Today, we’re talking with Matt Armstrong, about his book In Like Lloyd: An Urban Fantasy Mystery (Noctis Investigations Book 1).
Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
I'm forklift certified.
Why do you write?
I love telling stories, and enjoy seeing reactions to the things I've come up with. I enjoy making people laugh and think about things in different ways. I love inspiring and entertaining, but at the end of the day, my writing is for me first and foremost. Even if I never sold a single copy, I'd remain content that I wrote it, and hold it close to my heart for the rest of my life.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
Originally, I'd say Robert Jordan, Robin Hobb, Terry Brooks and Terry Goodkind. They inspired me to write my own fantasy epic when I was a teenager, but I hated it and never moved forward with it.Then I found the likes of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet (lots of Terrys in Fantasy) and loved the blending of humour into darker themes. When I discovered Jim Butcher, Urban Fantasy quickly developed into my favourite genre, and Lloyd Gibson began taking shape in my head.
What do you enjoy the most about your genre?
You can do literally anything you want, especially when you add science fiction elements into the story. If I decided a 50 foot tall giant would climb out of the Earth and use the Calgary Tower as a baseball bat to fight an alien menace, I could make it fit within my narrative. It also gives me the ability to use real-world references, which help readers, and myself, relate to my characters.
How would you describe your writing process?
Literally by the seat of my pants, and I try to write as raw as possible. Get the story out, and not get bogged down with how to phrase things, which dialog tags to use, or “What are Lloyd's hands doing right now?” Those are all things left for the touch-ups and edits. Get what I want written down, and clean it up later. I don't like storyboards and thousands of notes. They work great for a lot of authors, but I only end up staring at them, overthinking, and not writing.
I begin each book with an idea, a concept, and just sit down and start. 70% of what I end up writing wasn't even a part of the initial plan, and just came out of me in the moment. If I'm not sure where to go next, or how to lead into the next idea, I just send Lloyd out into the world and see what happens. I often write my characters into corners with no preceivable way out, but it forces me to find one, and make it believable. I'm constantly challenging myself this way, and it's led to things I'm very proud of.
There have been many times I started a chapter, knowing for sure what I was going to write, and ended up with something completely different. I love it that way, because how will my readers predict what will happen when I don't even know?
What do you think authors have to gain from participating in social media?
The ability to reach a wider audience, and a series of headaches. I'm honestly terrible at social media, but I'm working on it. It's never been a large part of my life, and entering it now is a daunting task.
What advice would you have for other writers?
Take your inspirations, but leave them as inspiration only. Write your stories for yourself, first and foremost, and worry about target audiences after. Don't strive to become the next Stephen King. Strive to become the first YOU.
How do you select your books’ titles and covers?
The titles are either very easy or very difficult. Every title is a play on a specific phrase, and finding what works with each book is harder than you'd think. “In Like Lloyd” came to me immediately, but “A Matter of Lloyd and Death” started out as “In The Shadow Of Lloyd”, and kept that title for most of its pre-release existence. I honestly only changed it because a future book demanded a similar title. I consider the themes of each book, find a phrase that fits, and roll with it. My favourite is book 3, “When Lloyds Collide”, because it fits with four different themes happening in that story.
As for the covers, I put my trust in my designers. I give them the basics (location, season, etc) and a list of ideas, and see what comes out. They use stock photos, so we're limited in what we can do, but I'm quite happy and impressed with what they've given me.
What's your next step?
Keep writing, keep self-publishing. Book 3 is available at this moment for pre-order, and I'm busy working away on cleaning up book 4. Lloyd's story is far from over.
What book do you wish you had written?
The honest answer? None. I've never been an envious person. I don't wish other people's works were my own. Instead, I'd rather strive to become their equal, and get people talking about my own work at the same level as theirs.
The cheeky answer? Twilight, because I'd be rich now. If I were making that kind of money, then maybe I could afford half a house in today's market.
How do you react to seeing a new review for your book?
I grin like a fool and desperately wish I could have a full conversation with the people who write them. I love talking about my work, and could do it for hours.
