Official Interview: Matthew James Hunt

[kandscreeley]

Good day my OBC friends! Today's Chat with Sarah features Matthew James Hunt author of I Am Not Gog.

To view the book on the bookshelves, click here.

To view the book on Amazon, click here.

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1. What do you do outside of writing?

In the mornings, I work as a part-time postman in South London. This keeps me very fit but also very tired, so, putting my feet up in the afternoon is all I’m interested in. Happily, it suits a life of writing very well because afternoons have always been my preferred time to write and, with my feet up, my tired old legs serve as a fine desk upon which to write.

2. What's your favorite genre to read?

I prefer general fiction both as a reader and a writer. As a child, I read a lot of Stephen King and science fiction, but horror does nothing for me now – the world is already too full of real horrors, so I don’t now feel inclined to seek out fictional horror. I like a sci-fi film, but, for reading, I feel that general fiction has a better chance of being original than any of the genres.

3. What's your favorite quote?

That changes every now and again. Currently, it is a quote by the American author Madeleine L’Engle. I feel it is such a good mantra for writers: ‘Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.’

4. Let's talk about your book, I Am Not Gog. Can you tell us a bit about it?

It’s a bitter-sweet tale of a vulnerable woman’s journey to self-possession. Desperate, she takes a man hostage. It goes badly wrong and she has to go on the run, with a mission to confront her childhood nemesis. On the way, she finds love, strength, hope, and freedom from her demons, but at a tragic cost.

5. What was your inspiration for the book?

A dream. In real life, I had been troubled by some awful politically motivated murders of innocent people around the world. I couldn’t understand how human beings could commit such atrocities, so, I was researching the background to the events. I wanted to explore the themes in fiction. I also wanted to write about a character inspired by an extraordinary woman I used to work with. The dream I had brought the two subjects together: the woman was sitting on an empty tube-train calmly pointing a gun at a man I also used to work with.

6. Is there something you want your readers to learn from the book?

As the book is also an allegory about the nature and causes of the atrocities I just mentioned, it is meant to raise questions, not provide answers – questions about perception, appearances, illusion, truth, culpability, and so on. I should mention that the allegory is so subtle a lot of readers don’t pick up that it’s there. I tried to make it so everyone could enjoy the surface story on its own merits, and the reviews show that they do.

7. Several of the reviewers discuss how realistic Lydia, the main character, is. How did you create her persona?

As I touched upon earlier, she was based on a woman who used to attend a project for people experiencing mental health problems and homelessness. She was quite eccentric and unique. She was lovely, but she had a few issues. She was such a character I had to tone her down in the novel. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so believable. She became a different person in the writing. I think they always do.

8. Do you have another book in the works? What's your next project?

Yes! I’ve recently finished a long season of research into angels because the next novel is centered around an angel and six people he’s trying to help. It’s very early days, though, and I’m not sure where it’s all going, but I’m excited about it. I’m seriously hoping it won’t be allegorical because that is very hard work to write. Once I’ve really got going with that story, I want to start another about some monks in the south of France. I’m hoping to set up a work pattern where I’m working on two to three projects at the same time, at different stages, so I can put out a book a year (that’s never gonna happen, but I should try).

9. What was your favorite toy growing up?

I think that would be a small metal Matchbox-car: a dark-red Ford Cortina. That’s the first thing that comes to mind.

10. Cake or pie?

Cake. No, pie. No, cake… what a cruel question!

11. Name one food you just won't eat?

Sheep brains. Our father sometimes fried them for our breakfast, served on toast. I reckon he thought they’d make us clever, but sheep are pretty stupid, so, that’s never gonna work.

12. What's your favorite sound?

My beloved’s laughter.

[Janalyn101]

Like always Sarah did a great job with a great interviewer. This was fun and interesting to listen to thanks for the fun questions at the end it was awesome!