Ask the Author: Matt Kilby
Answered Questions (9)
Matt Kilby
I'm in a constant game of "catch up" with my bookshelf, and I almost never read anything published within the last year. Adding to that my lack of genre loyalty, my reading list is pretty random. I'm about halfway through with Milton's Paradise Lost and Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. On deck, Vonnegut's Look at the Birdie, Fleming's For Your Eyes Only, Agatha Christie's Nemesis, and Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Playing the odds, I'd guess at least one from Stephen King and one by Clive Barker will show up before Fall does.
Matt Kilby
But there are so many! Where did the time go? Who hid the remote? How long has that chicken been in the fridge? I try to keep life as simple as possible (or I'd never get any writing done), so there aren't many bona fide mysteries to pick from. I guess the closest I can remember concerns a stray cat who's lived with us for about 2 years now. She showed up a month after we had to put our dog down and stayed for 7 before disappearing again. As well-fed cats often do, she got fat in her time with us, but when she showed back up a couple months later, she was rail thin. Since then, she hasn't left our yard for longer than a day, and I still wonder what happened to her in that missing gap.
Matt Kilby
I'm going to have to cheat a little with this one, because I've recently "discovered" Joe Lansdale's Hap and Leonard books, and I can't think of two other characters whose relationship is as entertaining as theirs. For those who don't know, they are two guys in Texas who always end up involved in mysteries against their will, a cross between the Hardy boys and the more gritty noir novels. Their rapid-fire wit is enough to sometimes make you forget the story your reading, in a good way, because the way they interact with each other is a story in itself and one I've yet to get tired reading.
Matt Kilby
As above, it started with a mindless job and a wandering mind. I was making waffle cones at an ice cream shop and just imagined a simple scene of a massive prisoner slamming his psychologist against the wall. Then I started working out why he'd do that, and everything spiraled out of that moment. Later, after self-publishing and then drafting another novel, I realized the story was bigger than I originally let it be so went back to it. The Road Cain Walks ebook is the result of that rewrite.
Matt Kilby
My mind wanders. I don't really get bored, I just daydream. I'm also the kind of reader who constantly thinks of what I'd do differently in the stories I read. Music helps, mostly in the melody itself but sometimes in the lyrics.
Matt Kilby
Finding the time to write. I was a morning writer, but my 3 year old started waking up early around the time I finished The Road Cain Walks. For now, I'll have to work it in when I have some time to myself. As for the story, I'm moving on to Book 2 of The Long Way trilogy. I don't want to let the characters get too much rest before I start torturing them again, and there's a new one (actually met at the very end of the first book) I'm really excited to introduce to the readers.
Matt Kilby
Work on finding your voice, because once you have that, the rest will come pretty easy.
Matt Kilby
The endless possibilities. I could write absolutely anything, as long as it fits the framework of the story. It's like being a kid again, out in the backyard with nothing but a stick and my imagination.
Matt Kilby
It took breaking all the writing "rules" to finally find my voice. For writer's block, that means walking away for as long as it takes to get the juices flowing again. Writer's block is nothing more than stress that compounds itself the more you dwell on it. Get rid of the stress, and I get rid of the block.
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