2024 in the Rearview Mirror by the Numbers by Matt Cost

This past year was fantastic for my growth as an author. That does not mean it was easy. It was a day in day out grind. Every day I worked my fingers to the bone gathering coffee beans so that I had enough to grind up and make myself a pot of coffee for the next day. And then I had to do it all over again.

Would I have it any other way? Sure, I dream about becoming an overnight lit legend with books on the New York Times bestseller lists, my name in the credits of a Steven Spielberg movie or a Netflix series, and an Edgar in my pocket. But there is something about earning it, putting the work in, grinding it out—that makes each step up the ladder that much more appreciated.

My 2024 by the numbers is something to take pride in, even if the bank account doesn’t agree and the self-proclaimed pundits of the literary world haven’t yet taken notice.

Here are my numbers:

58

How old I am today.

3

Books published. April saw the arrival of Pirate Trap, the fifth book in my Clay Wolfe Trap series. July welcomed City Gone Askew, the second book in my Brooklyn 8 Ballo series. And November birthed Mainely Mayhem, the sixth book in my Mainely Mystery series. From searching for pirate treasure to the eugenics movement and mayhem in the judicial nomination process, it was a busy year for books. Write on.

37

COST TALKS at libraries

One of my true joys as a writer is to speak to groups of people interested in books, and even more so, if they are excited about my books. Luckily, there is a magical place called libraries where this can happen. Libraries are usually located in the center of towns, because they are the heartbeat on which said town lives and breathes. It is always an honor to be invited to speak to the patrons of a library and share my writing with them.

15

Blog Posts

Most of them right here!

9

Podcast Interviews

Where I got a chance to chat with wonderful people about books!

8

Panel discussions at conferences, libraries, and on zoom

The chance to speak with colleagues in writing and the arts in front of an audience is a special experience that I enjoy immensely.

7

Bookstore Signings.

The bedrock of the business.

6

Book festivals and sidewalk events

A great opportunity to chat with lovers of books and other authors.

3

Mystery Making Events

A wonderful time of creating and solving mysteries with other writers and the audience.

2

COST TALKS at retirement homes

1

COST TALK at a rotary club

1

Book Club

A wonderful time at the Illume Bookshop in Newburyport, MA hosted by my friend, BJ Magnani.

1

Author Brunch

Two truths and a Lie was played. I did surprisingly well.

1

Book Launch at a golf course

There was beer, food, and music. Need I say more?

1

NEW PUBLISHER

I signed a contract with Level Best Books for my new thriller series debuting with The Not so Merry Adventures of Max Creed in April.

Write on!

My resolution for 2025: Be Better

And a bonus: 1 Santa Claus beard.

About the Author

Matt Cost was a history major at Trinity College. He owned a mystery bookstore, a video store, and a gym, before serving a ten-year sentence as a junior high school teacher. In 2014 he was released and began writing. And that’s what he does. He writes histories and mysteries.

Cost has published six books in the Mainely Mystery series, starting with Mainely Power. He has also published five books in the Clay Wolfe Trap series, starting with Wolfe Trap. And finally, there are two books in the Brooklyn 8 Ballo series, starting with Velma Gone Awry. For historical novels, Cost has published At Every Hazard and its sequel, Love in a Time of Hate, as well as I am Cuba.

Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. They have been replaced in the home with four dogs. Cost now spends his days at the computer, writing.