Space-Time Interview Author David M. Salkin

GALAXY: Milky Way, PLANET: Earth, SPECIES: Humanoid. OCCUPATION: Author, GENRE: Sci-Fi…



IDENTIFICATION OF HUMANOID: David M. Salkin

David M. Salkin is an international, award-winning author of fourteen thriller novels in various genres published by Penguin Books, Post Hill Press, and Permuted Press.

David is a graduate of Rutgers University with a BA in English, followed by a Master Graduate Gemology Degree from The Gemological Institute of America. David is also an elected official in Freehold Township, NJ where he has served for 25 years. His induction into the NJ Elected Officials Hall of Fame in April of 2019.

[image error]David M. Salkin

When not working, David is a chef and oenophile and loves to cook for his family and friends. He also loves to travel and is a Master Scuba Diver. In a perfect world, diving in exotic places would be on his list, catch a fish or lobster, and then cook it and pair it with the perfect wine.

David has been writing since he was a little boy and loved to share his stories in various genres, about whatever he finds interesting enough to inspire a tale.

SEARCH: ENQUIRY: AUTHOR INTERROGATION

ALEXA WAYNE (AW): When did you find out you would want to write novels?

DAVID M. SALKIN: I’ve been writing short stories since I could hold a pencil, but it wasn’t until relatively late in life that I decided to write a full-length novel. While reading a technical article on diamond thin-films in a gemology magazine, I started thinking about what it could mean to science.

This decision happened 2004 or so, and concept, in a nutshell, was that the diamond thin-films could be used to create the next generation of super-computers.

Just as computers went from giant vacuum tubes to silicon, my idea was that we could go from silicon to diamond. It was just a “what if?” This idea led me to think about how these could be for evil purposes. Now, you have to remember the context.

[image error]Hard Carbon by David M. Salkin

In 2004, we didn’t even use virus software on our PC’s. Who would ever “hack or crack a computer?” I decided to write a story about the Russian mob using these supercomputers to hack the web and pull off the largest bank heist in human history.

This idea was a science-fiction crime story—a total fantasy. If you read the book now, HARD CARBON, it’s just a crime story. However, it was sci-fi when I wrote it. I didn’t mean for it to be an instruction manual.

My other science fiction thrillers are horror. DEEP BLACK SEA and DARK TIDE RISING are reminiscent of the late, great Michael Crichton. Undersea, action-adventure, science-fiction horror survival stories.

AW: You mentioned your science-fiction work, would you let our readers know why you are attracted to that genre?

DAVID M. SALKIN: I write about whatever topics interest me. Most of the work, eight novels, have been military-espionage stories, because I find history fascinating, and watch world events closely.

I’ve also worked with veterans for twenty-five years, and they’ve shared a lot of their personal stories with me. With science-fiction, it’s a cross between reading real science and playing with the possibilities. So many breakthroughs and discoveries lend themselves to the imagination.

AW: When writing about sci-fi, do you do research and if so, how far do you go with your research?

DAVID M. SALKIN: It’s the research that writes the story, in a way. I read non-fiction and end up going down these research rabbit-holes that lead to story ideas. In the case of DEEP BLACK SEA, it was an article on Black Smokers—these underwater volcanic thermal vents, that led to the novel.

It remains one of my favorite books. I’m a scuba diver, and I love the ocean. There are so many sea creatures that folks would assume are horror story animals, but are, in fact, real creatures.

[image error]Deep Black Sea by David M. Salkin

When I wrote the novel, I read an entire non-fiction book called Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer which helped me with my nightmares. Parasites are terrifying to me. This book is quite scary that I terrified myself writing it yet it was so much fun!

AW: What is most important to you when writing your novels?

DAVID M. SALKIN: I think all writers want a reaction from their audience. Nothing is more satisfying than having fans tell you that they cried or laughed or had nightmares or couldn’t go to sleep until they finished a book. Without readers, it wouldn’t make much sense to write, so having a happy audience is paramount.

AW: Which authors influenced your writing in science-fiction?

DAVID M. SALKIN: One of my favorite books as a young reader was Escape by Ben Bova. I was in early grade school. When Ben agreed to write a blurb for me on DEEP BLACK SEA forty years later, to say I was thrilled is an understatement.

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Michael Crichton is another all-time favorite, and I’ve had two different editors tell me my style reminds them of him. For me, that was huge praise. Crichton was a genius, and I miss his work.

AW: Which of your novels is your favorite and why is it your favorite?

DAVID M. SALKIN: It’s pretty impossible to have a single favorite, but DEEP BLACK SEA and BATTLE SCARS are two that have special places in my heart. BATTLE SCARS is a novella I wrote for my veteran friends, and I cried writing it.

It means a lot to me, and it’s the only story I ever wrote which I consider serious. Everything else has been done strictly to entertain my audience. DEEP BLACK SEA is a favorite because I’m a scuba diver, and find the ocean fascinating. I have several fish tanks in my house, and my wife calls me a fish geek. Being underwater is a happy place for me.

AW: Do you believe in alien visiting our world, by that I mean in abduction or close encounters of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th kind?

DAVID M. SALKIN: I’m not sure about aliens. One thing I do believe is that everything in the universe is necessary the same stuff. When you study inner-space and outer-space, you realize that the patterns of each are incredibly similar.

Whether it’s a spiral galaxy or a sub-atomic particle, they look very similar. The scales of magnitude tease my brain regularly, and while I’m not religious in the strictest sense of the word, I do believe in God, and I think I’ll get all the answers when I leave this body.

[image error]Forever Hunger by David M. Salkin

I’m a soul with a body, not a body with a soul. Do aliens visit us? Alternatively, are we aliens just visiting? It makes my head hurt pondering the possibilities. One thing for sure, it’s a damn big universe, and I don’t think we’re alone in it.

AW: What was your reaction when you learned a publisher wanted you as part of their authors?

DAVID M. SALKIN: I had been collecting rejection letters for several years before I got my first phone call from Tom Colgan at Penguin Books. When he made me an offer for my first two books, I just about danced on my desk.

Since then, I’ve had two other publishers, and also self-published a couple of books. The “work” part of the author’s world sucks, plain and simple. I love to write.

The part about actually selling the work to publishers or getting an agent is a time-consuming, heart-breaking agony that makes every author question whether or not they should quit. To be an author, you not only need talent—you need thick skin, a refusal to quit, and a stubbornness that says you’ll die trying before you’ll give up.

AW: What sets you apart from other science-fiction and cyborg authors?

DAVID M. SALKIN: Every author has a unique voice and style. While I like to let my imagination run wild, I also want everything I write to be believable at some level. Even the vampire story I wrote, FOREVER HUNGER, reads like an NYPD crime thriller. The cops and FBI don’t believe in vampires like Von Helsing or something.

They’re regular guys trying to solve a bizarre series of murders. To me, it means a contemporary audience can nod while they read because they can relate to the characters.

[image error]Battle Scars by David M. Salkin

I also tend to incorporate humor in my characters, regardless of the genre. Even DEEP BLACK SEA sneaks in the occasional sarcasm or chuckle. Also, my military buddies, and those in my books, all have dark gallows humor even at the worse of times. It helps keep you sane, I think.

AW: What can readers look forward to from David M. Salkin in 2019?

DAVID M. SALKIN: I have several manuscripts that my agent is trying to sell at the moment. One is a crime thriller, BLOOD FROM A STONE, and the other is a terrifying horror story called LITTLE THINGS BIG.

I like them both, even though they’re entirely different concepts. Also, that’s one of the things I enjoy about writing, and what Crichton was so great at—I can write in several genres, as long as they’re thrillers, I’m open to the subject matter.

So whether it’s a science experiment gone wrong like LITTLE THINGS BIG, or a badass main character trying to solve the mystery of a dead girl’s diary, I hope to be entertaining my readers for many years to come.

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