I was lucky to get an interview with Matthew Zorich, the author of Bastards of Liberty, one of this year’s #SPFBO9 entries.
Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
Hello! I’m Matthew Zorich from Northeast Ohio, here in the colonies errr states. I’ve been an avid reader since I can remember jumping in many genres and drawn to fantasy early in my middle school years. I have a degree in journalism from Akron University and an amazing family. I play video games, hike, and support the local arts whenever possible. Bastards of Liberty is my first fantasy novel.
Why should I buy your SPFBO9 entry?
Three siblings stretched across the newly formed Holy Imperium. A band of misfit thieves attempts to reunite Runt, the youngest, with his father as he seeks answers. Alysha, his sister, plots revenge and escape as an indentured servant to two blacksmiths, while Benjamin, the oldest, lives in the shadow of his father, a general controlling a city ready to burn in protest of its occupation. Could one of these Ashburn siblings bring about a revolution?
“Eventually, I returned to the books I loved as a kid, LOTR, Dragons of the Autumn Twilight, and other fantasy pulp from the 80s and 90s.”
What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
I read Hunter S. Thompson’s book Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and became hooked during high school. I’d read other books, but nothing that put the reader inside the story, nothing that made me breathe and feel like that book did. From there, I inhaled the rest of his books, then what he said he read, then what inspired him, and finally, from there, spiraled out to other writers from the beat generation, new journalism, the ex-pats, and continued from there. It was a self-made journalism course bringing me to college, where I expanded and grew from there. Eventually, I returned to the books I loved as a kid, LOTR, Dragons of the Autumn Twilight, and other fantasy pulp from the 80s and 90s. College was a stark reminder that what I could write, the speed I could write, and how it affected those around me were personal and passionate. Journalism is fast, complex, and needs to be accurate, and at times, what I wanted and what was required became difficult. When my editor said, “Go out and get the story,” after a traumatic event, I felt more like a vampire than a witness to history. Still, my English classes kept me sane, and those teachers taught me I could write in more exciting ways, writing what I felt, and witnessed, not sucking the morrow out of my victims as they related their worries and stories to me.
Have you participated in the SPFBO before and where did you hear about the competition?
I have not participated before this is my first fantasy novel. I’ve followed it and it was brought to my attention through a few different podcasts I follow.
Why did you choose to write fantasy?
Escape: We all like stories to escape into and see what comes next. Bastards of Liberty is a book for myself with the hope that others may enjoy the world and characters I’ve created. I read fantasy/epic fantasy but have fallen into Grimdark’s rabbit hole. It would be more like a grimy dungeon than a rabbit hole. Bastards of Liberty is a mixture of both. Nobody is perfect, and there is some hope, but overall, anyone can die, and if and when they do, it’s bloody and not a Disney movie death.
Which other author has had the biggest influence on your writing?
Such a tricky question. Other than Hunter S. Thomson mentioned above, I had to look at whose books I have on my shelves at home to see what I read the most. Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, and others are all there, but I lean into Ken Follet and his historical fiction novels. I love the denseness of his settings and how he puts his characters into historical situations while telling a story. It’s what I’m after, the character and their story in the grandness of a moment.
If you were to win the SPFBO, what impact do you think this would have on your writing career?
I just want to break even, make enough money to put out my second book, and continue doing that, get the third book out there. Anything more, would be remarkable and unexpected.
What challenges did you face during the writing or publishing process, and how did you overcome them?
I gave up pitching to agents a few years ago. Now’s it’s the self-edit before it goes to my real editor. How often do I read this thing, edit this thing, take out words, and adjust this one sentence before I drive myself mad? I know once I got it to my editor, that was it; she would be the final word after I had done it, I dunno ten edits, but getting to that finish line, and getting it into her hands, was the hardest. When I finished, and even now, I questioned if it was good enough. Am I good enough? Why do I do this to myself? That’s what friends and other writers are for, keeping me from spiraling down and getting my confidence back up.
Do you have any tips or an author app, tool, or resource that you can really recommend we try?
The authors from the podcast Wizards, Warriors, and Words recommended having Microsoft Word read your book aloud to you to do an edit. That is a huge recommendation. Finish your book and have Microsoft Word read it out loud to you, and you will catch so many adjustments and errors before it goes off to the editor. Also, if you have a friend or author, you can bounce ideas off, that is a huge help. Whether it’s complaining or trying to adjust something, or just talking craft, it’s a huge help. I speak to my author friend Ty Tracey weekly about writing and its ups and downs.
And now it's time to yank out your Palantir! Let’s talk about the future. What new projects are you working on?
I am writing the follow-up to Bastards of Liberty called Maiden of Storms, and I can not wait for everyone to read about who survives, who dies, and what happens next in the Holy Imperium and lands beyond—more plots, more politics, violence, drinking and madness ahead. I also have a rough start on a YA horror novel.
Apps that are based on artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGTP and Midjourney, along with apps aimed specifically at authors, have caused quite a stir. Do you expect these new technologies will make your life as a self-published author easier or harder, and do you expect that they’ll mean you’ll earn more or less?
AI is everywhere, and I’ve seen it cut jobs in IT over the past three to four years. It’s in our grocery stores, gas stations, and phones. I like having an app fix my grammar, my grammar is awful, but I will in no way use an app to write for me (or other assistance like blurbs, plotting out or ghost writing) and I still use an editor.
The writer’s strike is fighting to stop using AI tools and platforms on tv shows and movies at the time of this interview. I have my congressperson, ward contact, and my senator’s numbers and emails on my phone, and I reach out to them often. We need more of us to get involved with politics both locally and at a federal level so the people in charge can take steps to protect us from AI and its misuse. As our friends in Sci Fi write, the future will be bleak if we become reactive and not proactive (regulate now) in regard to AI.
Do you have any dreams you’d like to share?
I spoke to a few friends about this. I’d love to see my book at Barnes & Noble on the Buy One, Get One %50 tables. That means people have bought it to the point where it’s on sale. It's funny, low bar, or low expectation, but that's me, I guess. I also wouldn’t mine meeting a few of my fellow authors at a writing retreat or something like that.
Anything else you would like to say before we close?
For those that read Bastards of Liberty I hope you enjoy it, I have so many stories to tell. I’m excited and humbled to part of SPFBO9 and amazed by my fellow writers/authors and the work they do.
That was some interesting answers. I wish you the very best in the SPFBO. I hope a lot of readers discover your writing. Thanks for doing the interview.
