve strived to create a cast revolving around a band of misfit characters as they work together to try and survive, or even thrive, in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Of course, there is the main character, Incarnate Number Seven, who is a young woman and cyborg with super soldier potential, who mysteriously awakens into this strange and violent world. She has some incredible powers, but also has a little trouble starting off. I mean, who would create a super solder that’s borderline incompetent when it comes to using a gun? But fortunately for Seven, with a little experience and some help from her friends, she gets better at the whole super soldier thing. Seven’s primary companion and ally is KeepR, a moody artificial intelligence program that tries to help Seven survive the dangers of The Gateway wasteland, and KeepR has little patience for Seven’s initial struggles and shortcomings. In addition, we have K-Cat, a mischievous and mysterious kid carrying a dark secret, Reign a defector from a violent and genocidal faction, and Sorena, a lethal and unpredictable addict with questionable reliability during urgent times of need. There is also a whole cast of dead characters from a past fallen society that Seven learns about during her journey, all of them interesting and sometimes lovable, despite being dead, along with plenty of bad guys for Seven to fight along the way!
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from The Aria of Galvanize who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
As much as I would like to meet Seven, the main character of the book, I think the character I would most like to meet would be K-Cat. K-Cat is a young girl who finds herself struggling to survive on her own amid a wasteland filled with monsters and slavers. Due to a life of pain and difficulty, she develops a toughness and maturity far beyond her age. She also has some traits I see in my own daughter (stubbornness and not listening to the adult!) that make me particularly fond of her. If I could meet K-Cat, I’d try to give her day of a normal childhood, and instead of battling monsters I’d take her play mini-golf and get some ice cream. That’s the kind of childhood every kid deserves, so I really feel I owe it to her!
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