Turning Fear Into Fiction

Rachelle Atalla explores worryingly possible apocalyptic themes in her books and screenplays

- by DAWN GEDDES

WHEN Glasgow-based novelist Rachelle Atalla was starting her career as a writer, she put her own spin on the advice "write what you know" and wrote about what worried her instead.

The Scottish-Egyptian novelist, screenwriter and former pharmacist built her literary career by creating gripping speculative fiction on the issues that scare her, such as water shortages, climate change and nuclear war.

As Rachelle releases the paperback edition of her compelling thriller, The Salt Flats, she explains more about the driving force behind her work.

"I didn't grow up thinking that I was going to be a writer," she says. "I grew up in Falkirk and I didn't know any writers at all, so I became a pharmacist. It was quite a gruelling and intense job. I decided to look for a creative outlet. The class I originally signed up for was about writing children's stories! But the week before we were due to start at Glasgow University, the course was cancelled, and they asked if I'd like a place on the adult fiction course instead. I thought, 'Why not?""

Fast forward to 2025 and Rachelle is a screenwriter and novelist. The Salt Flats centres around Martha and Finn whose marriage is hanging by a thread.

Martha, crippled by climate anxiety, finds herself at odds with Finn, who refuses to confront the demons of his past. In an attempt to repair their relationship they join a group of privileged tourists on a pilgrimage to The Salt Centre, a mysterious retreat deep in the Bolivian salt flats.

United by a quest for enlightenment, the group embark on a journey guided by an elusive shaman. As a series of salt ceremonies unfold, hallucinogenic episodes force them to confront their own versions of reality.