Ask the Author: Mark Matthews
Answered Questions (9)
Mark Matthews
Hey Jill! Thanks for the questions. I definitely feel like real settings are easier to write, since i can soak in the environment and write it with verity and such.
My newest book might be most specific, taking place in Northville Psychiatric Hospital. Not sure if you know of the place, but its on 7 Mile west of Haggerty, and was legendary for trespassers for 20 years or so before it was torn down. (it releases on 1/28/21)
Milk-Blood is about heroin addiction and poverty, and takes place on Brentwood in Detroit. It is a piece of meta-fiction, where the author (presumably, but not necessarily me) writes directly to the reader, and then gets pulled into the story at the end. It is based partly on my experiences working as a social worker in Detroit.
Thanks for the question! I hope one of them suits your tastes.
My newest book might be most specific, taking place in Northville Psychiatric Hospital. Not sure if you know of the place, but its on 7 Mile west of Haggerty, and was legendary for trespassers for 20 years or so before it was torn down. (it releases on 1/28/21)
Milk-Blood is about heroin addiction and poverty, and takes place on Brentwood in Detroit. It is a piece of meta-fiction, where the author (presumably, but not necessarily me) writes directly to the reader, and then gets pulled into the story at the end. It is based partly on my experiences working as a social worker in Detroit.
Thanks for the question! I hope one of them suits your tastes.
Mark Matthews
Thank you kindly! for the question, and for the interest. I really appreciate it, and yeah, if you liked Lullaby I think you'll certainly like Garden of Fiends, Milk-Blood, and All Smoke Rises. As for your question of 'who did Lizard choose in the end?', so happy you are curious and asked that! and truth is, I dont have an answer. It's not that I am holding back, but more that there is no definite truth. Multiple possibilities exist. The story has played out in my head with different possible choices, but in all of them, she drove off with only herself and one other in the car. I love stories that end with the reader continuing the story on in their head since they are so invested in the characters, every ending is just a new beginning.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Mark Matthews
Thanks for writing! Milk-Blood was written in a sort of 'meta-fictional' way, where the narrator and author of the story, who, as you know, interjects here and there, becomes a character at the end and learns how he was inspired to write the story in the first place, and realizes it is not fiction at all. (minor spoiler, I suppose). That said, in my work as a social worker, so much of the poverty and urban despair and addiction from the story is true.
As for the end, I see Lilly as going through a metamorphosis into something new, not necessarily a death, but sort of an explosion of her insides out into something more powerful, and perhaps more terrifying.
At the beginning of the sequel, All Smoke Rises, her burned carcass is found, but she is still inside, still conscious, and it is only when she receives a shot of heroin that she feels any relieve and comes to live. Jervis makes sure she gets what she needs, until someone rescues her. (this all sounds a bit disturbing, doesn't it?.... it actually ends with quite more 'hope' than Milk-Blood does)
As for the end, I see Lilly as going through a metamorphosis into something new, not necessarily a death, but sort of an explosion of her insides out into something more powerful, and perhaps more terrifying.
At the beginning of the sequel, All Smoke Rises, her burned carcass is found, but she is still inside, still conscious, and it is only when she receives a shot of heroin that she feels any relieve and comes to live. Jervis makes sure she gets what she needs, until someone rescues her. (this all sounds a bit disturbing, doesn't it?.... it actually ends with quite more 'hope' than Milk-Blood does)
Mark Matthews
Thanks!
WickedRunPress@gmail.com is a way to reach me as well.
WickedRunPress@gmail.com is a way to reach me as well.
Mark Matthews
Thanks for the reviews! I know they take time and work and thought. I appreciate that. And the feedback on how depressing Milk-Blood was is something I heard loud and clear. A couple things on that: the truth of what I have seen as a social worker and therapist is darker than occurs in the book. Of course, the supernatural elements weren't present, but the level of addiction and poverty were. That said, I did want something more hopeful, and, if you read All Smoke Rises, the follow up to Milk-Blood, you'll find a bit of hope at the end. Well, a lot of hope at the end. It ends with a cathartic and hopeful primal scream into the universe. Thanks again Chris.
Mark Matthews
Thanks for writing. Perhaps of the coolest feedback I have had about the book is some who have said "You aren't a proponent of religion" and others who wrote "I didn't know you were so religious." My question that I have, more for myself than yourself, is if a perfect God intervenes in our daily lives? is God a conscious entity or an energy? (your statement of a perfect God i think speaks to of what I have heard some biblical scholars explain of why God could not save Jesus on the cross, for he could not be a part of sin). Overall, I would guess you would not like the story, but its hard to tell, since it doesn't necessarily discuss God specifically as much as the catholic ritual of communion, isolation, and those who pervert and twist religion. I like to call myself a metaphysical christian, and believe in the spiritual tenets of the story of the resurrection, that upon being crucified our spirit can be set free, that after harrowing hell, we can then ascend to salvation. The story, in a way, recreates this resurrection.
If you want to give it a try, I'll gladly refund your money if it doesn't suit your tastes. I'll gift you something of equal value or paypal you the amount. It's a quick read.
(So I fear to hit submit on this answer since I will most likely want to edit it moments from now, and I will also probably change my beliefs a moment from now. I am not one for a lot of certitude. Thanks again! and truly, all the best. )
If you want to give it a try, I'll gladly refund your money if it doesn't suit your tastes. I'll gift you something of equal value or paypal you the amount. It's a quick read.
(So I fear to hit submit on this answer since I will most likely want to edit it moments from now, and I will also probably change my beliefs a moment from now. I am not one for a lot of certitude. Thanks again! and truly, all the best. )
Mark Matthews
Thanks for noticing and for stopping in! I appreciate it.
So, the thing is, I have this ailment I suspect is shared. What folks find depressing I find inspiring. What is seen as dark I see as enlightening. Happy endings I often find depressing (save a select few, ex: Shawshank Redemption). Its not that I'm a dark kinda dude, its just how my tastebud have formed.
That said, I dont think Body of Christ is as bleak as Milk-Blood. It has its moments, it is certainly a sort of strange, unusual book, but not as dark. Your milage may vary! It is a real fast, not long, often times one-sitting read so I'd be honored if you gave it a try.
So, the thing is, I have this ailment I suspect is shared. What folks find depressing I find inspiring. What is seen as dark I see as enlightening. Happy endings I often find depressing (save a select few, ex: Shawshank Redemption). Its not that I'm a dark kinda dude, its just how my tastebud have formed.
That said, I dont think Body of Christ is as bleak as Milk-Blood. It has its moments, it is certainly a sort of strange, unusual book, but not as dark. Your milage may vary! It is a real fast, not long, often times one-sitting read so I'd be honored if you gave it a try.
Mark Matthews
I love to listen to music as I write, and all of my books have a 'theme song', as much for content as tone. For example, my book On the Lips of Children was written to the tone of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes (and some of the lyrics were spot on too.) My book Stray I listened to Heroin by Lou Reed/Velvet Underground. When writing Milk-Blood, I literally put the song Inna Gadda Da Vida on repeat. All Smoke Rises was written to Florence + The Machine. As I work on my own title for the Garden of Fiends: an addiction horror anthology, I'm listening to Not An Addict by K's Choice and a bit of Godsmack. (none of this is the mellowness of Donavan. Superman and Green Lantern, got nothing on me, however). Thanks again for the question!
Mark Matthews
Thanks so much for your question, and huge congratulations on your 8 years clean. Cliche today, but staying clean for one day after you've lived a life of addiction is indeed a miracle.
Addiction is hard to fully comprehend until you've been there. To crave for a substance that, at least for the moment, can cure all your ills (which, of course, then CREATES all your ills.)
After my first novel, Stray, I started to realize that I like to write dark fiction. This is not because I feel that I, or other horror writers, wish that upon anyone. On the contrary, I believe that horror writers are extra sensitive to our fragile human condition. That intensity of feeling translates to horror. If you want to tell the truth, best to do so in a story, and want to tell some dark truths, you're going to need a dark story.
I wrote a blog post on this, which may say it better. Check it out if you have 4 minutes. http://www.markmatthewsauthor.com/p/m...
Addiction is hard to fully comprehend until you've been there. To crave for a substance that, at least for the moment, can cure all your ills (which, of course, then CREATES all your ills.)
After my first novel, Stray, I started to realize that I like to write dark fiction. This is not because I feel that I, or other horror writers, wish that upon anyone. On the contrary, I believe that horror writers are extra sensitive to our fragile human condition. That intensity of feeling translates to horror. If you want to tell the truth, best to do so in a story, and want to tell some dark truths, you're going to need a dark story.
I wrote a blog post on this, which may say it better. Check it out if you have 4 minutes. http://www.markmatthewsauthor.com/p/m...
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