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Matt Doyle – Behind the Bio – Representation For All Series

Matt Doyle is a speculative fiction author from the UK and identifies as pansexual and nonbinary. Matt has spent a great deal of time chasing dreams, a habit which has led to Matt spending ten years as a professional wrestler, completing a range of cosplay projects, publishing multiple works of fiction and more! These days, Matt can be found working on multiple novels and stories, blogging about pop culture, and plotting and planning far too many projects.

Behind the Bio

Tell us something about yourself that isn’t in your standard author bio.

This is actually a tough question! Let’s see…my friends and I once held a séance on the school playground during our lunch break. We really played into it and made up stories about what we were ‘seeing’. It really scared some of the younger kids, as it happens. We got in a lot of trouble for that, and the school had to do a special assembly for the whole school to ban séances and tell the other students that killer ghost clowns aren’t real.

Do you have any hobbies or special interests outside of writing?

Oh, plenty! I tend to work with the concept that, if I want to do or try something and there’s no good reason not to, I’ll go for it! So, over the years, I’ve done a bunch of cool things with my time. I was a professional wrestler for close to ten years, I’ve done a little modeling, had a few cosplay photos in magazines, and even made a couple of video games over the years. Currently, I am working towards owning every werewolf movie in existence. That’s a pretty big obsession for me. I now have over 100 on DVD and Blu-ray.

How do you unwind after a stressful day?

That depends on my mood. I may read, I may game a little, or I may chill with a movie or anime. It all sounds a little mundane, I know, but I find the simple things often work the best.

What genres do you prefer writing in? Are there any you plan to try in the future?

I tend to write hybrid genre or genrebent fiction. There is usually a grounding in either sci-fi or horror with a bunch of other things thrown in. For example, The Cassie Tam Files series is near future sci-fi with a light cyberpunk edge and a crime noir set up. Meanwhile, AILUROS, is horror in a sci-fi setting with a dash of experimental fiction thrown in. Mostly though, I’ll just write the story and let the genres work themselves out as I go. I avoid relying too much on tried and tested paths that way, and can let things weave whatever path they want to. If doing that lets me create something somebody truly has not seen before, I’m happy.

Do you have a signature of some sort or repeating symbolism you include in your writing?

Always that the LGBTQ characters are accepted for who they are by anyone who can feasibly be seen as a good guy. Sometimes the bad guys will be a little homophobic, but not always. I think that’s important. Unless you’re going to show some character growth in terms of their personal viewpoints, bigoted heroes are a no-go in my opinion. There’s quite a lot of references to the importance of personal identity too. Outside that, you may also notice a recurring theme that, even if they at least claim to have good intentions, governments tend to be fairly controlling in my work. That’s becoming more prominent in recent times, as it really does feel like we’re seeing a lot more political leaders popping up that feel like they’re in it for the power rather than ensure the country is fair to all.

What is a piece of writing advice you’ve gotten that was actually helpful?

Write the stories you want to write. If I’d gone for writing what I thought would be popular, honestly, I think my stories would be far less interesting, both to read and to write.

Is there a goal you hope to achieve with your writing career someday?

Hmm…making it onto a best seller list would be grand. Selling the film or TV rights would be an interesting experience too.

What’s next up for you?

I’m currently (at time of writing) editing ‘The Beast of Loughby Island’. That’s coming out through Fractured Mirror Publishing. I wanted to try something a little different with werewolf folklore on that one, and ended up drawing from some older legends. The result has been the book being a little more like Rawhead Rex than The Wolfman. It’s the most violent thing I’ve written, for sure, and very openly political. Honestly, I wrote it while very angry with the state of British politics, and I think that comes through loud and clear. There are some subtleties in there, but the core message really isn’t.

I also continue to do a little voice acting here and there. I completed some audio for the upcoming horror movie Demoniac a while back, so that’s still to come. I’m always on the look out for other projects I can work though.

SPEED ROUND!

Last Halloween costume: So, there are two answers for this. Last year, I was part of a scare acting team at my local fort. We’re actually the oldest scare attraction in Europe. I was dressed as a viking vampire for that one. The last one on actual Halloween night though saw me answering the door to trick or treaters wearing my Renamon fursuit. That was my most popular cosplay by far, and kids loved it, even if they didn’t recognize the character.

Dogs or cats: I love – and share my home with – both.

Ideal weather: A nice Autumnal chill. It’s my favorite season, and the temperature is far easier for my to handle. I don’t do well in the heat, and I’m prone to colds, so Autumn gives met eh right balance.

Coffee or tea: I do drink both, albeit in decaf form. I prefer tea though. I grew up in a very tea-focused house, and that has carried forward to my adulthood. Most teas work for me, though there are a few that don’t sit well. Licorice teas, mint teas, and Lapsang Souchong are all ‘no’ blends for me.

What’s one thing on your bucket list: I’d love to visit both Japan and Canada at some point. It’s expensive to travel though, so it’s not something I can just leap into, unfortunately.

What is your go-to video game: Anything Sonic! I was a die hard SEGA kid, and still am. A lot of people don’t realize how dominant SEGA were in Europe, I think. Even without that though, I always viewed high speed hedgehogs as cooler than plumbers. Then, Tails came along, and the series got even better! I even have a Tails tattoo (along with one of Gabumon from Digimon). If I’m stuck on choice, I’ll usually revert to Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Outside that, I do love the modern story driven stuff. The Life is Strange series is wonderful and feels like a natural progression from point and click adventures for me. Somehow, those games always manage to give me an emotional gut punch too.

What career did you dream of having as a kid: I wanted to be a professional wrestler or a werewolf. I did actually wrestle for a while, and given that I’ve fursuited, I kinda achieved both of those ambitions. Single-digit-age me would be proud.

Favorite thing about where you live: I’m lucky in that I live in quite a picturesque area now. We have plenty of historical places to see including an old world war fort, a cathedral, and a castle. The yearly Pride event is actually run in the castle grounds, and you can see a giant progress flag draped on the castle itself. There are plenty of small cafes too, so there’s always a place to sit down for some cake.

The Cassie Tam Files [complete series]

New Hopeland was built to be the centre of the technological age, but like everywhere else, it has its dark side. Assassins, drug dealers and crooked businessmen form a vital part of the city’s make-up, and sometimes, the police are in too deep themselves to be effective. But hey, there are always other options. My name is Cassie Tam. I’m a PI. Whether you’re dealing with the death of your VR addicted brother, a missing pet, or a tech-suit wearing wannabe vampire, I’m the one you turn to when there’s nobody else you can trust

Representation: Lesbian MC, Chinese-Canadian MC

Trigger Warnings: Violence, Swearing, Death