BLOOD AND ASHES: Interview with Matt Hilton
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I am very excited to introduce my interview subject today. I’ve met Matt a number of times at writing conferences, particularly Crimefest and the Festival of Writing. He writes the successful Joe Hunter thriller series, which has been compared to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels, and has just released book 5, Blood and Ashes, in the US. Like myself, Matt is a keen martial artist, and apart from being a lovely chappie, I’ve always envied his journey to publication — to get an advance large enough to quit your day job and pursue writing full time, that is any writer’s dream, isn’t it? 
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Onwards to the interview!
Tell us about the latest Joe Hunter adventure. Is there anything that makes it different from previous Joe Hunter books?
The latest Joe Hunter book out in the USA is called Blood and Ashes and is the fifth in the series. In it we find Hunter recovering from some major injuries sustained during his previous adventure, depicted in Cut and Run. Hunter is feeling slightly under form and questioning his abilities as a protector. But he has to step up to the plate when the grandchildren of an old colleague, Don Griffiths, are targeted for extermination by a radical white extremist group. At first he is resistant to assist Griffiths, believing the man to be paranoid and his fears unfounded. There is bad feeling between the two, after bad intelligence from Griffiths caused the deaths of some innocent women and children. So Hunter is questioning not only himself, but also his motivations, though the test will be the making of him. He is a man who won’t walk away from a family in danger, and getting involved throws him directly in the middle of a plot to detonate dirty bombs in NYC. I think the book is of two halves, and in it I pay homage to a couple of thriller genre stalwarts, giving a nod to both John Rambo, and to super spies the likes of James Bond or Jason Bourne. In the book I wanted to include, Arrowsake, the shadowy organisation Hunter once worked for, to help explain why Hunter is now the kind of man he is. It’s a fast action-packed tale, but in it I also believe we find a more thoughtful, deeper Joe Hunter than I’ve previously portrayed.
How much do you have in common with your protagonist Joe Hunter?
I often joke that Joe Hunter is the younger, slimmer, more handsome, version of myself, but I know that is wishful thinking. Joking aside, Hunter and I share many values. I’m a firm believer in loyalty, family values, and abhor bullying in its many forms, and would stand up to protect those values. We’re both northern English, and have a background in martial arts, and both drink too much coffee. Where we differ is in the fact that Hunter is the type to stand up and act on the thoughts that would make me pause and consider much longer. He’s more impulsive and volatile than I am. While I was employed in the private security industry, and as a police officer, Hunter’s background is military, so we differ there. And of course, while I’ve experienced some pretty scary incidents in my life, I’ve never killed anyone the way Hunter is prepared to do.
Has your years in the police service contributed to your writing in any way?
I shy away from writing police procedurals for two major reasons: there are other writers who do it much better than I could, and they’re not exactly the kind of book I like to read. I prefer reading the thriller style novel — the ordinary person caught in extraordinary situations, the ticking bomb, facing and trying to overcome overwhelming odds — and they’re the kind of books I like to write. I purposefully chose to write about a vigilante, or at least someone prepared to twist the law to his thinking, so that I didn’t get bogged down in procedure. But where my background as a police officer has helped is in giving me empathy towards the victims and how people respond to danger and fear, and also to the lengths to which a person will respond when thy or their loved ones are in danger. I’ve experienced conflict in dozens of instances, and been in situations where I’ve feared for my health, my life, or that of others close to me. I try to inject that visceral and psychological edge to my writing to add realism.
Where do you get the majority of your ideas from?
I tend to think of themes and how I can bend them to the plot of the latest novel. I’ll think along the lines of ‘this one should be about the effects of bullying’, ‘this one should be about family loyalty or the lack of’, this one should show how echoes of the past impact on the present’, and such, and I begin to look at how I can use those themes to set up the narrative. I write directly on to a Mac these days, and tend to go with the flow and see what comes. I think cinematically, playing out the action in my mind’s eye and then translating it to the page. For research purposes I use the internet and Google earth etc, but there’s nothing like visiting a location to get to the minutiae that makes a scene feel real. I’ve visited the USA on a number of occasions now, but I’m not looking for locations but the tiny things like popular brand names, establishments and local idiosyncrasies that can add realism if drip fed to the novels. Like many authors, i guess I’m a bit of a sponge as well, absorbing things subliminally, a snatch of conversation here, an anecdote there, a snippet of news, and I use these in my narrative too. Often when I sit down to write the next book, I have the theme in mind and that’s it. I kind of have an idea of where I want to end up, but how I get there is usually a mystery to me.
From one martial artist to another, what is your favourite MA style?
I’m a firm believer that different martial art styles suit different people better. Some people are more adept at the striking arts — karate, tae kwon do, boxing etc — while others are more prone to grapple — judo, wrestling, sombo/sambo — and they will get more from a style that fits them. It also depends on why the person chooses to train in a martial art. If it’s simply for self-defence then something like Krav Maga, or military unarmed combat, is best, but if it’s for sport, competition, or fitness etc then a combat sport like kickboxing, MMA or boxing is probably best. For me – being involved in law enforcement, I had to incorporate locks and controls – I wasn’t permitted to punch and kick as such – so Ju-Jitsu or Aikido was the best choice there. However, I didn’t only train for law enforcement purposes, I trained for the lifestyle, the self-discipline, for making myself an all round better person. Under those circumstances I chose to go with traditional martial arts and trained in Shotokan karate, Kyokushinkai karate, boxing, Kempo karate, and latterly in Ju-Jitsu. As time went on I began to formulate my own style of Ju-Jitsu incorporating all the styles I learned, but under the banner of the Ju-Jitsu catch-all. It wasn’t the ground fighting style popular these days through MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) but an unarmed/defensive combat system. I don’t think I have a favourite style per se, I’m a student of all the martial arts and think most have something to offer – but, yeah, I suppose if I was pushed I’d always tip my hat to Ju-Jitsu first.
QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS
Fish & chips, or bangers & mash? Bangers & mash (with some fried onions and gravy).
Korma or Vindaloo? Korma. I prefer taste over heat.
Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi. Coke gives me gas.
Favourite pizza topping? Sliced garlic sausage and lashings of cheese.
Best writing snack? Huge mugs of dark coffee with a splash of milk. Maybe a ‘Mars Bar’ (do you get Mars bars in the States?) — it’s like a Snicker without the peanuts.
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Thank you Matt for dropping by and for that lovely chat! And now here’s a bit more information on his latest book:
Blood and Ashes
When Brook Reynolds dies in a horrific car crash, the police say itâs a tragic accident. But Brookâs father, Don Hoffman thinks otherwise and wants ex-military operative Joe Hunter to help him find the men responsible.Â
Joe is not convinced â until he is attacked by two troublemakers, and Donâs other daughter is also threatened. Looks like more than coincidence. And sure enough, the entire family is soon under siege with only Joe to protect them. The ensuing blood bath is the beginning of a trail of death that leads right to the heart of a horrifying conspiracy.
White supremacists want to hold the government for ransom; and theyâve got hold of a dirty bomb to add weight to their case. Joe is on a countdown: can he stop the plotters before they reduce the free world to ashes?
Source: J.C. Martin, Fighter Writer
