Matt Bone's Blog
March 13, 2015
Witanlore PCGamesN Interview
Along with working on the sequel to Endless (more on that in a mo), recently I’ve been writing for the splendid Druid Gameworks, a video games developer based in the US, and their upcoming RPG Witanlore: Dreamtime. I’ve been writing a lot of the game’s dialogue and storylines, and it’s been a blast. Expect plenty of dry and/or bad jokes. (There’s also a related graphic novel in the works, but keep that under your hat.)
Gaming website PCGamesN were kind enough to interview me about Witanlore, which you can read here.
On the novel front, Rifts – the second book in the Crescent series, which may or may not undergo a name change before release – is barreling along like the great big fantasy-with-post-apocalyptic-sci-fi-bits behemoth it is*. It’s already longer than Endless, and that’s with the final part yet to be written. I’ll try to sneak some taster chapters/excerpts on here in the coming months.
*Probably not the official book blurb.
May 5, 2014
Writing Process Blog Tour
I’ve been kindly invited by the author and poet Fiona Pearse to take part in the Writing Process blog tour, which leaves me with even less excuse not to clear the dust from this blog of mine. Find my answers to the interview questions below – which includes a brief update on Rifts, for those who might be awaiting such – and, below that, a few links to other writers’ far more interesting responses.
What am I working on?
Mostly I’m working on Rifts, the sequel to my debut fantasy novel, Endless. I’m about three quarters of the way through, and it’s already approaching the length of its predecessor – which in itself was no mean doorstop. Like the first, it’s predominantly set on the human-populated world of Crescent, though there remains a fair chunk of Earth-based post-apocalyptic stuff to chew on, too. With this book it feels like I’ve pushed both myself and the boundaries of the story a lot further – there’s more scale, more darkness, more complexity. I certainly want to challenge the reader a bit more.
I don’t want to give too much away about the plot as of yet, but suffice to say Crescent is an even less peaceful place than it was in the first book. One of the main themes is about the repeating and often self-destructive patterns of human behaviour – the tragedies to which our passions and greeds and creeds lead – which plays out on both a grand and personal scale. Don’t worry; it’s not all as bleak as that sounds.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Previous to my first novel, most of my published writing was of a literary/non-genre bent, and this is something I tried to bring to the fantasy series; i.e. a focus on character depth and a more contemporary style. It’d be doing a disservice to many talented writers of speculative fiction to suggest this is a particularly innovative approach, though I do at least feel there should be more of it out there. Too often I’ve come across an intricately-imagined world coloured irretrievably beige by the cardboard characters running about on it. Stories are about people, no matter how fantastic the setting.
Why do I write what I do?
As a kid I was addicted to sci-fi and fantasy – my first foray into fiction was a scrawled thirty-page dogfight between spaceships, exhibiting the kind of disregard for grammar and coherence reserved only for ten-year-olds and the most daring postmodernists – so it was always likely I’d end up back there eventually. It’s also (perhaps counterintuitively) to do with that ‘stories are about people’ thing. Extraordinary situations often grant the best insights into human character, and accordingly (and because all authors are cruel kids with magnifying glasses) I like nothing better than to stick an unsuspecting Earthling into the middle of an alien war and see what happens.
How does my writing process work?
By avoiding: Twitter, emails, phone calls, YouTube videos of animals on robotic vacuum cleaners, daylight, other humans.
By not avoiding: caffeine, burying my desk with notes, instrumental music (post-rock and jazz do nicely), staring at the wall/ceiling/my slippers, the invaluable Scrivener, endless rewrites, strict working hours.
As unglamorous as it sounds, that last one is probably the most important. It’s no coincidence writers are always jabbering on about discipline and determination. The proof of a writer isn’t found in those days when you feel like poetry is gushing from your fingertips, it’s when you feel like you’re prizing words from beneath your nails; it’s in the bloodymindedness to keep on going past that new project excitement and through the boring mires of research and editing and the rewriting of that one awkward sentence in seventeen different ways until you realise that it’s perfect and, at the same moment, entirely unnecessary to the story. (It’s also no coincidence writers often share the same crazed look in their eyes.)
I find a good test is to ask myself whether I’m looking forward to a half-hour lunch break as much as I would if I were working in a tax office. If I am, it’s probably a good sign I’m pushing myself hard enough; if not, I probably need to close Twitter.
As promised, here’s a few other writers taking part in the blog tour, each very much worth a read:
- Writer & editor Valerie O’Riordan
- Poet Janet Rogerson
- Author & literary agent John M. Cusick
September 6, 2013
A bit of speech therapy
What’s this? Another blog update? But it’s barely been four months and a royal baby since the last post! I hear you cry.
Admittedly, I might not be the most prolific of bloggers. Instead I’ve been spending the time writing the sequel to Endless which, depending on your opinion of that first book, might be a good or bad thing. In my mind at least it’s been extremely exciting to see Rifts taking a more cohesive shape over the last few months – albeit a bulky, complex, enough-subplots-to-wither-my-brain shape.
I’ll get to some vaguely related writing stuff in a moment, but first a brief promotional interlude: the ebook version of Endless is currently on offer for £0.99/$0.99/€0.99 on Amazon, and has a brand new listing on the Kobo. Please send out telegrams accordingly.
So, to the writing bit. I’ve recently moved on to a section of Rifts which is particularly dialogue-heavy, following a section which was particularly dialogue-light. Thus to blow away any cobwebs, I’ve been practicing with some flash fiction that consists of nothing but speech. If you’re a writer, I recommend the exercise; it forces you to contain all the tone, action, and character personality within the dialogue, to rely upon the implicit rather than explicit. Dumping any extraneous description is naturally a good habit to form: conversations become more fluent (remember that, like this reminder, each action is a minor interruption), and readers are given more freedom to use their ever-bountiful imaginations. Which is good. And a little dangerous. But mostly good.
I’ll sign off with an example I wrote this morning:
Eight Minutes
“Did you know the light from the sun takes eight hours to get here?”
“I think it’s eight minutes.”
“Yeah, fine, whatever. Eight minutes. What I’m saying is we’re seeing the past. The sun could be doing anything right now, and we wouldn’t know. Not for eight minutes, anyway.”
“What difference does it make?”
“I don’t think you get it. We’re seeing the past. How it used to be.”
“I get it. What difference does it make?”
“And don’t get me started on other stars. Their light takes lifetimes to reach us. Then the other universes, you’re getting to millions and billions of years. The dinosaurs–”
“I think you mean galaxies.”
“What?”
“Not universes. Galaxies. We can’t see any other universes.”
“Exactly! Probably ‘cause their light hasn’t reached us yet.”
“I’m not sure that–”
“Now you’re getting it. All we see is how things used to be.”
“But it doesn’t make much difference, does it?”
“What’s that?”
“Well the sun eight minutes ago won’t look much different from the sun right now.”
“I don’t think you get it.”
“I get it.”
“You’re missing the point.”
“What’s the point?”
“It’s complex stuff. Against intuition.”
“Right. Can you pass the sun lotion?”
“See? You see? This warmth on our skin, it’s eight hours old–”
“Eight minutes.”
“It’s like… like… past heat.”
“Pasties?”
“Past. Heat.”
“Give me the lotion.”
“See the sun? You see it? It’s not there.”
“Right.”
“It’s… you know, further ahead.”
“Future heat.”
“I don’t think you get it.”
March 25, 2013
Update: Popes, Rifts, Ugg Boots
I know, I know. It’s been a while. Since I last posted there’s been a new pope, a resurrected David Bowie, and a meteor shower that gave us a taste of the End of Days (turns out it’s quite picturesque). Just in case we’ve got a few years left before our celestial annihilation however, I’ve been busy writing, planning, researching (ask me anything about medieval hydrated lime plasterwork, I dare ye) and generally undertaking a hazardous amount of sitting down as I work on Rifts, the follow up to Endless.
So far it’s proving decidedly larger than the first book. A larger challenge to write, in many ways, and – not unrelatedly – larger in scope and ambition. I also feel it’s bolder, more exciting, and simply more fun – though that’ll be for the foolhardy reader to decide. As an example of that scope: Rifts will include approximately four cities, six countries, three continents, two worlds, and at least twenty five exclamations of Godscurseit! Eventually I’ll sneak some excerpts onto this site.
For now, here’s an excellent game of table tennis:
P.S. Comments on the blog have been temporarily disabled due to an inordinate amount of spam – unless fantasy fans have a sudden urge to share the best places to find stylish Ugg boots. Apologies to anyone whose comment has been lost in the reasonably-priced Ugg flood. For now feel free to direct any messages @writingmattbone or mail writingmattbone(at)gmail(dot)com.
January 11, 2013
Triumph Over Tragedy released
A quick note to report that Triumph Over Tragedy, a short story anthology with all proceeds going to the victims of Hurricane Sandy, was released yesterday, and has already broken into the top 100 in three separate categories on Amazon.com. My own story “In The Glimpses” is included, alongside others from fantasy and sci-fi authors such as Mark Lawrence, Michael J. Sullivan, and Robert Silverberg. Check out the anthology here (or if you’re in the UK, here).
December 4, 2012
Book of the month & Sandy anthology
I’m very pleased to report that Endless is now up as book of the month at Fantasy Book Review. It’s currently quivering alongside the excellent likes of Brent Weeks, Lou Morgan, Andrez Bergen, and surreally enough, Mikhail Bulgakov’s Russian masterpiece, The Master and Margerita.
In other news, my short story In The Glimpses will be included in an upcoming anthology for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, entitled Triumph Over Tragedy. All proceeds will be going to the Red Cross. Click on the pic to the left to visit the book’s campaign page.
November 12, 2012
Endless reviewed by Fantasy Book Review
The fine folks over at Fantasy Book Review have posted a 9/10 review of Endless. It will also be a book of the month for December. Suffice to say, a certain site just made my Christmas card list. You can read the review here.
In other news, I’m currently knee-deep in notes, draft chapters, and research for Rifts, the sequel to Endless. Which explains both the quiet around here, and why my blood type is currently Arabica+.
October 2, 2012
Indiscriminate Critic Interview
Book review blog Indiscriminate Critic were kind (or foolish) enough to interview me recently, which is now up on their site here. Take a peek to find me wittering on about Endless, Rifts, and tying muses to desks.
September 1, 2012
Endless paperback out today
The paperback edition of Endless is officially released today! Thanks to all who helped make it possible.
You can grab the book from Amazon:
US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0957302509/
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0957302509/
Further online and bricks and mortar shops will follow. If you think your local book shop should be stocking Endless, please contact astroimpossiblebooks@gmail.com.
Right, I suppose I’d best go finish the sequel. Where’s the caffeine…
August 6, 2012
Goodreads Giveaway
There’s a giveaway for the upcoming paperback edition of Endless currently running over at Goodreads. It’s had an excellent response, with over 500 entries already. You can enter via the widget below (and for extra brownie points, you can also add Endless to your Goodreads reading lists).
For those new to Goodreads, imagine a millions-strong book club. It’s a great place to discover new books, and to build up a quickly intimidating to-read pile.
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Goodreads Book Giveaway
Endless
by Matt Bone
Giveaway ends September 05, 2012.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
