Meredith Sheridan
asked
Ruta Sepetys:
AHHH! Salt to the Sea was so good and I'm looking forward to reading Between Shades of Gray! Which character in Salt to the Sea was the hardest research/write? Love your book(s) and I hopefully you can come to Washington soon! :)
Ruta Sepetys
Hi Meredith!
In Salt to the Sea, my favorite character to write was the shoe poet :) The hardest was probably Alfred. In order to create the character of Alfred, I studied Adolf Hitler as a youth. Hitler wrote lengthy letters to a girl but never mailed them, he had a difficult relationship with his father. Hitler also had a fascination with hands so I included that via a manifestation on Alfred's hands.
For me, Alfred was also a study of visibility. He was rejected and invisible for much of his youth, but when Alfred put on a uniform he suddenly became/felt visible (even if only in his own mind) and that visibility then mutated into a sense of power. Alfred felt that he was superior and entitled to possess beautiful, innocent things - like the butterflies pinned to his closet wall - and Hannelore.
Thanks for your question!
In Salt to the Sea, my favorite character to write was the shoe poet :) The hardest was probably Alfred. In order to create the character of Alfred, I studied Adolf Hitler as a youth. Hitler wrote lengthy letters to a girl but never mailed them, he had a difficult relationship with his father. Hitler also had a fascination with hands so I included that via a manifestation on Alfred's hands.
For me, Alfred was also a study of visibility. He was rejected and invisible for much of his youth, but when Alfred put on a uniform he suddenly became/felt visible (even if only in his own mind) and that visibility then mutated into a sense of power. Alfred felt that he was superior and entitled to possess beautiful, innocent things - like the butterflies pinned to his closet wall - and Hannelore.
Thanks for your question!
More Answered Questions
Ali
asked
Ruta Sepetys:
Hello, Ms. Sepetys. I think your Salt to The Sea was THE first historical fiction novel I've ever read. And trust me, I cried at the end. Anyways, I was wondering, will you ever set a book in Iran? I'm from there and I actually never seen a YA novel or even any book (fictional) than is set in Iran. Is it possible for you to do that? And CAN YOU COME TO DUBAI PLEASE???? I live there and literally NO authors come. Thx!
Nikolae Keaveney
asked
Ruta Sepetys:
Hello Ruta! You are my favourite author and you write my favourite genre-world war II-beautifully. I love your characters, especially Nikolai and Florian. Thank you so much for spending so much time perfecting these books. They really changed my life and I cannot be happier. My questions is, will you be writing more WWII related books? Hugs from Canada. :)
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