Visit with Matthew Peterson

http://paraworlds.com

Matthew Peterson is the award-winning and best-selling author of PARAWORLD ZERO (Blue Works) with the audiobook now available on audible.com and iTunes. Matthew is the host of The Author Hour: Your Guide to Fantastic Fiction with guests like Dean Koontz, R. L. Stine, Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paolini, and Meg Cabot. He's also a second degree black belt in karate, Eagle scout, computer programmer and former missionary. He lives in Arizona with his wife, five boys and their giant African tortoise.



Simon Kent is just an ordinary 12-year old trying to cope with the loss of his parents and the bullies at school . . . or so he thinks. After meeting an outspoken girl with strange hair that changes colors with her mood, he is swept into a futuristic world filled with dragonlike creatures, vast technology, and enslaved giants.

But Simon also stumbles upon a secret: He can perform magic in this parallel world! While fighting mystical creatures, unraveling an ancient mystery, and even experiencing his first kiss, Simon discovers that he, an outsider from Earth, is the only person who can save the high-tech planet from an impending doom.

Hey there everyone! I'm glad to be here today on teensreadtoo. Life has been hectic for me lately. After my first book PARAWORLD ZERO (YA science fantasy) hit some best-seller lists and received over 15 accolades, I was rearing to go on my second book but everything fell apart. The very day I finished the sequel, MAGICAL LEARNING, my house was totally destroyed in a fire. We just moved back in a couple weeks ago. To make things worse, my publisher couldn't keep up with the demand for my book and went under, my agent and I parted ways just before she passed away from cancer, and my dog died (well, not exactly, but one of my tortoises did. Don't tell my kids! I haven't told them yet.). I sound like one of those old country songs, don't I? You know what you get when you play a country song backwards? .... anyone? .... You get your dog back. You get your truck back. You get your wife back.

Now that things have finally settled down, I'm finally looking for a new agent and publisher. An agent is looking at my book as I write this. Cross your fingers. One other distraction from my writing is my radio show (www.TheAuthorHour.com) which has sucked up months from my life. I'm taking a breather from the show right now, but all of the interviews are now online (audio and transcribed text), so take a look. Really, my guest line-up looks like the who's who in the fantasy/science fiction field. But first take a look at the Q&A below.

I'm super excited for MAGICAL LEARNING, the sequel to PARAWORLD ZERO, and I think it's even better than the first (at least, that's what my beta readers tell me). More romance, more mystery, murder, and magic. I think you'll like it when it finally sees the light of day. Oh, and if you're wondering, I did make an online backup of MAGICAL LEARNING right before the fire, so none of my work was lost. Everyone was safe as well, but we lost everything. Whew!



If you could bring any character from one of your books to life, who would it be and why?

That's an interesting question, since the two main male characters are loosely based on me. Simon when I was younger and Griffen now that I'm older. I'd like to see Tonya in real life, since her hair changes colors with her mood. That would be cool to see. The model who portrayed Tonya in the video trailer was a treat to see (she had green hair). She's my neighbor and every time my boys see her they call her Tonya, instead of by her real name!

Your own six-word memoir.

I came. I wrote. I dreamed.

What was your favorite book growing up as a teen?

I really enjoyed the PRYDAIN CHRONICLES, LORD OF THE RINGS/THE HOBBIT, and the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. But my favorite book was GALACTIC WARLORD by Douglas Hill because it introduced me to science fiction and coaxed me to become an author. Douglas Hill gave me a wonderful blurb for PARAWORLD ZERO right before he died.

Here's the full blurb: "It’s always a pleasure to find a new writer who is comfortable in that marvelous borderland between fantasy and science fiction. Even more of a pleasure to find one with flair and humour and a truly original imagination. What do you get when the effect that produces parallel worlds also creates the phenomenon that we loosely call magic power? You get a lot of really weird beings with slightly faulty technology bursting into the lives of…well…some really weird people. You also get murderous villains, mighty warriors, goddess-like women, impossible problems and some of the wildest chases since the Keystone Kops. More fun than a barrel of computer games. Read it. Trust me, you’ll have a terrific time on that borderland. Especially in the company of Matthew Peterson." – Douglas Hill (bestselling science fiction / fantasy author of nearly 70 books)

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A veterinarian and an author. One out of two isn't bad, eh?

Your favorite subject in high school – and your least favorite.

My favorite was English and my least favorite was Math. Consequently, my main character in PARAWORLD ZERO, Simon Kent, doesn't like math either.

You’re going off your diet for one day and only eating food from restaurants. What do you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? (Include the restaurant each meal comes from.)

Diet? Huh? I have the opposite problem. I get too busy I forget to eat. If my wife didn't plop food in front of me (sometimes on my keyboard), I'd probably starve. That being said, for breakfast I'd have a breakfast burrito and biscuits and gravy from somewhere like McDonalds. For lunch I'd have that toasted ham sandwich thingy (they don't serve it anymore) from Mimi's Cafe and for dinner I'd have the Tour of Italy from Olive Garden. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

What is your ultimate vacation destination?

I would totally go on a cruise to the Caribbean. I've done that before and it was a blast. Either that or spend the day at Wal-Mart.... errr.... no. Take the cruise, Matt! Take the cruise!

The world has suffered from a one-day only loss of power. You have no cell phone, computer, lights, or anything else that requires a computer, cell battery, or electricity. What do you spend the day doing?

Play card games with my family. Read a book. Take a nap. Think of a solution for world peace.

If you weren’t an author, what job would you be doing?

I love working with computers and writing websites. I'm also the host of The Author Hour: Your Guide to Fantastic Fiction, (www.TheAuthorHour.com) where I interview the top authors of our day like Anne Rice, Terry Brooks, and Kate DiCamillo.

You get the chance to star in an upcoming film release. What movie would you star in for your acting debut? (If you can’t choose an upcoming film, you can choose a past release.)

If it were ten years ago, I'd love to be in X-Men or Lord of the Rings. At one time I had secret dreams of becoming an actor, but seeing the lifestyle that comes with acting was enough to snuff out that dream. Losing my anonymity was a factor as well. A few times kids have recognized me in grocery stores because I visited their school but that's about all the celebrity status I can manage. I'm not at the point yet where I need to hire a bodyguard. ha ha. Although I have met a few authors who've received death threats and one of them did get a bodyguard. Yikes!

A movie is being made of ONE of your books. Which book is it, and who will star as the main characters?

Okay, so a judge for the Golden Globe awards has asked me this question a couple of times and here's what I told him: For PARAWORLD ZERO the younger characters would have to be unknowns but the older characters (Griffen Lasher and Tabatha Burke) would have to be Hugh Jackman and Liv Tyler.

The paranormal genre is big in teen/YA literature right now. Most bestsellers feature vampires, werewolves, faeries, angels, or the like as a main character. In your opinion, why are teens currently fascinated with all things paranormal?

I guess because of trends, expectations and availability. It's something that's been somewhat shoved in everyone's faces for the past couple decades (i.e. Buffy, Angel, Charmed, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Moonlight, Supernatural, The Gates, etc.), so it's no big surprise that the YA crowd enjoys paranormal so much. It's like food. If all you've been fed is a certain food, then that's what you're going to end up eating or liking when you get older. I'd like to see a move from these old fantasy characters to something more original. Personally, I'm somewhat surprised that authors and readers can't get enough of the same-ole thing. At least authors and directors are trying to mix things up a bit (i.e. sparkly vampires).

You’re writing a book where you can change one major historical event. Which event do you change? (For example, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t assassinated, or Japan never bombed Pearl Harbor.)

Back when the Bubonic Plague (Black Death) was demolishing Europe from the face of the Earth, I think it would be interesting if it didn't mysteriously end. What would happen if the plague had continued or even mutated? What would life be like now?

Remember those “classics” that you were made to read in high school English class? What was your favorite, and which title should students never have to be subjected to reading?

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA was one of the "classics" that stuck with me. It's a good one, especially since it's short. I've put most of the others out of my mind! Teachers should give a few options, instead of subjecting everyone to read the same thing.

Someone tells you that you’ll never publish another book that you write. Do you still keep writing?

It depends on your reasons for writing. If you want to get rich, change professions. If you love writing and want to persevere, then go for it. Meg Cabot told me that nobody wanted to publish her PRINCESS DIARY books but her agent just kept sending it out. I think it was Sherrilyn Kenyon (DARK-HUNTER series) who told me that her college professor said her writing would never amount to anything and that she should quit. She now has over 20 million books in print. Tracy Hickman (DRAGONLANCE series) told me that his parents begged him to get a minimum wage job instead of following his dream to be a writer. The DRAGONLANCE series has sold over 22 million books. These examples are not typical, however. There are thousands of people who try and fail. So again, it goes back to your reasons for wanting to be a published author.

A group of teens ask you the best way to become a published writer. How do you answer the question?

I've been asked this question more times than I can count. I really need to put this on my website! Self-publishing is the easiest way to get "published" but it's not the preferred method to get people to read your book. I write so people can read my work. So before you write anything read what's out there. Study the mechanics of storytelling, grammar, and punctuation. Practice with short fiction. Write the very best book you can and get it edited by a professional or by a group of fellow writers. Then send out your 1-page query letters to literary agents and wait wait wait for their responses. After months have gone by you might just snag an agent who will then help you to polish your manuscript even more and who will then send it out to publishers. Expect rejection... lots of it. And be patient.... VERY patient. When my publisher called me up and said they'd like to publish PARAWORLD ZERO, it had been a year and a week since I had mailed them my manuscript!

**Thanks so much to Matt for visiting with us today! Be sure to visit his website listed above, or you can also find him at his Blog, on Facebook, or at MySpace.

Matt has kindly offered to email two lucky posters today an ebook copy of PARAWORLD ZERO, so be sure to leave any comments or questions you have for him in the comments section!