Questions and Answers What are you currently working on? Right now I'm finishing up a few short stories that have been collecting virtual dust on my hard drive. One is about a prison riot during the Rapture. Another is about a guy on a date with a female bodybuilder whose ex-boyfriend, who happens to be a circus freak, is stalking them. As soon as I get those out of my system, I'll start working full-time on my next novel. What was your first professional sale? How did it feel when you received the acceptance? The first story I had published in a nationally-distributed magazine was called "The Virgin." It's about a transsexual whose cheap statue of the Virgin Mary begins to cry real tears. It was published in Genre magazine, which is sort of like GQ, but for gay men. I was fairly ecstatic. The editor of the magazine actually called to tell me they really liked the story. I tried to sound as professional as possible, but I was jumping up and down. Plus I had to pretend I was gay. The story is available now on my website. [Link below] Who is you favourite author? This is a really hard question to answer. My favorite writer, without a doubt, is Guy Gavriel Kay. Though my style isn't even similar to his, he has influenced me in so many ways, on so many levels, that I'll always be indebted to him. In my humble opinion, his prose is the best I've ever read. I am in awe of him. My favorite storyteller is probably Robert R. McCammon. I could read any of his books over and over and be constantly entertained. When did you first decide that you wanted to be an author? The urge to write is like a congenital birth defect. It has always been there. My very first story was about a pet grasshopper who wanted out of his cage, so he piled all these leaves up to give himself a good springboard. And when he finally got out, he was stepped on. I think I was in the third grade when I wrote it. I showed it to my friends, and they loved it. Since then I was hooked. Are you a music fan? If so, what? Music is a major part of my life, and without music, I wouldn't be able to write. I'm a big fan of progressive metal. My three favorite bands are Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, and Green Carnation. I'm also a fan of good 'ol heavy metal. Like Iron Maiden. What influences the names of people and places in your work? I keep a baby names book by my desk, and I use that for names. The places in my novel are taken from history, or just made up. For example, the city of Heaven in The Shivered Sky is called Cibola, which is named after the famed seven cities of gold. Do you use myths and ancient religions for inspiration? Absolutely. While researching The Shivered Sky, I became immersed in demonology and religious history, and I borrowed extensively (and shamelessly) from many, many myths. There are several different clans of demons in the book, and each are taken from a separate religion. Though I've taken artistic license with some of them. What book are you reading at the moment? City Infernal by Edward Lee. People keep telling me I should read it, so I am. It kicks ass so far. How does your approach to the editing role differ from that of writing? It's very difficult to take off the writing hat and put on the editing hat. The book is like your baby, and suddenly you're hacking it up. When I write, I don't care what other people might think of it, how a certain phrase or scene might be interpreted. When I edit, I sometimes have to take that into consideration. It's a balancing act. Do You Always know a Story's Ending When You Begin Writing? I never know the ending when I set out. I'm in it for the journey. I have a tendency not to finish stories if I know where it's going to end up too early. Have you won any awards for your writing? In 1999 I won the Martindale Literary Award, first prize for a story I wrote called "Hurricane Bonnie." It was about a man who has his kidney stolen and wakes up in dirty alley just as a hurricane hits the city. Him and a homeless guy have to figure out what to do. The prize was a huge amount of money, more than I've ever gotten at one time for a short story, so that was really cool. Plug away - what do you have coming out? In addition to The Shivered Sky, which is out now, I have a story in the upcoming anthology called The Alsiso Project from Elastic Press. The same guys are also going to publish a collection of my previously-published short stories which is called A Trailer Park Fairy Tale and Other Stories. The release date for that is TBA. Many Thanks, Matt Relevant Links Matt Dinniman Main Bibliography Matt Dinniman's Website Elastic Press Silver Lake Publishing