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MATTHEW FITZSIMMONS: THE SHORT DROP WAS INSPIRED BY THRILLERFEST | Land Of
Books
Matt's first interview....


http://landofbooks.org/2015/11/10/matthew-fitzsimmons-the-short-drop-was-inspired-by-thrillerfest/

MATTHEW FITZSIMMONS: THE SHORT DROP WAS INSPIRED BY THRILLERFEST

*Matthew FitzSimmons made a dream debut. His first ever novel The Short
Drop
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503950344/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1503950344&linkCode=as2&tag=thewhitepriso-20&linkId=6LCRI63WG56VU5BQ>is
currently #1 at Kindle Amazon Bestselling list. The book was loved by the
readers, who are giving average 4.7 Amazon stars from 280 plus reviews.*

* “The Short Drop
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503950344/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1503950344&linkCode=as2&tag=thewhitepriso-20&linkId=6LCRI63WG56VU5BQ>is
an adrenaline-fueled thriller that has it all—political intrigue, murder,
and suspense. Matthew FitzSimmons weaves a clever plot and deftly leads the
reader on a rapid ride to an explosive end”, said the good friend of Land
of Books Robert Dugoni, author of My Sister’s Grave. Andrew Peterson added:
“Beyond exceptional. Matthew FitzSimmons is the real deal”. *


*So here we are with another special chat with the new star of thriller
genre Mr. Matthew FitzSimmons himself. We owe special thanks to lovely
Dennelle Catlett for her great assistance in doing the interview. *

[image: matthew_fitzsimmons]
<https://ogigeorgiev.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/matthew_fitzsimmons-e1447162863910.jpg>

*– Matthew, Tell us about your new book, The Short Drop
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503950344/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1503950344&linkCode=as2&tag=thewhitepriso-20&linkId=6LCRI63WG56VU5BQ>.
What is it about? *
– The Short Drop
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503950344/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1503950344&linkCode=as2&tag=thewhitepriso-20&linkId=6LCRI63WG56VU5BQ>is
about Gibson Vaughn and the search for Suzanne Lombard, a childhood friend
and daughter of the American vice president. Her disappearance has haunted
Gibson since he was a troubled teenager. Ten years later, he’s been given
the chance to solve the mystery. It’s an opportunity that he can’t pass up
and of course gets him into all sorts of trouble.

[image: the_short_drop]
<https://ogigeorgiev.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/the_short_drop-e1447162872561.jpg>
*– How did you come to write this story? *
– A few years back, I went to Thrillerfest in New York City with my uncle –
the book is dedicated to him. Before that, I had never considered writing a
thriller but four days of listening to authors discuss the creative process
left me feeling inspired. I began work on a story that eventually became The
Short Drop
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503950344/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1503950344&linkCode=as2&tag=thewhitepriso-20&linkId=6LCRI63WG56VU5BQ>
although ironically after six months work, I threw out my initial concept
almost entirely and kept only the hero. It was an object lesson in what
Arthur Quiller-Crouch called “murdering your darlings.” One of many lessons
I learned while writing the book.
*– What was the biggest challenge in your writing process? *
– The biggest challenge was carving out time from my responsibilities as a
teacher. In truth, much of the book was written over summer and winter
vacations when I could dedicate myself to writing without interruption. I
find I work best when I can live with a story and find it challenging to
pick back up if I’ve been away from it for any length of time.
*– Tell us something more about your main character Gibson? Is he similar
to someone from your real life? *
– I don’t build characters from anyone I know although periodically I do
steal a great name. However, Gibson’s background as a hacker is based on a
good friend of mine who is incredibly knowledgeable. He advises me on all
my technical aspects and makes sure that I’m not taking too much creative
liberty. It was important to me that the use of computers stayed grounded
in the real world.
*– How long did it take you to write the book?*
– It took me two and a half years to finish it with significant time off in
the middle for teaching – hard to do anything on the side when school is in
full swing.
*– Did you expect that your book would be on the top of the Kindle
bestseller list? What did that moment feel like?*
– I had great faith in Thomas & Mercer so I knew that the book would get a
great boost from Kindle First, but I had no idea that it would do so well,
so quickly. Honestly, it is more than a little surreal to see oneself among
such writing luminaries. Wonderful, but surreal.
* – Tell us a little more about yourself?*
– I’m 6’6” so I’ve long been suspicious that the reason I was invited to
concerts was so that my friends could use me as an easy to spot meeting
point. For the same reason, I hate long flights and hotel showers that come
up to my chest.
*– What are your writing habits?*
– I work six days a week from eight to four, by which time my brain hates
me a little bit. I try to take the evenings off so I can come back fresh
the next day. In the mornings, I edit the previous day’s pages and in the
afternoons, I press forward again. Sometimes I lie on the floor and stare
at the ceiling until the solution that should have been perfectly obvious
three hours ago occurs to me.
*– When we will see your next novel? Will you share a preview?*
– If everything continues on schedule, my next book will be released in
September, ’16. It continues Gibson Vaughn’s story and picks up about six
months after the end of The Short Drop
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503950344/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1503950344&linkCode=as2&tag=thewhitepriso-20&linkId=6LCRI63WG56VU5BQ>
.
*– You taught English literature. What were some of your students’ favorite
genres?*
– One thing you discover teaching high school for ten years is how varied
and unpredictable teenaged tastes are. I taught during the Harry Potter
generation so there were always a contingent who loved science
fiction/fantasy and graphic novels. Beyond that their tastes were very
eclectic – I had one student who only read music biographies, another who
loved Jack Kerouac and the Beats, and another who at sixteen had read every
play by Harold Pinter. It was a wonderful experience for me to teach them.
*– If you were interviewing yourself, what one question would you ask? And
how would you answer?*
– I always like to know what music people are listening to, so I’d probably
ask about that. My answer is Gary Clark Jr. who is a fantastic young Texas
bluesman.

To learn more about Matthew FitzSimmons check out his Website
<http://matthewfitzsimmons.com/>
Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Matthew-FitzSimmons/743047082396926?ref=hl>
Twitter <https://twitter.com/@MatthewFitz_1>

Take a look at his book:
The Short Drop
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503950344/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1503950344&linkCode=as2&tag=thewhitepriso-20&linkId=6LCRI63WG56VU5BQ>


Eric D. Schwerin
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com

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