BITE-SIZED READ

Meet Steve Alten, the man behind the book behind the movie…

What first sparked the idea for Meg?

From the time I first saw Jaws, I was fascinated by great white sharks. After reading Benchley’s classic, I read about every true-life encounter with these creatures. there was always a blurb about megalodon, their prehistoric cousin, usually accompanied photo by a of six scientists in a meg jaw but I could find nothing else about these real monsters. In the summer of 1995, I read a TIME magazine article about the Mariana trench, the deepest gorge in the world. the article also covered hydrothermal vent communities, and the idea struck me... What if that giant shark was still alive? I went to the library and spent a few weeks doing research to see if my premise was scientifically feasible. When I discovered it was, I started plotting the story.

What was the most challenging part of writing the book?

I was struggling to support a family of five back then and was working selling wholehouse water treatment systems door to door so the only time I could write was at night and weekends. Six months later, I had a 400-page manuscript but no ins in publishing. I learned I needed a literary agent and sent out query letters to every agent in the US who handled fiction. Only one agent, Ken Atchity, saw the potential but he said the manuscript needed a lot of editing. He agreed to work with me but had to charge a fee of $6,000. I had to sell a ’71 Malibu convertible my dad had bought me, plus borrow money. I was working at the time as the gM of a wholesale meat company. On September Friday the 13th I lost my job and went home with no severance or money in the bank. Four days later, a bidding war started for Meg among the six biggest publishers and my rollercoaster writing career began.

A movie version has been in development for a long time. Did you always have faith it would come to the screen?

I believed Meg was a billion-dollar franchise, but it wasn’t until I met producer Belle Avery that I believed it could happen the right way.

The film has CGI at its disposal. How do you capture the impact of a giant shark in prose?

I think writing action sequences is what I do best and I can spend days writing a particularly gruesome scene until it feels perfect.

You’ve also written a series of sequels. What makes the idea so compelling to you?

I write what I love to read, and the Meg stories continue to up themselves. My best by far is the sixth book, Meg: Generations.

What impresses you about the movie?

I’ve only seen the trailers and read the script, but they definitely hit the tone of the novels. Plus the Fx looks amazing, and Jason Statham is perfect for Jonas taylor... Nick Setchfield

The Meg by Steve Alten is out now from head Of Zeus.