Interview with Matthew Quick

http://matthewquickwriter.com

Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

Q (most people call me Q): My 11th grade English teacher submitted my poetry to a contest of sorts. We were put on a bus and driven to a local university where a professor critiqued our poems. The professor didn’t love my work, but he took it very seriously, just like my English teacher had. I really liked it when others took my words seriously. I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I was talked into becoming an English teacher and it took about 13 more years for me to fully commit to writing.

Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?

Q: Around thirty, I had an early mid-life crisis. I was teaching high school English, and while I loved the profession, it was demanding and left little time for writing. Many years had slipped by and I still wasn’t any closer to publishing a novel. So my wife and I quit our jobs, sold our house, traveled to Peru, backpacked around southern Africa, and then moved in with Alicia’s parents. I began writing full-time in their basement. I did that for three years—working on my craft, learning about publishing, and reaching out to other authors. I also earned my Creative Writing MFA via Goddard College. I emerged from the basement with my first novel, THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and a movie deal.

Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?

Q: SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR is about a teenager named Amber Appleton. She’s been kicked in the teeth by life again and again, but she tries to stay hopeful. Amber spends most of her time doing very interesting (and often hilarious) community service projects, even though she is homeless and therefore needs help herself. When a fatal tragedy strikes, Amber falls into a depression and must learn to accept help as her community rallies in a beautiful and life-altering way.

Here is the reason you should buy this book: The ending will have you throwing sky punches in celebration.

What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?

Q: Everyone and everything inspires my stories. But my wife has been my greatest supporter and best friend. She is also a novelist, so she understands what I do and her work inspires me. Alicia keeps me moving forward.

Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!

Q: My family is very supportive now that I am publishing, but they were not happy when I quit my job, sold my house, and started writing full-time. My father actually called me an idiot when I did that. (He’s a fan now.) Most families want to protect their members and as the writing life can often be precarious, my family initially worried about me, and probably still does. There are much easier ways to make a living, but if you are a writer, you must write, and that’s all there is to it.

Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?

Q: How can anyone live without pizza? I am totally down with the local pizza makers. Antonio’s pizza rules!

What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?

Q: Make coffee, check e-mail, and hug my wife.

If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?

Q: I have a shoebox full of letters from my high school pen pal—actual written letters that were delivered once upon a time (before e-mail) by postal workers who carried the letters to your house! Don’t know why I keep these letters, but I do. Writing to Jessica was probably the start of my writing addiction. We wrote so many letters!

Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?

Q: My favorite color is black, which sounds depressing, but I look best in black. And also, black absorbs all colors of light, which is sort of inclusive. I’m all about inclusion. I’d be black.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Q: Hmmm. I should probably say something manly, like Wolverine, but maybe Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid?

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Q: Again, I should probably say something manly, like Wolverine, but maybe Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid?

If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?

Q: It would be awesome to walk amongst dinosaurs, although I’d be pretty terrified. I would like to meet my parents when they were first dating, when they were young.

So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?

Q: I love all types of music. I’m always saying, the more you love the happier you are. I listen to everything from Paganini to The Pogues. Metallica to The Killers. Ani DiFranco to Public Enemy. Flobots to Johnny Cash. Fugazi to Neutral Milk Hotel to Regina Spektor. Everything! I will always have a special place in my heart for The Smiths. However, I can write only to instrumental music. I love writing to Rachel’s. The SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR book trailer features a song by Rachel’s.

Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you saw at the theater?

Q: TV shows: Buffy, Angel, Lost. Movies: Harold and Maude, It’s A Wonderful Life, Lars And The Real Girl, The Shawshank Redemption, everything Wes Anderson and David O. Russell. Last movie I saw in the theater: Greenberg.

You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?

Q: Talk about what you love, not what you hate. And if you are a writer, write about the things you love. Care about things. Be passionate. Be compassionate too.

One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?

Q: My next YA book—after SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR—will also be published by Little, Brown & Company. It’s called BOY21. Look for it in 18 or so months. I’m really excited about that one too. It’s about love, poverty, basketball, mental health, forgiveness, and outer space—but mostly it’s about growing up. More details to come…

Thanks so much for interviewing me and thanks to all the readers too.

Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!