Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Seventh Veil of Salome is the latest pick for the Good Morning America book club.
Moreno-Garcia’s novel, published Tuesday by Del Rey, follows Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican actor who is hired to play the lead role in a historical epic film in 1950s Hollywood. She draws the ire of a veteran actor, Nancy Hartley, who coveted the part. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus praised the novel as a “a rousing success” and called the author “a master of her craft.”
ABC News journalist Stephanie Ramos talked to Moreno-Garcia about her novel on the morning show, asking her about the inspiration for the book, which includes chapters following the historical Salome, the granddaughter of Judean king Herod the Great.
“The 1950s frame became a way to tell the story of Salome in a more coherent way,” Moreno-Garcia said. “The depictions of her vary. At some points, she is a seductress and a temptress; other times, she’s an innocent woman. So I thought, for a mythical figure like Salome, you need to be in a time period when myths are being made, and myths were being made in Hollywood in the 1950s.”
Moreno-Garcia talked about her propensity for writing novels of different genres, including horror (Mexican Gothic), noir (Velvet Was the Night), and fantasy (The Daughter of Doctor Moreau).
“I write all over the place,” she said. “It’s not one kind of flavor. It’s like going into an ice cream shop. Chocolate and vanilla and strawberry and pistachio at the same time.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
