Free Book Friday Sept 15: In Conversation With Matthew Romeo

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Free Book Friday Sept 15: In Conversation With Matthew Romeo

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In Conversation With: Matthew Romeo

Matthew Romeo is a warrior poet. He has a healthy obsession with Star Wars, the Stormlight Archive, Cobra Kai, and Halo. On October 4th, 2018 his first book, The Maven Knight, was published. The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster was published on October 8th, 2019. The third and final book, The Maven Knight: Heir of Providence, was released on April 19th, 2021.

His current series project is the science fiction story of The Outrider Saga. The first entry, Erinyes, was released in August 2022. The second book, Imperium, was released in August 2023.

Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with author Matthew Romeo. Thanks for dropping by. Can I offer you anything to drink?

Thanks for having me, Leon. I’ll take a whiskey, neat.

I’ll join you on that one.
Your bio states that you were involved in theater. What was your favorite role?

Portraying the ghost of Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol was my favorite. The makeup and effects were really fun to act with.

Any tricks on memorizing all those lines?

I use movement to help with line memorization. Pacing, hand gestures, and head movements helped me visualize the scene and dialogue.

How would you describe your series, The Maven Knight?

I’d describe The Maven Knight series as an epic fantasy set within a science fiction world. At its core, the series is about the two main protagonists’ journeys of self-discovery and learning what their strengths and weaknesses are. Both also go on separate training paths to become Maven Knights, which involves mastering an advanced suit of armor powered with “magic” gems.

How did you come up with that idea?

I took a bit of inspiration from both Iron Man and the Infinity Gauntlet. I loved the idea of integrating magic into high-tech armor. It was kind of a mashup of Jedi, Iron Man, and Infinity Stones.

Did you plan on writing a series?

Not initially. My goal at the beginning was just to complete one novel. It was only after I completed the first one that I chose to redo some plot elements and make it a trilogy.

Who does your cover art?

I had a lovely artist from Fiverr do the cover art for all three Maven Knight books. Her username is Rebecacovers.

What got you into science fiction?

Mostly movies and video games. I grew up with the Star Wars Prequels, which got me hooked into that universe. The Halo video game series was also a huge selling point for sci-fi.

What authors influenced you?

Christopher Paolini was my first influence, but later on I was inspired by the likes of Pierce Brown, Brandon Sanderson, Frank Herbert, and James Luceno.

How do you deal with 1 and 2-star reviews?

I try to take all criticism in stride. If they’re professional, I like to heed their critiques. If it’s petty, then I just remind myself that I can’t please everyone.

Yeah, when you become an author, you find that out quickly. Do you have a favorite 1-star?

None of my 1-stars have written reviews, but I do have a Did Not Finish review that I look at quite often. It was the first real criticism of my book, so I like to learn from it.

What do you do when you are not writing?

Mostly working my day job, but I also play video games, run Dungeons&Dragons campaigns, and go to my Filipino martial arts class.

Here’s a music question. Do you have any favorite genres or artists?

I don’t have a favorite genre, but my favorite artists are Imagine Dragons, AC/DC, and Marty O’Donnell.

[Just a quick info dump for the readers: Marty O’Donnell is a video game score composer, most notable for the Halo games. ]

Are you ready for the lightning round?

I’m ready-freddy.
Half full or half empty?
Half full
Star Trek or Star Wars?
Star Wars
Oldest technology you still use?
My Xbox 360
Favorite city?
Rochester, NY
One bucket list item?
Spacejumping
Like what Baumgartner did?
A more refined version, but yes!
Scariest animal you have encountered?
A black widow spider
What keyboard key has the ampersand? (no peeking)
4
4 is the dollar sign. I was looking for 7. Sorry, can’t give you the prize. Oh, I forgot to mention there was a prize for getting all the questions correct.

Well you did say no peeking, so I’ll take my honest loss. Next time I’ll get them all correct!

This has been a pleasure. Thanks for chatting. Any links you want to share?

Thank you for having me on, Leon!

You can find Matthew here:

Facebook / Instagram / YouTube / Amazon / Website

The story behind Free Book Friday:

I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?

Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.

Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.

Reads From StoryOrigin and BookFunnel

StoryOrigin and BookFunnel allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!

Free Books

Sept 15 – Oct 16

Last day!

Purchase Links

There are two platforms with different poets for this one: Story Origin / BookFunnel

Sept 1-30

Sept 6-20

Current promos: Discover New Authors

Review Copies (These are free!)

Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words

Buy all three for less than $7: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BZFMXQYY

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/