Please share a little about yourself, your genres,
any other pen names you use.
I'm
an employee for the federal government, I live near Dayton Ohio and this is my
first novel. I write in the urban fantasy/paranormal genre, I've found it is
the genre I can have the most fun writing about. I've always liked gritty crime
movies so an urban setting seemed appropriate for my book. As far as pen names,
I used Matthew Tallman, which is my real name. I debated on using another name
but one of my friends told me that my actual name already sounded fake, so I
stuck with it.
Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming
release.
My
book—out now—is called The Shade. It's a paranormal/urban fantasy about a high
school student who goes into a coma. However, while he is in the coma his mind
and body separate, and his mind goes to a world called The Shade. The Shade is
a story of survival and morals, about losing yourself and redemption. I wanted
to create a story that would not only get the reader's attention but also make
them think; hopefully that's what I did.
Are you a parent ?
I am a parent; I have a four-year-old stepson named
Brady.
If yes, do you find it hard to juggle writing and
parenting?
I do, luckily my wife helps me out a lot when I'm
writing. However, I believe it's hard to juggle just about anything with being
a parent, it's one of the toughest jobs there are. There are times when I'd
like to write, but Brady comes first so I have to wait until he's occupied or
asleep to write—slowing me down sometimes. Other than slowing me down I
wouldn't say having a child hinders me too much, he makes me smile everyday and
I'd not have it any other way.
Have you ever based your book or characters on
actual events or people from your own life?
Of course I have, that's why I put the disclaimer at
the start of my book. But seriously, I think all writers base some characters
off people they know or situations they've been in. It's easier to graph an
emotion if you've lived it. There's nothing worse than a writer trying to sell
you on how a character is feeling when they clearly have never gone through
what they're trying to portrait. Although this is not always the case, I've
find it to be true in most.
Is there a theme or message in your work that you
would like readers to connect to?
The Shade does have a theme; the theme stretching
over the entire trilogy is redemption. Everyone has needed a little bit of
redemption in his or her lives, everyone can relate to needing someone to say
'I forgive you'. I think people will get their own meanings out of the book;
there are many little messages throughout.
What would your readers be surprised to learn about
you?
What people might be surprised to know about me is
that in school I hated reading. I mean, all the way through high school I
absolutely despised reading. It's funny now but it seems ironic that I would
write a book.
Is there a genre(s) that you’d like to write that
you haven’t tackled yet?
I'd really like to write a mystery, I've always
liked detectives and would really enjoy writing a story one day. Other than
that, I think I've got enough ideas to stick around in the paranormal category
for a while.
If this book is part of a series…what is the next
book? Any details you can share?
This is book number one of The Shade trilogy. Book
number two (currently without title) is being edited as of now; it should be
out sometime in the fall. The next book will take place three years after The
Shade, picking up in a much darker place. It is my favorite of the three books;
we explore a lot of the minor characters form the first book and get a deeper
look at the world as a whole.
What book are you reading now?
Right now i'm not reading anything, mostly just writing
my books. The last book I finished was The Walking Dead: Fall of the Governor
part 2. I love the walking dead series, deep story and rich characters.
The Shade
The Shade Trilogy
Book 1
Matthew Tallman
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Date of Publication: March 9th 2014
ISBN: 9780991619207
Number of pages: 340
Word Count: 105,494 words
Cover Artist: Pixel Pixie Design
Book Description:
James Langley's life is over. After an automobile accident leaves him comatose, James' body lies vulnerable in a hospital bed. However, his mind is lost, drifting between life and death, into The Shade.
Trapped in a world shrouded by the unknown, he meets Virgil, a mysterious stranger that informs him that his car wreck was no accident; that the man responsible has imprisoned them both, intent on keeping them there. Together they must race against time to get James back to his body in the real world before he becomes the next victim of a malevolent psychopath.
Enter the world of The Shade, where the boundaries of the human psyche are pushed to their limits and survival is not guaranteed. A place where death isn't the end, but only the beginning.
About the Author:
I am currently a part time writer and full time government employee. Reading and writing books is one of my favorite hobbies as I enjoy every part of the story telling process. I have been working on three full-length novels for the last three years. I grew up all around the world because my father was in the United States Air Force, the past ten years I have lived just outside of Dayton, Ohio, which is where I now reside with my wife and stepson.
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