Author Interview: 

M. R. Mathias

The author of

The Wardstone Trilogy

The Dragoneers Saga

The Fantastica Collection

The Legend of Vanx Malic Series

 Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

 I am writing the first book in what I hope is a lengthy series, but that hasn’t developed enough to talk about just yet. That isn’t my only “work-in-progress,” though.  I’m also working with narrator Will Hahn on the Fantastica Series audiobooks. Book three, Demon of Destruction, should be available in a few weeks, and book four (the finale) before Thanksgiving.

Where did you get the idea for the newly completed Dragon Racers Trilogy?

The Dragon Racers Trilogy is based on Asian myths and lore, but the population of the dystopian fairy land known as the Dregs, are very much like modern social media users. They don’t need facts or even to know what is going on to take a side. In fact they follow the mood of the most dominant being around them instinctually. This is just one of the obstacles young Sharrah Che and her sometimes bo, Kin Kuul must deal with. There is also mysterious Dark Anshi, her powerful orang-eyed father, and a tyrant king all trying to bend her will. Needless to say, there is no way to please them all, and the more determined of them will find ways to control her decisions. Then there are the terrifying, and often deadly, dragon races themselves.

Do you write in more than one genre?

 I wrote a horror book called The Butcher’s Boy: The Ballad of Billy Badass, under the pen name Michael Robb. I recommend it for late October, but don’t read it alone, especially if it is stormy. The book is pretty scary. I mean, I lull you in with a slow and methodical “spooky” story line, then yank your stomach into your throat with a little deep hitting evil. I may dabble in scifi in the future, and I may even write a detective/thriller series someday, but I currently write fantasy, both because it comes naturally, and because it pays the bills.

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

 I have my own style and I tell the story I am telling. There are places in my books where I could have gone down this path or that, but I leave it and let the reader’s mind go down those paths themselves.  The best compliment I have ever received was something like: “…even hours after reading a chapter of The Wardstone Trilogy, I would still be caught up in the scene.” Or something like that.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

 I think my ability to see through the BS of life shows through. When I started writing the old Dragoneer Saga books, one of the first things that crossed my mind was, how would a dragon rider go to the bathroom? How would a girl dragon rider go? Because there are two, and now three (with Jenka and Zah’s daughter, Amelia) female dragon riders in that series.

They don’t touch on “reality” much in Eragon, or How to Train your Dragon. Bilbo Baggins never has to take a piss. No one tells Katniss Everdeen her breath smells like a goblin’s ass. In my books someone who has never ridden a horse doesn’t just take to it. Someone who has never held a sword can’t suddenly defend themselves with one. Someone who has spent days in a dungeon has breath they can barely stand themselves.

So many authors create characters that never feel human.  I at least try and make the fantasy have a bit of reality in it.

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

 I wrote The Wardstone Trilogy in a Texas prison while serving time for drug possession. I was a meth junky when I was younger, and I stole all sorts of stuff to support my habit. I did two calendar years in mostly solitary confinement because I couldn’t get along with others. While I was there I penned seven novels in longhand.

Not bad for twenty plus months in a box.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

I would recommend people into fantasy read authors like: Raymond E. Feist, Lloyd Alexander, even Homer and the like.  What most modern authors think is new, is not new at all. They would know this if they read more.  Another benefit of my stint in jail was sheer reading time. I was reading three to four hundred pages a day, every day.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

 Well, I like The Legend of Vanx Malic, and The Dragoneer Saga best, and then there is Fantastica, and the Dragon Racers series. And we can’t forget Crimzon and Clover. But you asked which one I recommend, not which one I like most. If I was being honest, the best of my work is The Wardstone Trilogy. It is raw and unique, in that I wasn’t an author until about halfway through book two. There is something magical about The Wardstone Trilogy. If you read it, you will understand. It will transform you, and the characters will live with you forever. So yeah, Wardstone is what I’d recommend.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

 Well, prison helped, because without those two years I would have never found the time or motivation to write, even though I graduated High School with a scholarship in creative writing. When I got out I didn’t know how to type and hadn’t been on the internet much, yet. I was a CADD designer at one point before, and I was a draftsman so I was semi-familiar with the keyboard, and took to it well enough.

The most fortuitous circumstance came after my release from prison, and it is both sad and uplifting. My grandmother had Alzheimer’s and my mother was her caregiver. I stayed with them and became my grandmother’s primary caregiver so my mom could keep doing her job. (She was a head faculty member at a notable university, and loved her job.)

I ended up being her caregiver too, through about five years of grueling chemo, and a peaceful end.

Anyway, it was during the day, while my grandmother would watch I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith reruns that I learned to type while entering The Sword and the Dragon into a word file to be edited. I learned about Kindle, and the KDT platform, and the Sony Reader (now defunct) in that same time period. …which was all long before KDP came along. And as they say, the rest is history.

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

 I don’t really have an answer here.   Can I buy you dinner?   That question would be nice to hear more often….lmao

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

Fortune sides with him who dares. – Virgil   ~*~   I dare. – M.R. Mathias

And my favorite “me” quote:

Just because it isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome. – M.R. Mathias

 Do you think you’ll ever write anything specifically based upon your incarceration experience? Or have you written something of that nature already?

I always said I would after my mother died. I was involved in some incredibly stupid antics in my day. The value of the tale has been reduced because of groundbreaking docu-series, and shows that have since revealed the disturbing truth about prison life. Two decades ago, when I got out, it would have been a groundbreaking book to write, but then after my mom read it, she would have beat my ass, and disowned me. So I made the right call.

If you had to live in one of the worlds that you’ve created, which would you choose?

This is a great question. The answer is, I’d live in the real world I have created, the one where I get to make stuff up in my novels, and control the fates of all, like some god. Then people actually pay to read it, and I get to go fishing, where I spend my time day dreaming of the next tale to write.  It is a wonderful world I live in now.

It seems that you really do appreciate the old writers. Do you find something enjoyable in those old books that you don’t see in a lot of the material produced in recent years?

I see the authenticity of authors who were writing for the love of the story as much as anything. Feist wasn’t even an author when he started writing, Magician. What he created was a masterpiece so huge they had to break it in half to publish it. These days everyone is striving to create the next GoT type of series and get a piece of the eBook cash grab.

We touched on it earlier; flawless characters, or characters with such cliché flaws as to be annoyingly inhuman, soulless. The modern “can do anything” characters are so boring and fake.

Who is the woman in the Wonder Woman costume in the photograph?

She is a theme park cosplayer. I do not know her name, but she wore it well!

On which platforms are your books available?

Currently, and for the foreseeable future my ebooks are Kindle exclusive and available to purchase at Amazon. You can read them free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.  The paperbacks and collectable hardcovers, are available at all the big retailers, but mine are P.O.D. only. We don’t want warehouses full of dead trees out there. They only print a copy after you order it.

Share a link to your author page on Amazon?

https://www.amazon.com/M.-R.-Mathias/e/B0040CD21I

Are you self-published or are you connected with a publisher?

Some of my work is published by Amazon Content Services and I have a Non-Disclosure Agreement with them, and can say no more about it. Other titles are published by Mathias Publishing, which you can call self –published, or not. I don’t care what label they use. My reviews and the words between the book covers are the proof in the pudding. In the end, I don’t think the readers care, either.

Does writing fantasy novels pay the bills, or do you have another job or income stream?

I have made over a million dollars in book royalties from Amazon alone. Mind you, that is over a ten year span, so it isn’t as much as it sounds like, but I live off of my M.R. Mathias book income. It does pay the bills. I have a few hobbies that generate an income, too. But I have lived off of my royalties, and plan to continue to do so, for the rest of my life.

I am an author.

If writing fantasy novels does pay the bills, how long did it take before it did so? Is it a product of producing enough quality books, good connections, or something else?

For me it was a combination of things like timing, a hungry market. Bad press, and good press. In the end the story has to be good. The Sword and the Dragon started it all, and the rest of The Wardstone Trilogy followed through. They have been my steady biggest sellers for ten years.

As to the start…  The first month The Sword and the Dragon was available it sold  11 copies. The next month it sold like 49 copies, but it received a review from some blog called Fantasy Book Critic, and then it sold 1300 copies and then over five thousand. So it was pretty fast for me.

You went on a fishing trip recently, do you have a good fish story to tell?

Yes! It was overshadowed by a similar story that someone caught on camera and they showed on the news. But we were fishing twenty five miles off the coast of Florida, and I hooked this huge four foot long Cobia. It was a beast and I wanted him to fillet and take home. So I fought this guy for half an hour, and finally got him to the boat. My friend Rob and my dad were fishing with me. Rob went to gaf the fish, but suddenly yelled and jumped back.

In Florida the water is crystal clear and you can see fifty feet deep, but when I looked over, I saw a ten foot long tiger shark chomping the back half of my prized Cobia off, and it was right there at the surface.

My dad had been expressing the desire to fight a big shark, so I jigged the dead front half of the Cobia around. It still had my hook in its mouth, and sure enough that shark came back and ate it.

My dad fought the shark for ten minutes but we didn’t have a steel leader and it eventually broke the line. I came home with a bunch of King Mackerel, and some Grouper and Snapper meat, but no Cobia. I’m still sad about losing that fish to the tax man, but seeing a wild Tiger Shark feed in your face is pretty awesome in itself.

(All photographs provided by M.R. Mathias)

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As for my own writing:
My newest book is currently available for pre-order for only $0.99 - buy it now and it will download September 1.

A fellow traveler pulled his RV into the last rest stop along his life's highway this week. The RV will go into temporary storage beneath the sod while the traveler himself rests a bit and takes on some new assignments before eventually reuniting with his RV in its new and glorious state on the eternal highway of bliss. I can offer no fitting tribute, but I have many pleasant memories of Don.

He was a man of order as far as his own house and shop went. He worked hard. He also had fun. He and his bride spent many years working and socializing with my parents. We were neighbors in the best sort of way. It seemed that for years hardly a day went by when we weren't at their house or they were at ours. As I got older and spent more time away, it would be even money as to whether Don and his wife were at our house or whether my folks were at Don's place when I got home. Although memory has dimmed with time, besides his helpful and friendly nature, I best remember Don's stature, voice, and arms. He was not a tall man. I didn't realize that until I was an adult--I was rather on the small side as a kid. I think he was my dad's size, but for years he seemed bigger to me--I guess the fact that he was bigger on the inside than he was on the outside made him seem much bigger in my eyes. He voice was unique in my experience. He didn't possess a particularly deep voice, but it sounded like it came up from someplace deep--like a gurgling brook echoing up through a cleft of rock. I remember his forearms. He had forearms to rival Popeye. In fact, with his large forearms and close-cropped hair, he reminded me of a sailor looking for a fight. I know those arms came in handy for hauling hay and doing carpentry and finish work. I don't know whether he ever had to use them to fight.

Of course, those physical characteristics pale in comparison to his good nature and willing attitude. I can't think of a single time when I called on him for assistance or to borrow a tool or piece of equipment when he wasn't willing to help. He and my dad spent a lot of time working together and helping each other out. If they weren't working, they were talking about working--except for when they were playing cards or doing fun things outdoors with the families and with the other Don, that man of steel who also passed away this year.

Time rushes on; extended families and other responsibilities eventually stretched the close ties that we had once enjoyed. The bonds of friendship remained, but the time we were able to spend together dwindled away like dandelion seeds in the breeze. The seeds are all gone now and time rushes on relentlessly. Fortunately, old friends don't pass away; they're merely blown into the future on separate winds to that happy reunion where all breezes converge beside cool waters, sun-kissed and still.

A couple things came up during the week--three if you count the terrific storm with thunderbolts and lightning which was very, very frightening, and which prevented me from finishing the great mowing for the week.

The first two things didn't really come up; I stumbled across them. As for the first one, I've already changed my mind about linking and discussing it. The other was a guy talking about music. I've also included a book description for your consideration and comment.

Here's an old guy with some musical expertise talking about, playing along with, and explaining how a song was made and why it sounds the way it does. The video takes some time but I enjoyed to watch someone who obviously loves the subject matter give an explanation for all the things that I heard when I listened to the song (and many I didn't quite hear but about which I had more than a feeling) but did not understand and appreciate. Now I understand why the sound on this song is what I have always described in my rich musical vocabulary and wondrous skill in weaving words as "full."

On a completely different subject:

I submit for your consideration, a book description and a cover for the sequel to Threading the Rude Eye. The book description is missing something in my opinion. I can't decide whether it is too much or too little, or too boring, to spark a reader's interest. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Post a comment or send an email.

Cover and draft of the book description for Power to Hurt:

Alex flees from the dark commander after the vicious battle with the young dragons, but his dragon-hunting friends question whether he can remain in their company. Cat, the wild Irish maid and leader of the hunters, must face some difficult questions concerning her relationship with Alex. The French patriot Lucette fights for a place among the gryphons, risking dangers no less destructive than the cannon's mouth. The mysterious power of Jonathan's hand may not avail her against gravity and gryphon's claws. Lieutenant Roberts goes undercover and enlists the aid of Lucette's countrymen against her. With the commander closing in upon his prey, the diminutive Iago and the strange islander Atu evaluate their loyalties, taking action with important consequences for Alex and for the future of the New World. While Alex continues to grow in his mastery of the essence, the smugglers Rip and Antonio accept a secret mission across the sea. The smugglers will have to find a ship before they can set sail against the might of two empires. The Japanese entrepreneur Akira and Near Eastern merchant Akram must consider whether their temporary union should be prolonged and expanded in order to increase their chances of taking a mature dragon. Bitter surprises await them all. A fiery rendezvous at Black Moon with the lives of his friends at stake will force Alex to confront the power to hurt before he can stand against the fury of the commander.

Cover Reveal

The first draft - which is very nearly a final draft - of Power to Hurt is complete. Additionally, I'm down to a mere 100 pages left of the proof/edit before formatting for kindle and paperback. At least one of my readers has already rattled my chain, demanding to know when this sequel to Threading the Rude Eye will be available. I believe that I might have it available on kindle in about two weeks with the paperback ready another two weeks after that. The story moves along at a good pace without bogging down. While there is a good deal of conversation--as I find that a critical element in character development--the frequent action requires great swaths of writing, chapters even, with little conversation. As one might expect, I like some parts of the story better than others. In looking through the folder where I keep the novel, I noticed something that I had not realized previously: There are many other items in the folder. Most of those items are for research associated with the story. I hadn't realized that I had amassed such a collection of resources. In addition to this cover for the book:

the folder also contains:
A 1695 plan of Albany, New York; a 1770 map of Albany and its environs; an 1876 map/guide to the New York wilderness; an essay on castrametation; a book of the letters of Capt. William Glanville Evelyn; a drill manual for the 10th Regiment; an article from Villanova University on the Hudson River defenses and West Point; a pamphlet on the Hudson River Valley during the Revolutionary War; Pope's translation of Homer's Iliad; the 1764 Manual of Exercise; A book entitled Practical Remarks upon the Treatment of Wounds and Fractures with an appendix on military camps and hospitals principally designed for the use of young military surgeons in North America from 1775; some notes on the procedure for weighing anchor on a sailing ship; some early chapter pdf files that I sent to some readers; the outline for the book as originally envisioned; and an excel file that I use to keep notes on the characters. I think the only sources that actually provided information that can be identified in the book are Pope's translation of the Iliad, and the 1764 Manual of Exercise--and that may not even be the correct name for the manual. Most of the resources were for my own edification.

There are also a couple things in the folder which are unrelated to the book, including a copy of Thucydides History of the Pelopennesian War and The Books of The Apocrypha, as well as a book from another author that I'm reading and commenting upon to the author for whatever value my comments might have for him. These items will eventually be removed to more appropriate places, but for now they're temporarily stored with all things related to Power to Hurt -- and that doesn't even include the numerous web pages of information that I've consulted while writing the book.

The cover above was, of course, designed and created by me using an online cover creator. I've looked at a lot of covers for purchase but haven't found any that are fitting for my flintlock fantasy series. Therefore, the third book in the series, as of yet untitled, will probably feature a similar flaming cover for the sake of consistency.