Name, Matt D Woodham
Age, 34
Where are you from? Dorking Surrey
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc, Well I’ve been a father for three years to my beautiful little princess Autumn, & I’ve been with my brilliant, awesome & wonderful partner Tara for coming on 11 years now. Wow where did the time go? My schooling is a little mixed as a result of my parents moving house from Surrey in England where I was brought up until I was 10. Then we moved to Buckie on the Moray coast in northern Scotland which was a massive change for me at that age & so then I finished my schooling in bonnie Scotland ;0) The move was brought about because both of my parents had strong family links to Moray & Aberdeenshire. My mum’s mum & her family came from a small village called Glass in Aberdeenshire & my dad’s mum & her family came from a fishing village called Huntley. We came up for a sightseeing holiday one time to see where my grandmothers had come from & that was it, my parents fell in love with the area & the rest as they say is history ;0)
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
Well, I’m currently working on a sequel to my up coming book As The LightDies in my spare time. I’m not sure of a title yet. Or at least I haven’t settled on one yet!
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
I’ve been writing dribs & drabs on & off for years. Since I was 15 in fact, but nothing that was any good & nor did I finish anything, a common fault with wanna be authors. But I’ve always wanted to write something & finish it despite being dyslexic. Then one day in 2012 while I was recovering from spinal problems I picked up a pen & dug out some lined paper & set to writing whatever wanted to come out & as it turns out it was the start of As The Light Dies ;0) I quickly migrated over to writing on the laptop though. It was so much easer to delete & re-wright than scribbling out what I didn’t like & then try & fit the new passage or word or what ever in beside it. The pages looked a real mess haha. But now I’m glad I carried on.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Well, I suppose I don’t at the moment, even though I do! Strange eh. But right now I call it my newfound hobby. I think I’ll only consider myself a writer once I’ve completed at least two works & am working on another, then I think I’ll think I’m a writer ;0)
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Daydreaming about it for years & years & then suddenly finding that I had plenty of time on my hands while I recovered from spinal surgery.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Messy haha.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Me & my partner wracked our brains for months trying to come up with a title for the story, & then one day I browsing through a catalogue & I saw a video game with a similar title & I was gutted because when I saw it I thought, thats my title, thats the title I should’ve come up with. So we put our heads together & came up with As The Light Dies.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
The main underlying theme relates to our ecosystem, its fragility & the rate at which were damaging/destroying it. Nothing new I know, but if only 1 person that ever reads my book thinks to them selves “I” can recycle more or if they decide to walk instead of taking the car when they can then I’ll be a happy man ;0)
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
Hmmm…..Well being that it’s a sci-fi horror story, on the whole I suppose not a lot haha. But I have tried my best to root the story in a future reality albeit a future reality that I’ve dreamed up! But I hope that on the whole theres enough familiarity in there that readers can get dug right in & loose themselves in the story.
Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I tried to draw on emotional aspects from my own life, from real emotions, both good & bad when dealing with character development. The story aka the subject matter is a different kettle of fish though, it’s a culmination of all the things I like about sci-fi & horror combined with whatever my vivid imagination comes up with.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
Number 1 has to be Christine by Stephen King. That book spawned my obsession with american automobiles from the 50s as well as reinforcing my love of horror, it’s also the first real adult book I ever read from start to finish, which at the time, for me at least was a big thing with me being dyslexic etc & it made me want to write. No 2 would have to be IT another one by Stephen King. By the way did I mention that I love Stephen King haha. Anyway, IT is one of those books that I can completely disappear in to, I try to do that with every book I read but because IT is so long, it can afford to be overly rich in character detail & background, that no matter how many times I read it I really get the feeling of getting to know somebody new again, making new friends while saying hello to old ones at the same time. No 3 would have to be On Writing a Memoir of the Craft. Yea yea I know, another Stephen King book haha but for anyone thats interested in writing, or in Mr King’s writing then you wont find a better book.
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Stephen King.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Bad Luck & Trouble by Lee Child
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Oh yea definitely, I love Hugh Howey’s WOOL omnibus. Everything I’ve read by Iain Rob Wright, especially his book The Last Winter. Next up is Sarah Lotz & so far, anything she’s written & the same goes for Sarah Pinborough.
Fiona: What are your current projects?
I’m working on the sequel to As The Light Dies & it’s proving interesting so far.
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Firstly I’d have to say Youtube & the Self Publishing Podcast guys Sean Johnny & Dave. They’re a huge inspiration to indie authors/writers from all over the world with their candid podcasts about everything to do with indie publishing. Next up I’d have to say indie author Hugh Howey. He really is paving the way for indie authors worldwide by constantly posting & blogging about what’s working & whats not in the indie scene, plus he’s teamed up with Data guy & together they’re lifting the lid on ebook sales verses traditionally published ebooks. Both of these different mediums have been an endless supply of encouragement & I’m sure they will continue to do so in the future.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
I’m a very long way from that at the moment but with lots of hard work & perseverance who knows what the future holds.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I think I can easily say that if I didn’t call it a day with the re-writes/edits then I probably never would. It’s to easy to come up with new ideas or new ways to say things that every time I’d look at my work I’d start tweaking & changing things, sometimes I’d even change things back again afterwards, deciding that my newfound view of the situation wasn’t that good after all.
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I’ve always enjoyed telling stories. I used to love listening to them in class when our teacher would read to us, or when my mum would read to me at home when I was small. While I listened I’d always be thinking what if that happened differently, or what if he/she said that instead of what they did? But I didn’t contemplate actually writing anything until I was about 15, thats when I read & finished Christine & I wondered if I’d ever be able to tell such a good story, I wondered if I could actually write my own story & thats when I pretty much started scribbling stuff down making a mess of perfectly good paper haha.
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Hmmm it’s so early on that it’s likely to change many times in the edits, but what I can say is that it’s looking like it’ll fit in between book one & book two like a bridge if you like almost a prequel to the sequel of As The Light Dies if you know what I mean :0)
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in you’re writing?
Oh yea definitely. Spelling & grammar hands down. Being dyslexic I really struggle with spelling, in fact my spelling is atrocious & it’s held me back for years. Thank god for spell check eh haha.
Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Stephen King. He writes about the girl next door or the weird guy that lives at the end of the street. He writes about what we know, & thats what makes his work so chilling.
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
No. Not yet at least.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
My good friend Ness Farnden from Maven Creative. She’s a graphic designer by trade so I’m very lucky to have her in the family ;0)
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Finding the courage to continue. Throughout writing my book I had constant doubts about finishing or about the quality or the plot flow & the story itself. At times it could be pretty hard going.
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Yes, I learned that I can write a novel length book & that perseverance & consistency are key.
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Just keep your head down & keep going . Get the first rough & ready draft down & then edit, edit, edit & re-edit until eventually you start to see a work of art shine through.
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Oh yea, sorry for all the spelling & grammar mistakes haha Seriously though I’d like to thank each & every one of them & that I really hope that they like it.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
The first adult book was Christine by Stephen King when I was about 15 as I mentioned earlier. Before that I really don’t remember. My dyslexia & my struggle with reading kept me away from boks for far too long.
Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?
My little girl can make me do both. I laugh at her little mannerisms & cry with pride at her little actions/comments regarding certain situations.
Fiona: Is there one person past or present you would like to meet and why?
Ah thats a hard one. Does it have to be just one person haha. Everyone will be expecting me to say Stephen King here but I’m not. I’m going with H. P. Lovecraft because I haven’t come across a single story of his that I didn’t like & can you imagine what it would be like to share an octopus platter with him?
Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone and why ?
Don’t sweat the small things. We only get one chance at life, live it. I think its pretty self explanatory ;0)
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?
I love to swim & walk in the countryside & of course I love reading ;0)
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
I’m hopelessly hooked on the TV shows The Walking Dead, Homeland, American Horror Story & Game of Thrones. As for movies my favourite cinema visits recently have been Godzilla, Xmen Days Of Future Past & Gone Girl.
Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music.
My favourite food is steak with a generous helping of creamy garlic mash with haggis & a nice garlic or whisky sauce. Favourite colour is gun mettle grey & my music tasts are all over the place. I like Johnny Cash & AC DC, Iron Maiden & Snow Patrol. It really depends on my mood at the time.
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I like to think I’d have still been creative & done either sculpting or painting or drawing.
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it? I don’t currently have a blog or website but I’m reachable on Twitter https://twitter.com & Facebook https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo
Thanks for the Interview Fiona its been great ;0)
Buying link http://www.amazon.co.uk/As-Light-Dies-M-Woodham-ebook/dp/B00O90FCUA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414743409&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Matt+D+Woodham
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