Today we have actor/screen writer turned debut author Matthew Quinn Martin visiting! He also appears to be nerd-a-licous. We talk space boots and Ugg boots as well as the Custerdome and Arrakis (see? nerdy) He just released his urban fantasy Nightlife.
Sharon: Welcome to I Smell Sheep Matthew. Grab a moonpie and some Kool-Aid… we’ll wait
*Katie and Sharon glance nervously at each other*
Matthew: Thanks for having me over. And thanks for the moonpie. I brought some whoopee pies from Wicked Whoopies in Freeport, Maine. Try the gingerbread. It's my favorite.
Sharon: *grabs* I loooooove gingerbread!
Sharon: So, now that you are feeling more relaxed we are gonna jump right in and ask what we are all wondering…
Katie: Is there sex romance in your book Nightlife?!?!
Matthew: I suppose that depends on your definition of romance…I think there is, but it's a strange kind of romance.
Katie: Strange like…how exactly? Bondage? Feathers? Space boots?
Matthew: It's more the doomed kind––some of that is in the back story, some in the book itself. And in many ways any "romance" is that in the older sense of the word––meaning that it concerns fantastic, heroic or supernatural things. I wouldn't expect a lot of rose petals...or feathers...or space boots.
Sharon: When it comes to vampires Katie is a “fan/stalker”, are the vamps in your book something she should be trolling for?
Matthew: No one would want to meet the "vamps" in Nightlife for real…they might make you think that you want that, but trust me on this one, you don't.
Katie: I'm like the moth to a vamps flame. Moth. Flame. Me.
Sharon: *giving Katie the “I mean it” face* Don’t make me break out the duct tape again. He said NO!
Sharon: Is this your first novel? How long did it take you to go from idea to finished product?
Matthew: This is my first published novel. Idea to finished product was about seven years, but I've written quite a bit of other stuff in the meantime. It's kind of weird thinking about that. I'm very much a different person than the one who'd first dreamt this whole thing up back then.
Sharon: You have some acting and screen writing experience. You even had a recurring role in the first season of Fringe. Can you tell us something most fans don’t realize about the movie/TV business?
Matthew: Here's a little tidbit: If you can't see an actress's feet, she is probably wearing Ugg boots. Those uncomfortable looking six-inch designer stilettos that you see clicking down the hallway (post-foley) in the master shot? The ones that probably cost more than the average American makes in a month? They get ditched the moment the cinematographer goes tighter. A production assistant shows up with the Uggs and the actress swaps them out for the rest of the scene. It makes for a rather funny image. Chanel dress or Dior suit…and Uggs.
Katie: Dude, I've been rocking that style for YEARS!
Sharon: I’ll never look at close up scenes the same way again.
Katie: What does the fox say? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE
Matthew: My YouTube is down for some reason *wink*…so I'm going to go with: The Fox says, “I’m not some were-critter. I’m not a woman who can turn into a fox when she feels like it. I’m a fox who can become a woman. Try to remember that.” (…with all respect to friend, former officemate, and author of Generation V, M.L. Brennan)
Sharon: shameless!
Matthew: Yes...I am a shameless supporter of my friends and colleagues. I'll admit it.
Sharon: What do you hope a reader feels after turning the last page of Nightlife?
Matthew: Ideally...like sleeping with the light on.
Katie: If you could live in any structure in the world what would it be?
Matthew: High in the Custerdome.
Katie: Ok, what is this Custerdome and more important…will they be serving custard?!
Matthew: Sorry, no custard...but we got heavy rollers, I think you should know.
Sharon: this is a music geek reference Katie. It is a fictional place in the Steely Dan’s song Gaucho. *smiles smugly and hides smart phone*
Sharon: If you were a mythological god/goddess which would you be?
Matthew: Turul Madár…which, for those who do not know, is a great mythical bird of prey which represents the power and the will of God to the Magyar people. He perches atop the tree of life and watches over the spirits of those yet to enter this world. He is the ancestor of Attila and clutches in his talons the flaming sword of God.
Sharon: okay, now you are just showing off how smart you are <G>. Cool choice bro.
Matthew: I protest...this was a difficult choice! I almost went with Padre Pio––he has the power of bilocation!
Sharon: *sighs and starts typing on Smartphone*
Katie: What is a guilty pleasure of yours? Singing Taylor Swift songs in the shower maybe? You can tell us, our flock members are known across the land for keeping secrets. *snickers*
Matthew: I was raised Catholic…so just about every pleasure comes with guilt stapled to it. But in all seriousness, a week ago I would have answered this question with: "Watching the unintentionally hilarious film The Room." Then I read The Disaster Artist––Greg Sistero's mesmerizing and heartbreaking account (co-written with journalist Tom Bissell) of his experiences working on The Room and his friendship with the film's writer/director/producer/star/enduring enigma Tommy Wiseau. After closing the cover on that one, I found myself feeling a strong amount of empathy with and even respect for Wiseau. Which is no mean feat for those of you who have seen the film. For those of you who have not seen it…see it now, and then read Sistero and Bissell's rather extraordinary book.
Sharon: you have now plugged two other author’s books… wanna say something about yours? <G>
Matthew: That's fair...I just find that I'm always more excited about what other people are doing. Hopefully there's some universal force causing other writers to plug Nightlife somewhere else––some kind of literary "pay it forward." Seriously, though, have you guys seen The Room? If not I will mail you a copy!
Sharon: Just watched the trailer... Tommy and his hair are my new heroes.
Sharon: What is the nerdiest thing you own?
Matthew: That's tough…probably my Team Banzai belt buckle. Fellow writer and frequent collaborator, Libby Cudmore, and I actually did our MFA thesis presentation on the docudrama The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension…the fellows at the Banzai Institute were very accommodating and sent me that belt buckle as a token of their appreciation. They sent Libby a watermelon from the institute as well…Dr. Sidney Zwibel added a note to said watermelon, stating that he "still didn't know why it was there."
Sharon: Bam! Coolness points for you!
Rapid Fire
Sharon: Easter candy or Halloween candy?
Matthew: Black Jellybeans on Halloween.
Katie: Chicken leg or turkey leg?
Matthew: No contest…Turkey Leg. It's like a permission slip for a nap.
Sharon: Coke or Pepsi? And NO, you can’t say I don’t drink sodas. You must pick. It’s a moral imperative. (10 nerd points for you if you know this reference)
Matthew: Moxie...and would you consider me a real genius if I knew the reference, or just a child of the 80s?
Sharon: *hands Matthew the nerd crown*
Matthew: I think that movie was on near endless repeat on cable when I was in middle school (that and Doctor Detroit)
Sharon: tweet or facebook?
Matthew: #Tweet
Katie: Magnum PI stash or Frank Poncherello hair?
Matthew: Why not both?
Katie: That's my motto. I'll take both!
Sharon: rock-n-roll or country?
Matthew: Rock of the "Yacht" variety.
Sharon: *headdesk*
(here is a link to what Yacht Rock is... don't go... just... don't.)
Katie: Kick'em in the gut or Jab them in the throat
Matthew: I gave up tearing out throats years ago. Patrick Swayze was my inspiration for that.
Katie: RIP Patrick. We miss you!
Sharon: that man made me wanna throw pots.
Sharon: jelly or jam?
Matthew: Are we pitting jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton against punk iconoclasts The Jam? …because if that's the case I can't pick.
Katie: Classy gal or kinda trashy gal?
Matthew:All gals are great…it's dames you can't trust.
Katie: I see you didn't go with our "why not both" motto on this one. Haha!
Sharon: hike a mountain or stroll a beach?
Matthew: It depends on the weather.
Katie: Middle Earth or Asgard?
Matthew: Arrakis.
Sharon: *bows down to your nerdness* that was my first science fiction novel!
Sharon: Well, we had to wrap things up with Matthew because I used up my data plan minutes trying to figure out what he was talking about <G> Check out his book Nightlife. I have a review copy and will be getting to it soon!
For centuries an ancient evil has slept beneath the streets of New Harbor. This Halloween, it wakes up.
An action-packed debut horror novel from talented new writer Matthew Quinn Martin, Nightlife pits a feisty bartender and a mysterious loner against bloodthirsty terrors as alluring as they are deadly.
Nightclub bartender and serial heartbreaker Beth Becker might be a cynic. But when her best friend goes missing Halloween night, Beth knows it’s up to her to find out what happened.
Her quest will take her on an odyssey through the crumbling city of New Harbor, Connecticut. Along the way she meets a homeless prophet warning of something he calls the “Night Angel”—a bloodthirsty creature that feeds on the forgotten. And she will form an unlikely bond with a hunted stranger who knows all too well what stalks the streets at night.
He tells Beth the hideous truth about the nightmare creatures that have haunted mankind’s imagination for eons—creatures the world calls vampires. Together they are the only hope for New Harbor, but to defeat what lurks in the shadows they’ll have to conquer something far stronger than fear—their own desires.
About the Author:
website-twitter
American actor and writer of films and short fiction. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Martin is a graduate of Albertus Magnus College. He is of mixed European heritage, but identifies strongly as Hungarian-American.
Martin's original screenplay Slingshot was made into a feature film by Bold Films and is distributed by theWeinstein Company. Slingshot premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival and was featured on Access Hollywood.
His short fiction has appeared in Transition Magazine, Thuglit,The Oddville Press, MFA/MFYou Literary Journal,Aphelion Webzine, The Flash Fiction Offensive, A Twist of Noir, and the anthology Arcane II (co-written with Libby Cudmore),
As an actor he has appeared in the remodernist film Shooting at the Moon, and P.S. I Love You, and was a minor recurring co-star on the first season of the TV show Fringe.
.jpg)
