Christopher Matson grew up on the California coast and ran away to sea when he was eighteen. Since then, his rather checkered career includes mining geologist, commercial fisherman, civil engineer, mess-hall cook, surveyor, and international port consultant. Christopher’s work has taken him to Africa, Latin America, Europe, the former Soviet Union, Middle East, India, and the Pacific Islands.
What genre do you write?
When I started writing, I knew little about genre tropes and styles (and anything else for that matter). So, I just mashed up Adventure with Fantasy, Historical and Supernatural. Most of that early stuff has been declared Dreadful and condemned to the Oubliette of Iniquity. No, don’t thank me…it was my duty. These days, I write Adventure with a dose of Fantasy, Historical Fantasy with a dose of Adventure, and Supernatural with a dose of the other three. Wait, isn’t that the same as before? Yes! But I’ve upped my writing game since then…trust me. I’ll discuss an interesting bit about genre in a later section. Because…
Tell us about your WIP.
…I want to talk (on, and on) about my Works in Progress. That’s right, “Works” as in two books at once. Together with my Historical Fantasy Half Sword, they will be the first three stories in my Tapestry Codices series (did you see how adroitly I slipped that Amazon link in there?). Set during the 12th and 13th centuries, Tapestry includes amulets, curses, and old gods, all consistent with the beliefs and practices of the time.
“Half Sword” sets the stage, introduces the protagonists and the stakes, and hints at future events. However, I’ve written it as a stand-alone novel where the plots are all resolved...save perhaps this lingering threat. Codex II (catch that neat inclusion of Roman numerals?) begins in the Altai mountains, crosses the Mongolian Steppe, and lands the reader right on the border between the Chinggisid Khanate and the Holy Roman Empire. Codex III takes place in the same time span but begins on the western edge of the Holy Roman Empire and drags our protagonist east, where he meets his nemesis…and potential (unholy) love interest (?) Both Codex II and Codex III will also be stand-alone. That is, they are best read in order, but are complete stories on their own. Most of the plot drivers in Tapestry revolve around talismans, shamanistic practices, and ecstatic (out-of-body) experiences. More on that later, because I want to show how this all impacts…
How would you describe your writing style?
…my writing style. Disclaimer here—what you’re reading is not my normal fiction writing style. It’s my speaking and interview style. So, if I’m out for a stroll and see you cross the street to tie your shoe, I’ll know you’ve read this article. Point of fact is, I have no particular writing style. For my Action/Adventure novels (co-written with David Wood), I use a detached third person style, focusing on events rather than settings. Most A/A stories come with pre-established characters, so I don’t have to develop them, I just can’t kill ‘em. I’ve also learned that readers prefer a single point of view (POV), with perhaps an antagonist cutaway to foreshadow some of the action. I’m enough of a history-nerd to incorporate cultural and language details in my medieval settings. This makes them as much a part of the story as the events.
Not to worry, I use a lot of action and character development in my scenes. In fact, perhaps too much character development…dam’ things seem to multiply and run amok before I can dispose of them properly (sigh…editing, editing). To keep focus on both the action and the protagonists, I use a third person view with a zoom lens. That is, I zoom back to take in the big picture and then move the reader right up close to experience the action from the main character’s point of view. My only first-person story so far is my Supernatural novella, Ghost Crab. I enjoyed getting into my protagonist’s head and living the story from his point of view (brr, maybe not too often). I’ll likely experiment with this style more in the future. I talk more about Ghost Crab in the last section of this interview. These three writing styles are generally distinguished by their varied emphasis on…
What comes more easily, plot or characters?
…plot, setting, and character. Action/Adventure is all about the plot, the intrigue, the high stakes, and the growing tension. Characters usually come out at the end much as they started in the beginning (gotta love Jack Reacher…he’s immortal). I enjoy setting up the dominos and then knocking them down.
However, I have a hard time writing fight scenes. Fortunately, David Wood writes terrific fight scenes and our stuff benefits from the collaboration. Historical Fantasy, it’s about all three…plot, setting, and character. I do enjoy writing character…dialog, banter, relationships, weaknesses, loves, emotions, all of that. Plot, of course is needed to drive the characters, but as I mentioned earlier, my protagonists often refuse to stay on plot and run off to build their own stories. Just had a prot go and get herself pregnant. Really! She never asked me but now I’ve got a new situation to deal with. My first-person Supernatural is entirely focused on character. In this case, the prot is narrating the story, so his character dominates plot…in fact, creates the plot. Ghost Crab was perhaps the easiest story to write and possibly the first of many like it.
What would be the greatest achievement for you to aim for as a writer if anything were possible?
(What, no segue? Nope.) The one thing I aim for, and will achieve (dammit), is finding my people. I want to reach those readers who love my work and are asking for more. This year, when Codex II and Codex III come out (finger’s crossed), I will concentrate on that goal alone. And yes, I will…
Do you have a day job? What is it?
I quit my day job. Trooth? I quit several years ago. Flying home from Angola one night, I realized that Danny Glover spoke truly when he said, “I’m getting too old for this shit.” Okay, it was my company that said that about me…I was ready to dive back in, but oh no…ageist bastards! Fact is, they chose wisely, and I concurred. The timing was right and shit was getting real all over the globe. Since I couldn’t run as fast as I used to, I decided to retire. But boy, do I rely on…
Has a real-life experience informed your writing? Share the scene it inspired.
…my life experiences. There is no single scene or instance representative of the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met, or the strange (read: stupid) things I’ve done. Rather, I cook them all into my writing. One thing I insist on is authenticity. It’s a mark of respect for my readers. If I don’t know about something, I corner someone who does (in a good way…buy ‘em a beer or something). One of the (few) benefits of having decades of life in the back of your pickup truck (figuratively) is that you can reach in there and rummage up all kinds of useful trivia. Sorta like those boxes of old hardware under your workbench. Most of it goes in the dumpster when you croak, but there are always useful bits you can pull out when you need them.
Do you read the same genre you write? Why, or why not?
Okay, let’s talk about genre. Read? Yes, I’ll read almost anything that’s well written, indie, trad, whatever, and that’s my point. Genre classification began in the early 20th century when libraries started organizing books by subject rather than acquisition date (anyone remember the Dewey Decimal System?). Booksellers found this useful and the whole 800 Section (Literature) was born. Heaven forbid you would find Robert E. Howard or any other purveyor of trash novels in the sacred 800 Section.
Retailers added their own classifications, including pulp mystery, science fiction, and (gasp) romance. After all, they had paying customers they had to keep. The point is, genre was invented to silo authors and their books so that readers would buy them. We’ve come a long way, and the world has changed since then, but I still hear people say, “I only read this,” or “I never read that.”
I view genre as a good descriptive starting point for browsing books, but readers and authors should never let it define who they are.
Is there an author who inspires you?
As an author (and a reader), my Holy Trinity is Bradbury-Steinbeck-Eco (all dead, yes…I know). Ray Bradbury for his evocative story lines. His narrative is almost poetic, and his plot drivers hover between sci-fi, fantasy, and magical realism. Something Wicked This Way Comes is perhaps my fav.
Unarguably John Steinbeck is one of the greatest 20th Century American authors. I only wish I could write dialog and create characters like he did. His stories do not build high tension, or include much action, but still, reading them is like eating a warm scone with clotted cream on a lazy Sunday morning (yes…I have. And for that, and for Benny Hill, I forgive the British their somewhat irrational spelling).
Umberto Eco was a phenomenon all unto himself. Professor of Italian Medieval Philosophy and Semiotics, among a gazillion other topics. He wrote faster than I can talk (which isn’t that fast…but) and his first novel, “Name of the Rose” went best-seller/movie-deal right off the presses. Eco was a Renaissance man, a true genius of words, symbols, and ideas. For the quintessential Historical Fantasy, I can strongly recommend “Baudolino.” Never could quite get into his “Kant and the Platypus,” however. But hey…he’s the genius, not me.
Give us three fun facts about yourself.
Oh boy! My favorite game: “Tell us two things about yourself that are true and one that is false.” Okay, here goes (drumroll please)…
Number One – “My grandfather was arrested for cattle rustling but he got off by barbequing the evidence and serving it to the sheriff.”
Number Two – “My mother was a pilot during WWII.”
Number Three – “I worked in Moscow with the legal team that devised the first Russian State Constitution after breakup of the Soviet Union.”
(Play suspense music here…) Surprise! All three are TRUE! (holds up hands, dances around…klaxon horn honks).
Okay, I lied. Number Three is not exactly true, per se. I worked in the same office as the legal team, but they never actually asked my opinion about their Russian Constitution thingy (and hey, look how that turned out) ... Yes, dammit, mom ferried Piper Cub trainers from the factory to the Navy base in Pensacola.
Connect with Christopher Matson here.
Featured Book: Half Sword
What a great story. Not an easy era to write about, but Half Sword had my attention in the first chapter and kept it all the way to the end. It also left me wanting more of the saga. Kudos to the author for including an Appendices. It really enhanced the story by giving background on the characters, the various factions, the monetary system, clothing, and a translation of words of the language of the time.
Who was your favorite character to write?
My readers all say that Luca, the irascible Sicilian mercenary was their favorite character. I must agree; he was fun to write. He curses in Sicilian and lives to taunt both his friends and his adversaries. A deadly foe and a loyal friend, Luca practically wrote his own story…I only had to supply the fingers and the keyboard.
What was the most interesting random fact you researched for this book?
Ho boy! Do I get into some weird stuff researching the medieval world. It was a time of religious turmoil when elder old gods contested with Christianity and Islam. I discovered how closely Christian Hermetic practices paralleled Cabalistic Zohar and the magic rites of ancient Egypt. This all gave rise to a cult of talismanic magic that I’ve used as the main plot driver for Half Sword.
The image slowly transformed. “It is said that men must worship the gods of this earth, but none know whom the gods themselves must worship.” In the flickering circle of firelight, the thing took on the aspect of an old woman. Naked, hanging dugs, a tangled nest of gray hair on her head and between her legs, she leered at him. “I will tell you a secret—the gods worship fools such as yourself. You have summoned Febris to your fire, goddess of disease and decay.”
Besides Half Sword, do you have any other books you would like to discuss?
I mentioned Ghost Crab earlier. It’s a stand-alone novella that features a PTSD Vietnam vet who cannot escape the events five decades in his past. Download it and you will can spend an hour or two in the head of “Jungle Jim”, wandering the North Carolina beaches. Ghost Crab is not available from Amazon, but you can get it for free by signing up for my author newsletter here.
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