Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
I’m trying to build up the skills and bravery to go backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains solo and on a regular basis. I have all the gear, so I now need to bite the bullet do it. My only fear is that I wouldn’t know how to use my bear spray if I get attacked by a bear. (Knowing me, I’d probably spray it the wrong way, into my eyes.)
How did you get into writing?
I started dictating stories to my mother—beginning with my own little adaptations of “The Wizard of Oz” (movie)—when I was three or four, complete with drawn or painted pictures stapled into book form. I drew my first little comic strip at age six, then started writing my first stories and “screenplays” around age twelve. I didn’t get serious about writing until age seventeen or so, when I started developing the story that is now the Jonathan Flite series. It took me over a decade to figure out how to write it, so in the meantime, I wrote and published my first novel “The Breeders” in 2012, which was my initial foray into the book world.
What are your top 3 books of all time?
Oh gosh. So many to choose from. I would say the Harry Potter series (cheating slightly to consider all seven books as one), “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro, and “The Fabric of the Cosmos” by Brian Greene.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
The Jonathan Flite series mashes a lot of topics together: life, death, ghosts, coming of age, science, murder, crime, religious terrorism, and questions about the nature of reality. Inspiration came from many places over the course of my life. I’ve always been curious about all the unanswered questions in the universe, so this series ultimately evolved into an examination of that overall topic. The story also involves seven kids who go missing, which is a result of both my sisters almost being kidnapped at different times when we were kids—something that still freaks me out if I really think about it. Finally, I grew up in a very religious household. This forced me later on in life to seriously examine the social ramifications of such organized thought structures. This process was unfortunately helped along by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. That day influenced one of the major events that kicks off the Jonathan Flite series—that being a nuclear terrorist attack in Switzerland carried out by a fanatical Catholic. Because the books juggle multiple timelines and points of view, I’m able to explore these various subjects from a number of angles, which is a fun process.
How long did it take you to write this book?
As I mentioned, the overall series took about twelve years to develop before I finally figured out how to write it properly. I rewrote it at least ten times in different ways before finally stumbling upon a unique structural approach that I knew could work for all seven books.
Have you got any writing rituals?
Morning. Tea. Music. MacBook Air. It’s my favorite part of any day!
How important is marketing and social media for you?
Marketing and social media are extremely important, and I plan to use these tools more as I publish further books in the series. You can have great reviews and a few sincere advocates dying to see your book on the bestseller lists, but it will never gain traction without marketing, promotion, and word of mouth.
Do you read your book reviews?
I do read book reviews, with special attention to negative ones, because A) I like to torture myself and B) I like to weigh other people’s opinions against my own vision. You can’t grow as a writer unless you’re able to take constructive criticism, so I use reviews as a tool to gauge my abilities and see how I might improve, or why I’m actually glad of the creative choices I’ve made. When the reviews are good, it also provides much-needed encouragement, because I was born in a cocoon of self doubt.
What advice would you have for other writers?
Here’s my advice: Imagine how it felt to hold your favorite book in your hands for the first time, and how it felt to read those first few pages, all the way on to the last page. Then, imagine how you feel when looking at that book on your bookshelf, remembering how dazzling it was. If you’re aiming to write something equally dazzling, put your book in that book’s place. Imagine how it would feel to pick it up off a bookshelf and read that first page. Imagine how you would want to feel when closing the back cover. Then, get cracking. Take the necessary steps to make your imagined book a reality, and don’t stop until it’s exactly what you want it to be.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading all the new canon STAR WARS books for two reasons. First, I’m one of the biggest STAR WARS fans on Earth, and I care about that franchise as much as I care about my own books. Second, I would love to someday write new canon novels for Lucasfilm/Disney, and I want to keep up on their official storyline in case I ever get the chance.
What's your next step?
I recently published Book 2 in the Jonathan Flite series, “The Release of Jonathan Flite,” so I’m now working on Book 3, “The Rise of Jonathan Flite,” while continuing to plan the last four books of the series. I’m also working on two screenplays, one short and one feature length. I’m hoping to direct them as my first two film projects within the next few years.
Follow Matthew on Twitter @MatthewBeier
