- Tell us the story behind the story. How did KAITLYN’S WHEEL come to be?
I’ve always been fascinated by UFOs and extraterrestrial life. It began in my childhood after I saw Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Fast forward to June of 2020: One night, while doing dishes in the sink, I was struck with the idea: Girl sees UFO right after her father dies. Boy claims to have been abducted by a UFO as his excuse for skipping school. His story goes viral and connects them. At the time, UFOs were not even on my mind, as I’d been grappling for several weeks to outline another novel. It does, however, show the meditative power of water (even soapy dishwasher) to tap into our subconscious minds, as it’s hard to say where ideas originate from.
Several years before, I’d first heard the story of Ezekiel’s Wheel, and how he was really describing a flying saucer in the Old Testament. It was also featured on the History Channel in an episode of Ancient Aliens. Around that time, I witnessed a UFO hovering over the Pacific Palisades at night; there were two glowing orange triangular shapes which suddenly took off at laser-fast speeds toward Malibu. Soon after, I learned that several people in the Palm Springs area had reported seeing “military crafts” being tested over the desert (about 100 miles away). I have to say, I was disappointed because I was hoping they were visitors from outer space. In the novel, I have a trucker reporting two glowing orange triangular shapes flying over the highway. His are definitely aliens.
2. What was the most challenging aspect of writing KAITLYN’S WHEEL?
It’s a ton of work writing a novel, and I had some days when I didn’t feel like writing, because I let the fear of rejection sour my mood. But I kept going, even on days when I was low energy or having my doubts. To stay motivated, I constantly reminded myself that the goal was to finish the best novel I could write, and not to worry about the reception it would get from agents and publishers. I also had many positive days, with a lot of energetic passion for the story.
3. What is the message you want readers to take away from your book?
That we can still make a difference to save our future planet, so that the younger generations have a chance for a better world. But we have to work together, and what the planet needs more than anything is love.
4. Describe your background. Did your background play a part in your book?
As mentioned, I’ve always had a fascination with extraterrestrial life and alien visitors. I also put a lot of myself into Zachary’s character, a teenager who’s a bit of a loner in the Pacific Northwest. That was me years ago. It’s not that Zachary doesn’t like people, he just doesn’t connect to many pop culture trends, which are so important in the hierarchy of high school. It’s hard for him to be a follower, so he copes by making fun of how ridiculous everyone is, including his own family, and the much larger world portrayed in the media. Through Zachary, I was able to write some satirical material.
5. Describe your writing schedule. Do you outline? Any habits?
When I’m working on a project, I write for 2-3 hours every morning before leaving for the day job. On my days off, I generally write in three hour sessions, twice per day. Lots of coffee and energy drinks. I didn’t use an outline for the first half of the novel, but put together a simple “beat sheet” prior to writing the second half. I feared having too many subplots and characters, so the beat sheet kept me on course to the end (so I wouldn’t end up with an unreadable 700 page novel).
6. What books are on your nightstand? What are you currently reading?
Some books I plan to read soon are: Cloud Cookoo Land by Anthony Doer, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearce, Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, and The Topeka School by Ben Lerner. I’m currently reading Golden Age by Jane Smiley; it’s the third in her Family Saga/100 Years trilogy.
7. Which authors do you admire?
Too many to count, but some of them include: Glen David Gold, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, Haruki Murakami, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Franzen, E. Annie Proulx, Ian McEwan, Richard Russo, John Kennedy Toole, John Connolly, Claire Messud, Audrey Niggenegger, Chad Harbach, Rachel Kushner, Louise Erdich, Donna Tartt, Don DeLillo, Sherman Alexie, Phillip Meyer, Richard Powers, Jennifer Egan, Amor Towles, Ian McEwan, Esi Edugyan, Rebecca Makkai, Lisa Ko, Lauren Groff, Paulette Jiles, Jane Smiley, Susan Choi, Charles Yu, Douglas Stuart, and my favorite, Hari Kunzru, whose Gods Without Men helped inspire Kaitlyn’s Wheel. In the YA category, my favorites include: JK Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Katherine Applegate, M.T. Anderson, Karen McManus, John Green, Robert Cormier, and Brad Land.
8. What have you learned from this experience?
To keep believing in the process and to control what I can. I also became a better writer, and learned a lot from my publisher and editor, Bruce Bortz.
9. What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? What is one piece of advice you would give your younger self?
Janet Roach, a dramatic writing professor at Columbia University, once told me to “get in touch with my soul” after I turned in a screenplay which was modeled after There’s Something About Mary meets American Pie. Both were popular movies at the time, and I was simply trying to please Hollywood to sell a script. Truthfully, I had written a piece of raunchy garbage, and it wasn’t even commercial because of it. Therefore, it’s much better to write something that’s personally meaningful, which in turn, has a far better chance of being recognized, both artistically and commercially.
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to slow down because there’s no rushing success in the film or publishing industry. If I had it to do over, I would have taken an extra semester in the MFA program to intern with a production company or publishing company. Getting a foot in the door is so hard to do, but I was in a hurry to move to LA and take the world by storm.
10. What are you working on now?
I’m adapting Kaitlyn’s Wheel as a TV series.
About the Author
Chris Halvorson wrote the screenplay The Boondoggle for producer Joe Roth, the former head of Disney and Fox. He adapted his novel The Santa Suit for Frank Konigsberg Productions, developed TV and film projects for The Meg producer Ken Atchity, and was hired to rewrite the action spy comedy Best Served Cold that was originally in development with Pierce Brosnan’s Irish DreamTime. With Home Alone producer Scott Rosenfelt, he produced the TV pilot Earth Mom. He majored in professional writing at the University of North Alabama and graduated from Columbia University with an MFA in film. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he skipped a day of school in fifth grade to attend the Sonics’ championship parade. He currently resides in Los Angeles, where he’s adapting Kaitlyn’s Wheel for a TV series.
